Chicken Wild Rice Soup

We have been soup this season! Winter isn’t quite over yet, so I thought I would share this recipe to keep you warm until spring has sprung!

I found this recipe on Cookingclassy.com and it has quickly become one of our absolute favorites. I have made a few adjustments and will share those below. Let’s get to it!

Servings: 5
Cook time: 1 hour

3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend (I use 1 cup. The more rice the better! Lunberg brand is the best!)
1 cup chopped yellow onion (I have used red onion as well!)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
7 Tbsp butter, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp of each dried thyme, marjoram, sage and rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use shredded rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream (I substitute half n’ half)
1 tsp lemon zest (I omit if I don’t have on hand)

Step 1:
Prepare rice according to package.

Step 2:
In a separate pot, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion, carrots and celery. Saute until tender, add garlic.

Step 3:
Add chicken broth and all seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4:
(I omit this whole step by using shredded rotisserie chicken)
Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken breast and bring to a boil. Cover pot with lid and allow mixture to boil 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (rotate chicken if they don’t fully immerse in broth). Remove chicken, let cool and shred.

Step 5:
Reduce heat to low. Add rice and shredded chicken to soup.

Step 6:
In a separate saucepan, melt remaining 6 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 1/2 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly add milk and half n’ half in butter/flour mixture. Continue to stir until mixture thickens.

Step 7:
Add milk mixture to soup and cook about 5 minutes longer or until desired thickness.

*You can add more chicken broth if mixture is too thick. I will often add more the next day when the rice seems to have soaked up some of the milk.

ENJOY!!