Creamy Dreamy Wild Rice Soup
Every time I go to a restaurant and ask about the soup of the day, I am secretly hoping they will say Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice. It was one of my favorites as a child and still is. My kiddos absolutely love this soup, sometimes slurping down two or three bowls in one sitting. It is great reheated, making it the perfect dish to double for leftovers during the week. I promise this recipe will have your loved ones begging for more!
Ingredients
- ½ c. unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 4 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 medium size carrots, grated
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- ½ c. finely minced green pepper
- 1 c. flour
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. salt
- 64 oz. low sodium chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts, each cut into 6 chunks
- 1 c. half and half
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 3 c. cooked wild rice
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add the veggies and cook until soft. Make sure that your green pepper is finely minced (this is for flavor, you should not have big chunks of green pepper in the soup).
- Stir the salt and pepper into the flour and add to the pot. Cook for a couple of minutes while continuing to stir. This will look like a big glumpy mess.
- Add a little bit of the broth, stirring to dissolve the flour.
- Mix in the remaining chicken broth and stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Slowly bring to a boil (make sure that heat is not too high and stir occasionally to prevent scorching).
- Add chicken and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook until no longer pink (about 10 minutes).
- Remove chicken, and allow the mixture to simmer uncovered for an additional 45 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, allow the chicken to cool and pull apart into small pieces.
- Once the 45 minutes is up, add the wild rice, half and half, heavy cream and chicken. Cook on medium low for a minute or two until heated through (do not boil).
- Give the soup a taste. It should be bursting with delicious flavor. If not, it needs more salt. Depending on the brand of chicken broth that you use, you may have to add another ¼ teaspoon or so. Taste, add salt if necessary, taste again…and repeat until the flavor is just right.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley (optional).
- Soups are best when consumed loudly…happy slurping:)
Notes
- I like to use a chopper or food processor to get a really good mince for my green pepper (it will appear frothy, which is perfect…the juice from the pepper will give flavor to the soup).
- When reheating, heat low and slow until it’s hot, but not boiling (due to the cream and half and half).
