Heeeyyyyy, I am back! I took a little hiatus but I’m ready to get back at it. Today I’m sharing one of my favorites for this time of year- chicken and wild rice soup. When we had this for dinner the other night all I kept thinking was how cozy this soup made me feel, can you feel cozy?! Well I imagine the feeling of cozy is being wrapped up in a soft blanket on a comfy couch.
My freshman year of college I lived in the dorms and therefore 90% of my meals came from the dorm cafeterias. One of my favorite meals was a toasted sandwich and a cup of chicken and wild rice soup. After my freshman year I didn’t have the soup again until I came across the recipe I’m sharing today and the soup is still a favorite and this version probably tastes better than the dorm cafeteria version. And this can be done in a slow cooker- so get the soup prepped, thrown it in the slow cooker and then wrap up in that blanket on a comfy couch!
The original recipe calls for turkey but I use chicken because I have it on hand more often. No need to worry about cooking the chicken first just throw it in the slow cooker and then shred it before serving. The most prep will come from the vegetables. The vegetables will need to be chopped and then sautéed before going into the slow cooker. Don’t clean that pan that the vegetables were sautéed in just yet, it will be used to make the béchamel sauce that thickens the soup (a.k.a. what makes this soup so cozy).
So to get the recipe started we’ve got the raw chicken and sautéed vegetables in the slow cooker. Also going in the slow cooker will be some wild rice, chicken broth, and a chicken soup base. These things will all cook for a few hours before the béchamel sauce is made and added. Right before serving chop up some fresh parsley and serve the soup! I served my soup along with a crusty bread. I was hoping to share the recipe but the photos were not working in my favor so I will link to the recipe if you’d like to give homemade bread a try.
Chicken and wild rice soup
Source: adapted from Lindsey’s Luscious
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces wild rice, uncooked
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 2-3 carrots, diced
- 2 tablespoons chicken soup base (like Better Than Bouillon)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half or cream (I did a mix of both)
- 1.5 pounds chicken
- Fresh parsley for serving
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Place chicken, chicken soup base, rice, and chicken broth into the slow cooker. Stir to combine
- Heat a large skillet to medium heat and add olive oil. Once oil is hot add the diced vegetables and saute for 7-10 minutes, until onion is transparent and vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste
- Place vegetables into slow cooker, cover, and set to high heat for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours
- About 1 hourbefore serving remove chicken and shred, then return to slow cooker
- Rerun to the same skillet from earlier, heat it over medium heat and add the butter. Once butter has melted stir in the flour and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes
- Slowly add the half-and-half or cream, constantly whisking until bubbly and thick
- Once thickened add the bechamel sauce to the slow cooker and mix until combined, let cook another 15 minutes
- Serve into bowls and top with chopped parsley and freshly cracked pepper if desired
And if you’re looking for some bread I highly recommend this recipe.
The Domesticated Runner 