Slow Cooker Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Easy - this is a set it and forget it slow cooker recipe that lets the crockpot do the work!
• Comforting - this creamy wild rice soup is as cozy as it gets!
• Family Friendly - my kids absolutely love this soup, as does my husband. It's a true winner of a dinner!

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - I use organic chicken breasts when cooking this soup. I typically use boneless and skinless but you could definitely use bone-in and skin-on as they do add a lot of nutrients to the soup.

Vegetables - this creamy chicken wild rice soup recipe has classic chicken soup vegetables including onion, carrots, and celery.

Garlic - I always add a few cloves of garlic

Chicken Broth - this makes up the broth of the soup. I like to use water with chicken bouillon paste, since I always have a jar of it in my fridge.

Poultry Seasoning - poultry seasoning is a combination of herbs including sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and onion powder.

Wild Rice - I use pure wild rice, not a wild rice blend. If wild rice blend is all you can find, it can be used instead. Or you can buy Minnesota wild rice on Amazon.

Butter, All-Purpose Flour, and Whole Milk - the main ingredients for the creaminess in the soup.

Sliced Almonds - I don't see this in many wild rice soup recipes, but it's something my mother in law does that I really love. The added crunch is just my favorite!

Fresh Parsley - I top the soup with fresh parsley for flavor and some color.

Refer to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients.

Variations

Leftover Chicken - you can definitely use pre-cooked or leftover chicken if you want. I would add it at the end, so it doesn't dry out, and cook for about 30 minutes to let it warm up.

Chicken Thighs - I also love making this soup with chicken thighs.

Turkey - have leftover turkey you need to use? You can use it instead of chicken, or just check out my Turkey Wild Rice Soup!

Different Herbs - if you don't have poultry seasoning, you can just add your own "poultry style" herbs like thyme, parsley, marjoram, and dried rosemary. You could also add a couple of bay leaves if you'd like.

Wild Rice Blend - if you can't find pure wild rice, you can use a wild rice blend, instead.

More Veggies - Add some chopped mushrooms to the soup!

Photo 1. Chop up the onion, carrots, and celery into small bite-sized pieces.

Photo 2. Add the vegetables, garlic, poultry seasoning, chicken, wild rice, and broth to slow cooker.

Photo 3. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Photo 4. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Shred with two forks until shredded into bite-sized pieces.

Photo 5. On the stovetop in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 minute.

Photo 6. Slowly whisk in the milk to create your cream sauce.

Photo 7. Add the cream sauce to the soup mixture in the slow cooker.

Photo 8. Stir well to combine and then stir in the almonds. Season with salt and pepper as necessary. Serve and enjoy!

Expert Tips

Storage - store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Freezer Meal - you can definitely make this into a freezer meal. Simply combine the chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, and wild rice in a large Ziploc freezer bag. You could also add the appropriate amount of chicken bouillon to the freezer bag so all you have to add when you transfer the ingredients to the slow cooker is 5 cups of water. Or you can just write a note on the bag to add 5 cups of broth. Then cook according to recipe instructions, including making the cream sauce. Freeze up to 3 months. Check out my Guide to Freezer Meals for more freezer meal recipes!

Freezing Cooked Soup - I don't have great luck freezing cream-based soup, as the texture does not translate well once it is thawed.