Description
Comfort meets convenience in this slow cooker chicken wild rice soup, where hearty ingredients meld into a soul-warming classic. Minnesota’s beloved recipe delivers rich, creamy goodness you’ll savor spoonful by spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Protein:
- 1 pound (454 grams) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
Grains and Liquid Base:
- 1 cup wild rice blend, uncooked
- 4 cups (946 milliliters) chicken broth (low sodium)
- 2 cups (473 milliliters) water
Vegetables and Aromatics:
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Herbs and Seasonings:
- 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 bay leaf
Creamy and Thickening Ingredients:
- 1 cup (237 milliliters) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour (or cornstarch for gluten-free)
Garnish:
- Fresh parsley
- Grated Parmesan
- Crusty bread
Instructions
- Combine all core ingredients including chicken, wild rice, aromatic vegetables, herbs, and seasonings directly into the slow cooker vessel, ensuring even distribution.
- Allow ingredients to gently simmer and marry flavors on LOW temperature setting for 6-8 hours or HIGH temperature setting for 3-4 hours, monitoring until chicken becomes completely tender and rice reaches soft consistency.
- Carefully extract chicken pieces from liquid and utilize two forks to meticulously shred meat into delicate, bite-sized fragments, then reintegrate into soup base.
- Prepare a luxurious cream foundation by melting butter in a separate pan, whisking flour to create a golden roux, which will serve as thickening agent for the soup’s texture.
- Gradually incorporate heavy cream into roux, stirring continuously to develop a silky, smooth mixture without lumps.
- Transfer cream mixture into slow cooker, stirring thoroughly to integrate and create a rich, velvety consistency.
- Allow soup to continue cooking for additional 10-15 minutes, enabling flavors to intensify and liquid to slightly condense.
- Remove bay leaf to prevent any bitter undertones, then garnish with fresh parsley or grated Parmesan cheese before serving piping hot.
Notes
- Swap wild rice for quinoa or brown rice to create a lighter, gluten-free alternative that still provides hearty nutrition.
- Reduce sodium by using low-sodium broth and controlling salt quantities, perfect for heart-healthy diets.
- Enhance protein content by adding extra shredded rotisserie chicken or plant-based protein like white beans for vegetarian modifications.
- Optimize flavor development by sautéing vegetables before adding to slow cooker, which deepens the soup’s overall taste profile and releases natural vegetable sugars.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 6-8 hours (low) / 3-4 hours (high)
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg