Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup is luxuriously thick, hearty and satisfying, and made with everyday ingredients. Plus it tastes just like Panera's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup! Make a big pot then reheat all week for cozy, ready-made lunches.
“This is a family favorite – I’ve made it countless times! Easy, delicious and satisfying! Reheats and freezes well.”
Although it’s been 10+ years since I’ve eaten at Panera, on account of having Celiac Diesase, I went so often in high school that the taste and texture of their Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is burned into my memory.
That said, trust me when I tell you that my Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup is a perfect dupe. Thick and hearty, decadent and satisfying – no restaurant required!
Watch How to Make It
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup Main Ingredients
Truly this recipe tastes just like Panera’s except it’s gluten free and made from scratch with just a few ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Veggies: carrots, celery, and shallots or onions make up the veggie portion of the soup.
- Dried herbs and seasonings: poultry seasoning, dried thyme, salt, and pepper provide lots of cozy, slow-cooked flavor to each bowl of creamy chicken and wild rice soup.
- Chicken stock or broth: forms the base of the soup.
- Chicken breasts: are poached in the stock or broth to keep them tender and juicy, then are chopped or shredded. Feel free to use leftover rotisserie or baked chicken instead.
- Wild Rice Blend: I typically use Lundberg Wild Blend Rice for all of my wild rice-based dishes, though I’ve found that Rice Select’s Royal Blend Wild Rice has a particular type of rice that puffs and curls like the Panera Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup does. SO RANDOM, I know, but I really like using the Rice Select blend for this particular soup. Lundberg works great too!
- Gluten free flour: use the blend you keep on hand for gluten free baking, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, vs a single flour like almond flour or coconut flour. You can use all-purpose flour if you don’t need to eat GF.
- Milk: whatever you keep on hand for drinking. I’ve made this soup with everything from unsweetened almond milk to whole milk with fantastic results — no heavy cream needed!
How to Store and Reheat
My recipe for Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup makes enough to feed an army, which is great because it’s reheats super well for easy, cozy lunches throughout the week.
- To store: cool the soup down to warm or room temperature then cover the soup pot with a lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Or, scoop the soup into individual-sized storage containers with lids and refrigerate.
- To reheat: add chicken broth or stock to the pot then reheat over medium heat until warmed through. Or, add a splash of stock or broth to the individual storage container then stir and microwave until warmed through.
I do not recommend freezing this soup as cooked rice has a tendency to turn to mush one frozen then reheated.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Step 1: Saute the vegetables and aromatics.
Start by adding minced carrots, celery, and shallots or onion to extra virgin olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper then sauté until the vegetables are tender, 8-10 minutes.
Add fresh garlic, poultry seasoning, and dried thyme then saute until the garlic is very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
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Pin ItStep 2: Poach then chop the chicken.
Add chicken stock or broth to the pot then place a lid on top and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil.
Once the broth is boiling, add chicken breasts that have been cut in half then place the lid back on top, turn the heat down to low, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board then chop or shred it once it’s cool enough to handle.
Recipe Tip
Use leftover rotisserie chicken or baked chicken breasts instead of poaching chicken breasts in the soup pot. You’ll need ~2-1/2 — 3 cups chopped or shredded chicken total.
Step 3: Add the wild rice blend.
Meanwhile, add a wild rice blend to the pot then place a lid back on top and simmer the rice until it’s al dente, 20-30 minutes depending on the brand used, stirring occasionally.
Again, I really love Rice Select’s Royal Blend Wild Rice for this soup, but my typical go-to, Lundberg Wild Blend Rice, works great too!
Recipe Tip
No matter what brand you go with, ensure you’re using a wild rice-brown rice BLEND, vs straight wild rice or brown rice.
Step 4: Thicken the soup.
When the rice has 10 minutes or so left to cook, create a white sauce with roux and milk, which will thicken our chicken wild rice soup.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat then whisk in gluten free flour and cook while whisking for one minute.
Stream in milk (any kind), while whisking to create a smooth sauce then cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture has slightly thickened, stirring slowly yet constantly. If the rice still has a little bit of time left to cook, remove the pan from the heat then place a lid on top to keep the mixture warm.
Once the rice is al dente, stream in the milk + butter + flour mixture while whisking the soup constantly. Add the chicken then give everything a big stir to combine and cook until the rice is fully cooked and the soup has thickened, about 5 minutes.
That’s all she wrote! Pair with Gluten Free Focaccia or Gluten Free Flatbread to soak up every last drop.
This simple yet stunning and cozy wild rice soup recipe with chicken is one you will make over and over again. SO satisfying, SO thick and hearty — you’ll love every last drop. Enjoy!
More Cozy and Hearty Soups
- Gluten Free Lasagna Soup
- Chicken Stew
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Pastina Soup
- Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Creamy Mushroom Wild Rice Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
- Cheesy Taco Soup
- Sweet Corn, Kielbasa, and Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped, ~1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 1 shallot or small yellow onion, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 cups chicken stock or broth, plus more for reheating
- 1 lb chicken breasts, ~2 chicken breasts, sliced in half
- 1 cup wild blend rice, see notes
- 1/2 cup butter, or vegan butter
- 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend, see notes
- 2 cups milk, any kind
Directions
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat then add the carrots, celery, and shallots or onions. Season with salt and pepper then saute until the vegetables are tender, 8-10 minutes. Tip: place a lid on top of the pot with a splash of stock or water to speed up the softening process if desired. Add the garlic, poultry seasoning, and dried thyme then saute until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock or broth to the pot then turn the heat to high, place a lid on top, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the chicken breast halves then place the lid back on top. Turn the heat down to low then simmer until the chicken breasts are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken breasts to a cutting board then, once cool enough to handle, chop or shred. Place chicken inside a bowl or storage container then refrigerate until ready to add back into the soup.
- Meanwhile add the rice to the pot then stir to combine. Place a lid on top then simmer until the rice is al dente, 20-30 minutes depending on the brand, stirring occasionally.
- When the rice has 10 minutes or so left to simmer, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the gluten free flour then cook while whisking for 1 minute. Slowly drizzle in the milk while whisking to create a smooth sauce then switch to a spatula and cook while stirring until the mixture is thick and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat then place a lid on top and set aside.
- Once the rice is al dente, slowly stream in the butter/flour/milk mixture while whisking the soup constantly. Add the chicken then cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently, or until the soup has thickened and the rice is tender. Taste then add more salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the pot from the heat then let it sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken slightly before scooping into bowls then serving.
Notes
- Be sure you are using a wild-brown rice BLEND versus all brown rice or all wild rice. I recommend Rice Select Royal Blend or Lundberg Wild Blend Rice.
- Use the gluten free flour blend you typically have on hand for baking, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, vs a single flour like almond flour or coconut flour.
- Feel free to rotisserie chicken or Baked Chicken Breasts in this recipe. You’ll need 2-1/2 — 3 cups chopped cooked chicken.
- Have extra chicken stock or broth on hand for reheating if necessary.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
What kind of milk do you use? Like what’s your tried and true?🙂
For creamy soups like this, I prefer 2% milk. :)
I’m not a “real soup person# (whatever that is!), however, I have made this soup twice, it is the best soup I’ve ever eaten..a must TRY…
LOVE to hear that, Susie! My husband isn’t a big soup person either and he LOVES this soup.
We’ve made this recipe several times this winter! So good and simple! This last time, we used boneless skinless thighs and that was a hit! This reheats like a dream in my lunch crockpot for work–I just add a little extra chicken broth. Thank you from a fellow Iowa Girl!
LOVE love love to hear this, Megan! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating — I’m thrilled this is a repeater for you!
This was ok, but I should have listened to my gut and used a shortcut and used Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice. I know my family would have liked it so much better. I’ll keep this in my “soup loop” and just do that next time
My family has always enjoyed your older chicken and rice soup recipe, now I cannot wait to try this one! Thanks for adding nutritional info. What is the serving size? What kind of gluten free bread do you suggest serving with it? That bread in the photos looks delicious.
Hi Teresa! I believe my photographer styled these photos with a Schar GF baguette. I LOVE serving this with my GF focaccia! https://iowagirleats.com/gluten-free-focaccia/
I just made this for the second time now! Sooo yummy and uncomplicated. I knew to trust a chicken wild rice soup recipe from a true midwesterner LOL
HAHAHA — in Midwesterners, we trust! ;) SO glad this was good enough for round 2, Brenda! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This soup is absolutely delicious. My son loved it and he doesn’t like soup of any kind.
I’m THRILLED to hear that, Carole! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
“2 stalks” of celery is an awful lot of celery! A “celery stalk” is the entire bunch of celery! I’m sure you mean “2 ribs” of celery. A “rib” is a single, individual stem from the bunch, or stalk, of celery.
Ha! We’ve always called a whole celery bunch a “head”. Guess I have a lot of recipes to update now….
Geographic semantics! We say a stalk = a single rib of celery. Those are interchangeable. An entire head of celery would be every single rib/stalk on it. You could get deeper into the celery woods if you want to talk about celery hearts… 👩🍳😊 I think a little bit of common sense and cooking to taste is key here. We’ were out of celery and substituted dried celery seed with tasty success.
Thanks for understanding, AAM! ;)
Absolutely delicious. I made this yesterday. My entire family loved it.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Carole! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Made this for the first time the other day. So good!!! The creamy texture is outstanding. So satisfying. We have always loved this Panera soup and so I’m glad I can now make it at home. Thanks!!
Right?! Total game changer. So happy it was a hit, Kristine, and thanks so much for your recipe rating too!
Hi Kristin,
I made this recipe 2 days ago. We all loved it. Wonderful after a couple of hours of dealing with leaves. Thanks for a great recipe. Merry Christmas to you and your family b
Such a great soup to come inside to and warm up with. Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and yours, Geri!
Hi Kristin! Your original recipe was a family favorite! I don’t recall that version using a 1/2 cup of butter. Any way you can post the original? I think a 1/4 cup flour was mixed into the milk. And it cooked for 45 min. I wish I had printed it out. Thanks!
You got it — here you go! https://web.archive.org/web/20231129094835/https://iowagirleats.com/chicken-wild-rice-soup/#recipe-card
Thank you! It’s dinner tonight!
I agree with Kristin- the original recipe is so much better (and easier). Why did it change? So glad she asked!
This is my go-to recipe for a chicken soup for the last 7 years. It’s hearty, filling, and makes enough that I can have more throughout the week!
I’m thrilled to hear this is a go-to of yours, Lily!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!