Winner, winner, week full of chicken dinners! That is to say, I’m deeming it chicken week here on IGE!
Chicken is one of the most popular proteins served each night in households across America (‘Merica! Sorry.) But let’s face it – although it’s lean, filling, and versatile, it’s really easy to get stuck in the same ho-hum routine of sauteing a seasoned chicken breast then serving it alongside a starch and veg and calling it dinner two nights a week.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m totally guilty too! My go to dinner on days Ben and I aren’t dining on blog food is garlic salt & pepper sauteed chicken breasts served with roasted broccoli, mashed potatoes, and an apple. Always that. No deviation. Ben says its his favorite. I can’t say I disagree – like I always say, it’s the simple things in life – but it’s also nice to have a few new chicken recipes in your repertoire, which is what I hope to give you this week.
Up first, Cheesy Chicken & Rice Soup’s brother from a less-cheesy mother, Chicken & Wild Rice Soup!Â
Chicken & Wild Rice Soup – plump and hearty wild rice mingling with shredded chicken and veggies in a rich, savory broth – is one of my most favorite soups. Ever! Ben is, well, he’s ready to part ways with soup for the winter (oops) but even he perks up when I make a big batch of this stuff. It’s that yummy, thick, and creamy – yet has no cream at all – and is gluten-free to boot!
I developed the recipe for a freelance project I was working on several months ago, and have made it a handful of times since then because we love it so much. It was finally published, so I finally get to share the recipe with you – just in time for Chicken Week – whee!
How to Make Chicken & Wild Rice Soup:
Start by sauteing 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and 1 large shallot (or 1/2 an onion) in 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Then add 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and saute for 1 more minute.
Next add 8 cups chicken broth.
Bring the broth to a boil, then drop in 2 chicken breasts cut in half. Let the chicken cook right in the broth for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through, then remove and shred when cool.
This soup would actually be great to use leftover or rotisserie chicken in. Thigh meat, chicken tenders, etc, too. Whatever you’ve got on hand works!
Now add 3/4 cup wild rice blend. I think this is why Ben loves this soup so much – both he and I are ga-ga for wild rice (there are worse things, right?)
I love using Lundberg Wild Blend Rice for this soup but whatever the brand, be sure to buy a wild rice BLEND and not just straight up wild rice. The brown rice in the blend gives the soup a great, chewy texture, whereas the wild rice is a bit heartier and, well, stiff?, for lack of a better word.
Pop a lid on the soup pot, turn the heat down to medium-low, then simmer for 40-50 minutes or until the rice is plump and chewy. When the rice is ready, stir together 1/4 cup each gluten-free or all-purpose flour and milk (whatever you’ve got in the house) until smooth.
Mix it with 3/4 cup more milk (for 1 cup total) then slowly stream it into the soup while stirring. This will give the soup a lovely, creamy and thick texture.
Add the shredded chicken back in…
Then let the soup simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Ladle into big bowls then serve with a side salad or fresh fruit and enjoy!
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Gluten-Free Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Description
Gluten-free Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is thick and creamy, but has no cream at all. A lighter but just as decadent-tasting take on the classic!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 small onion or 1 large shallot, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 small carrots, chopped
- salt & pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts, cut in half
- 3/4 cup wild/brown rice blend
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup gluten free flour
Directions
- Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, season with salt & pepper, then saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme then saute for 1 more minute.
- Add chicken broth then increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Add chicken breast halves and cook until no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes, then remove to a plate and set aside. Shred when cool enough to handle. Add wild/brown rice blend to the pot then place a lid on top, turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until rice is tender.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup milk with flour until smooth then add remaining milk. Slowly drizzle into soup while stirring. Add chicken then simmer soup for 10 more minutes uncovered and serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
This is a second and thirds type soup, I’m telling ya’! Low in fat yet super filling and satisfying, soup lovers and meh’ers alike will love it. Leftovers are just as delish, and make for quick and easy lunches all week. Enjoy this one, everyone!
Angela 01.29.2013
I love creamy soups!! I love that this one is still pretty healthy. Can’t wait to try it!!
Nicole @ Fruit 'N' Fitness 01.28.2013
Love chicken and wild rice soup! I like to cook and puree a butternut squash and add that to the soup to help flavor and thicken instead of adding milk and flour.
Brie @ Entrée the Giant 01.28.2013
I could really use a bowl of this right about now. We’re on day six of below freezing temps here in Boston with one more day to go before it breaks. Come on, summer! Until then though…come on, soup!
Emily @ Hungry Delights 01.28.2013
Love the blended rice – that looks so wholesome and delicious. Perfect winter recipe!
xo Emily
Nancy 01.28.2013
I’ve got a bag of wild rice in the pantry courtesy of a Minnesota friend – is the wild rice blend just a mixture of wild and brown rice? I think I’d try just mixing half brown and half wild rice together – does that sound about right?
Iowa Girl Eats 01.30.2013
If the cooking times are roughly the same, I think it’d be fine!
Katie @ Blonde Ambition 01.28.2013
Love how creamy this looks! You’re right about chicken…such a favorite popular option but it gets boring quickly! Wild rice sounds like a fun soup addition too :)
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl 01.28.2013
As a vegetarian, this probably is not the most ideal of weeks for me ;), but I love the challenge of trying to make meaty meals into vegetarian meals. I’ll be on the look out for some new chicken recipes that I can turn vegetarian!
Ash 01.28.2013
Any tips on making this GLUTEN FREE? Thanks!
Iowa Girl Eats 01.30.2013
I’m sorry I actually don’t know a ton about gluten free diets! You could just use a cup of half and half to make it thickened and creamy!
Amanda 10.22.2013
My husband is gluten free and I made this recipe with a gluten free flour blend I picked up at my local market. It’s a blend of chickpea and other flours and the recipe turned out dee-lish-ous and looks just like IGE’s pics. Enjoy!
mary 08.21.2014
I used soy flour and it tasted great. You can use whichever thickener you prefer.
Maureen 01.28.2013
Yum! So glad you posted this…. my mom makes a great wild rice soup and I was going to make it this week (irony) ;). Yours seems lighter (yay!) but a lot of the amounts are the same so I think I am going to do some sort of combination. Just a thought – my mom puts 3 Tbs of slivered almonds in and grates her carrots which makes the textures SO nice. Thanks again!
Stefanie 01.28.2013
I’ve been loyal blog reader for over two years and I see you using flour and milk alot to use in place of cream in recipes. Would this concept work to replace “cream of something” in recipes? I don’t know about you but those cream of soups just look so awful coming out of cans not too mention how unhealthy they can be.
Jennifer 01.29.2013
You can certainly make your own cream-of-something soup at home. There are lots of recipes for this kind of thing online. It’s basically a white sauce using butter, flour and milk. Add mushrooms for cream of mushroom, chicken broth for cream of chicken, etc. I love the convenience of cans of cream-of-something soup but hate the ingredients!
Iowa Girl Eats 01.30.2013
You bet! I usually replace cream of xyz soups by melting 2 Tablespoons butter then whisking in 2 Tablespoons milk and cooking for a minute. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk then cook until thickened. If you want cream of cheese soup, for instance, turn off the heat then stir in 1 cup shredded cheese, etc. That’s it! :)
Stacy 01.28.2013
I am gluten free….do you think I could sub corn starch for the flour? How much do you think?
Iowa Girl Eats 01.30.2013
I haven’t tried it, but I bet it would work! Probably the same amount of cornstarch!
Mary Covault 12.19.2013
I cook gluten-free, too. In this recipe just substitute potato flour for the wheat flour. Works great!
Chris 12.29.2013
For gluten free/dairy free (I had to make this at Christmas): try putting some of the chicken broth in a blender with some cooked brown or white rice and cooked vegetables and puree it. Then add a couple of eggs, and blend the whole thing. (think Greek egg & lemon sauce without the lemon). Pour the thickened mixture into the soup that is done or almost done while stirring the soup. Simmer & stir until soup thickens.
The only reason I don’t use wild rice in the blender is that I don’t like the way it looks when finished.
Avery @ Southern Belle Living Well 01.28.2013
This is a printer for sure! I love wild rice, but don’t eat it enough! This recipe ought to fix that!
Lauren 01.28.2013
Ah, how appropriate for this time of year. Nothing is quite more enjoyable than a bowl of classic coup on a cold winter night. This looks fab!
Nay 01.28.2013
Looks delish! Quick question for you. I was wondering if you have a little tutorial on how to saute your favorite, simple chicken breast. I have been cooking for years and just recently moved into a new house with one of those flat top ranges. I can’t get it right for some reason. I don’t know if it’s the stove top or my pans or a combo of the two. But I either under cook it or over cook it! Just wondering if you have any tips since I see you cook on the same type of stove and seemed to have master the simple saute.
Krystle 01.28.2013
I’m back in Des Moines after half a year abroad!
Do you see yourself hosting another IGE Follower get together sometime in the near future? :)
Iowa Girl Eats 01.30.2013
Yay – welcome back! I don’t have any plans in the works right now, but never say never! :)
Alisha 01.28.2013
Yum! This is the perfect weather for soup. I just love how dense and chewy wild rice is! Beautiful pictures, as usual!
Lisa @ SoTeaBeeZa 01.28.2013
This looks like a wonderful, hearty soup. I love chicken and wild rice.
Oh, and I can hardly wait to see what else Chicken Week brings!!!
Em 01.28.2013
Yippee! Chicken week! And I just got a bag-o-chicken breasts on sale at Cub Foods!
Angie 01.28.2013
“Meh-ers” – bahaha!
Nancy 01.28.2013
I’ve NEVER known how to make soup. I know it’s the easiest thing to cook, but I never knew when to put the carrots in, when to put the chicken in. For how long. Would the veggies get soggy.
But you provided me a step-by-step recipe of when to do what. I’m super excited!
One question: Can I pop in cooked (or uncooked) basmati in this? I don’t want to go out and buy a bag of wild rice for this.
Iowa Girl Eats 01.28.2013
You bet! Just add it in when the directions say to add the wild rice, then cook until the basmati is done – which could be anywhere between 20-30 mins (just use the directions on the bag!)
Nancy 01.28.2013
Oh good! Thanks Kristin!
Jessica B 02.05.2014
I just wanted to jump in here and let you know how much I enjoy ALL of your recipes – and I’ve made a lot! They are amazing. The cheesy chicken rice soup was absolutely incredible and I’ve been craving it since I made it two weeks ago. With our Minnesota weather, I need all the soup I can get ;) Thanks for such an amazing set of recipes and a great blog. Keep up the great work!!