Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup: Full of veggies, tender chicken, and seasoned wild rice. Just add to slow cooker and enjoy the delicious aromas until dinner.
Pair this soup with a tasty roasted veggie salad, quinoa apple salad, or this chicken spinach salad.
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
This soup has been one of my favorite soups ever since I can remember. I make it at least every other week all winter long. I’m so excited to finally be sharing my version with you all: a simplified (thank you, slow cooker) soup with a unique veggie addition — sweet potatoes!
Roasted sweet potatoes are easily my family’s favorite side dish (hi Sweet Potato Salad), so a few winters back, I randomly decided to add some leftover sweet potatoes to this soup. Since then, I have never made it any other way! The sweet potatoes add a mild sweetness, subtle heartiness and become amazingly tender in the slow cooker.
Ingredients In Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken: Main protein; adds flavor. Use rotisserie chicken for stovetop.
- Wild Rice Blend: Provides a hearty base.
- Onion, Carrot, Celery, Garlic: Flavor base; adds depth.
- Sweet Potato: Adds sweetness and texture.
- Chicken Stock/Broth: Forms the savory liquid base.
- Butter and Flour: Make a roux to thicken the soup.
- Milk: Adds creaminess to the crockpot chicken wild rice soup.
- Seasonings: Enhance flavor and complexity.
How To Make Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Add Ingredients: Trimmed chicken, wild rice, diced onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sweet potato, seasonings, and chicken broth to slow cooker.
- Cook: On low for 5-8 hours or high for 3.5-5 hours.
- Make Cream Mixture: Near end, combine butter, flour, and milk; simmer until thickened.
- Shred Chicken: Shred cooked chicken and return to slow cooker.
- Stir in Cream Mixture: Adjust thickness if necessary.
- Serve: Remove bay leaves from crockpot chicken wild rice soup and garnish with optional fresh herbs.
Storage
- Refrigerate leftover crockpot chicken wild rice soup in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Note that rice continues to absorb surrounding liquid, so thin with broth when reheating.
- Freezing is not recommended.
What To Serve Alongside This Soup
- A good crusty baguette, homemade honey whole wheat bread, or soup crackers/saltines.
- For additional veggies, try roasted broccoli or roasted asparagus on the side.
- A big garden salad always complements soup nicely; we love this Olive Garden Salad.
- Dip Grilled Cheese in your crockpot chicken wild rice soupfor an extra comforting meal.
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Equipment
- 6 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 3/4ths pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (4-5 thighs) (or chicken breasts) If making this on the stovetop, use 2 cups rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend (See Note 1)
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion (1 small onion) (See Note 2)
- 3/4 cup finely diced carrot (1 large carrot)
- 3/4 cup finely diced celery (2 stalks celery)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup diced sweet potato (1 small)
- 6 cups chicken stock or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons white flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- Optional: fresh thyme, fresh parsley
Seasonings
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH: dried parsley, dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH: dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, dried sage
- 1 teaspoon EACH: Italian seasoning, poultry/chicken seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- SLOW COOKER NOTE: I use a 6-quart crockpot for this recipe. If you have a size smaller than 5 quarts, halve this recipe so it will not spill over.
- CHICKEN PREP: Trim the fat off the chicken. If using thighs, add to slow cooker whole. If adding breasts, cut each breast into 3-4 pieces then add to slow cooker.
- SLOW COOKER: Place the uncooked wild rice blend, finely diced onion, finely diced carrot, finely diced celery, minced garlic, and diced sweet potato in the slow cooker with the chicken. Add all of the seasonings. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper here). Pour chicken broth/stock over everything.
- COOK: Stir, cover and cook on low for 5-8 hours or high for 3-1/2 to 5 hours-- until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through and shreds easily.
- CREAM MIXTURE: About 30 minutes before the soup is done, heat the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Heat until melted and then slowly whisk in the flour. Allow to bubble and cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Gradually pour in 2 cups of the milk, whisking constantly as it is added. Allow mixture to simmer over medium-low heat until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- SHRED CHICKEN: Once the soup is finished, remove the chicken to a small bowl and shred with two forks. Add back to the slow cooker. Stir in the cream mixture. Add up to add an additional cup of milk if the soup is too thick for your preference.
- ENJOY: Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings ( I typically add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper). If desired, top soup with freshly chopped parsley or fresh thyme. Serve with crusty bread.
- STORAGE: This soup stores well in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat over low heat, slowly to keep the soup from breaking. This soup does not freeze and thaw well because the dairy in it tends to separate and break.
- STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS: Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a very large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.ย Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in theย chicken stock, wild rice, sweet potato, and all the seasonings (we add1 teaspoon salt and pepper).ย Stir to combine; bring soup to a simmer.ย Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally. During those final 10 minutes, prepare the cream mixture (see instruction #5 above). Add the cream mixture to the soup and gently stir to combine. Stir in 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning (we usually add another 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of each here, but add to preference). Serve warm garnished with fresh herbs as desired!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was great! I made one sub with 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 instead of the milk mixture.
Delish! So glad you enjoyed! ๐
Can almond, soy or oat milk be used instead of cow milk?
It won’t be very thick!
This is my first recipe of your I donโt really like. All others are 5 stars! This just tasted bland to me. Maybe itโs the sweet potatoes. I donโt know. But I kept adding salt at the end and it wasnโt helping.
Made this last night and my husband and I loved it! Delicious, nutritious, and pretty much fail-proof. Thanks for a great recipe!
So happy to hear this! Thanks so much! ๐
I love the fall flavored of this soup! Plus it’s a crockpot recipe-can’t go wrong!! But I have made this twice and while it tastes delicious, the rice has been mushy. The second time I cooked the very minimum time which helped but it still doesn’t look anything like the consistency in your pics! What am I missing?! My next attempt might be making the rice separate and adding it in at the end!
Thanks so much Megan! Glad you’re enjoying the flavor, but I’d love to problem solve the rice with you. Are you using a wild rice blend or something different? Have you tried the Lundberg variety? (That’s what I use and have never had mushy rice!) Also, how long are you cooking the soup for? It might help to check the soup an hour or two earlier ๐