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Chicken Wild Rice Soup is warm and filling, the perfect comfort soup on a cold night.
Over the last 20 years I have probably made 25 or more business trips to Minnesota. Each time I have gone, I have enjoyed a bowl of Chicken Wild Rice Soup. It is a Minnesota kind of soup. I’m not sure why the people of Minnesota make the best Chicken Wild Rice Soup, but they do! Whether I am there in the summer or winter there always seems to be a bowl of Chicken Wild Rice Soup at every dinner or restaurant I go to. I think it is pretty much the national soup of Minnesota.
How to Make Wild Rice?
- Like brown rice, wild rice takes longer to cook than regular rice and you need to allow for about 40 minutes of cooking time. It also takes more water. Three cups water to one cup of rice.
- One cup of uncooked wild rice will yield between 3 and 4 cups of cooked rice.
- Rinse rice in cold water before cooking.
- I prefer to boil wild rice which is the traditional way of doing it. Bring a pan of water to a boil and add 1/2 tsp of salt and rice. Cover pan and turn down to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes. Not all the water will evaporate so drain the rice with a colander
- In addition to using it in soup, wild rice can be used as a side dish, served warm or cold. I also love using it in this Wild Rice, Dried Cherry and Sausage Dressing.
Why is wild rice so expensive?
Wild rice is significantly more expensive than white or brown rice. The reason is, it has to be gathered by hand thus making the process more involved and expensive. Wild rice is actually the seed of an aquatic grass that grows wild in the waters of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada.
Wild rice has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture and I love the addition of it in soup. I have also added sliced almonds to the chicken wild rice soup because I love the additional texture that it adds. And I always add a few more to the top as garnish, for good measure.
Other favorite chicken recipes:
Chicken and While Rice Soup Recipe
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano before cooking)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 finely chopped onion
- 1/2 C chopped celery
- 1/2 C sliced carrots
- 3/4 C all purpose flour
- 8 C chicken broth
- 2 C cooked wild rice cook according to package instructions
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 C slivered almonds
- 2 C half and half
Instructions
- Pour olive in sauce pan and saute onion, celery and carrots for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the flour and stir well.
- Gradually pour in broth and stir constantly. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer.
- Add the cooked rice, cooked chicken, garlic salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, black pepper and almonds.
- Heat through and then pour in half an half.
- Let simmer about 1 hour. Do not let it come to a boil.
- Garnish top of soup with additional almonds if desired.
Nutrition Facts:
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Originally posted Nov. 9, 2011
Kari says
I love Wild Rice! I have lived in Minnesota my whole 49 years of life! We make a great wild rice hotdish too!
Heidi says
I made a variation of this tonight and it was delicious! I kept the bones of it the same, but flavored it with lemon, garlic, sage and thyme instead of the curry powder. Thanks for the idea – it was a hit!
kelly says
i haven’t had wild rice since going gluten free, does it have barley or something in it? not sure if we GF eaters can have wild rice?
Leigh Anne says
Wild Rice is gluten free so enjoy!!!
Real Housewife in MN says
As a Minnesotan I agree 100%, it’s my favorite meal starting in fall! I make mine in the crock pot and it’s always a hit. Great recipe 🙂
Marisa says
Hi! I just found your blog through Iheartnaptime. I love it! I’m excited to try this soup – I have a chicken and wild rice soup recipe, but I like the seasonings you put in your soup better. Also, I’ve always made my soup with brown rice because I can’t seem to find wild rice. I’d really like to try it with wild rice. Maybe they just don’t sell wild rice in New Orleans? 🙂
Leigh Anne says
So glad you found me. Do you have Trader Joe’s In New Orleans? That is where I found mine.
Marisa says
Bummer! No Trader Joe’s here. I wish there was – it’s one of my favorite stores. Now I miss it even more :-).
Debbie Curtis says
So mouthwatering… Good job there Leigh Anne, hmm is Chicken and Wild Rice Soup your original recipe? I wonder what it taste like, it looks delicious. If it okay with you, can I copy the recipe then? I would like to try it myself at home. 🙂
Thanks Ahead!
Leigh Anne says
It is one a adapted from another recipe – enjoy!
Bethany says
Living in Illinois and having really cold, rainy and windy weather today this was a perfect way to use my leftover onion, carrots and celery from my homemade chicken noodle soup I made last week!!! It is delicious and even my picky three year old said it was tasty and wanted to know if we could have it for dinner!!! It is a big change but I realized half way thru that I didn’t have wild rice so I substituted orzo which is delicious so although it’s not technically chicken & wild rice soup it works for this girl if it means we can have this yummy soup to warm our bellys tonight!!!
Caren with a "C" says
Looks yummy! When I got your e-mail it also had attached to it a post about Thanksgiving Table Decor… I can’t find it on the site… are you reworking that?
Lisa says
This looks delicious! Although I can’t claim this is an official answer, I think we Minnesotans have made this so famous because we do grow wild rice here and the chicken adds to it’s heartiness to get us through our Minnesota winters. It’s a good stick-to-your ribs, comfort food.
Kristi says
Great looking soup! I will have to give it a try. Minnesota is famous for chicken and wild rice soup because the majority of wild rice in this country is grown either there or in California. In fact, wild rice is the State grain in Minnesota!