Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a quick and healthy crock pot recipe that's perfect for busy nights. Add all the ingredients in the crock pot then push on!
“This is one of our very favorite recipes! Tried this three years ago and I get asked by anyone who tries it to make again and again.”
In a world full of gloopy, heavy crock pot recipes, Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup stands out because it’s light, healthy, and tastes like something you’d order at a local cafe.
Lucky for us, it’s a cinch to whip up at home in minutes!
This nourishing, brothy, healthy crock pot recipe is filled with colorful veggies, flavorful dried herbs and seasonings, tender chicken, and plump wild rice. It’s as easy as it is 3-bowl worthy.
Watch How to Make It
Main Ingredients Needed
I love that I always have the ingredients for Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup on hand in the fridge, pantry, and freezer. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken breasts: chicken breasts only need to slow cook for 4 hours on low to become tender and juicy. Any longer and you’ll end up with tough, dry, chicken.
- Mirepoix: onion or shallot, carrots, and celery provide nutrition and flavor.
- Dried herbs and seasonings: salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried ground sage, dried rosemary, and bay leaves give the slow cooker soup lots of cozy flavor.
- Chicken stock or broth: you can use chicken stock or chicken broth interchangeably in this recipe. Homemade Instant Pot Chicken Stock is great if you can swing it.
- Wild rice-brown rice blend: this recipe uses a wild rice brown rice blend vs straight brown rice or straight wild rice. I’ll share my favorite brand below.
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Pin ItMy Favorite Rice for this Recipe
The brown rice-wild rice blend I recommend for the perfect bowl of Crock Pot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is Lundberg Wild Blend rice. It slow cooks in the same amount of time as the chicken so everything is perfectly cooked and done at the same time.
That said, if you use a different brand of rice, it could take longer to cook. If that’s the case, store the shredded chicken in the refrigerator until the rice is ready then stir it in just before serving.
Great for a Meal Train
This crockpot soup recipe is one of my favorite recipes to take to new parents, or someone in need of a hot meal. There’s a couple ways you can deliver it:
- Fully prepared: slow cook the soup at home then transfer to a storage container and deliver hot.
- Meal kit: add all the ingredients, minus the broth, into a gallon-size Ziplock bag then deliver with either cartons or cans of chicken stock/broth. They can pour the ingredients into their slow cooker when they like, or stash the bag in the freezer for later.
Deliver with a side salad, and Gluten Free Focaccia.
Can You Freeze Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup?
Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is one of my favorite recipes to turn into a meal kit and freeze BEFORE cooking. Here’s how:
- Freeze: add all the ingredients except the broth into a Ziplock freezer bag then freeze flat.
- Thaw: 24 hours before slow cooking, thaw the bag in the refrigerator (the USDA advises that you do not slow cook frozen chicken).
- Slow cook: pour the ingredients into the crock pot, add the broth, then push “on”.
Recipe Tip
I’ve had readers freeze the meal kit with chicken bullion, so all they have to do is add water when they pour the ingredients into the slow cooker. Brilliant!
How to Make Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Step 1: Add the ingredients into the crock pot.
Add all the ingredients into a 6 quart crock pot then stir, cover, and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
Slow Cooker Tip
Unless you are using monster-size chicken breasts (3/4-1lb each), boneless, skinless chicken breasts only need to cook on LOW for 4 hours. Any longer and they’ll become dry and chalky. If you are using extremely large chicken breasts, cut them in half so they slow cook in 4 hours on low.
Step 2: Shred the chicken.
Remove the cooked chicken from the crock pot with tongs, then shred and stir back into the soup.
Again, I think a common misconception is that chicken breasts need to be slow cooked for many hours, but that’s not the case. The chicken should shred with the tap of a fork after just 4 hours in the slow cooker!
How to Store and Reheat
This soup reheats fabulously. Let it cool until the soup is nearly room temperature then scoop into airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop. You might need to add an extra splash of chicken stock or broth when reheating.
I find that cooked > frozen > thawed > reheated rice doesn’t hold up well, so I don’t recommend freezing this soup recipe once it’s been cooked.
Family Friendly Recipe
Crock Pot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is truly one of my family’s favorite meals. My kids and husband find it filling and comforting, and I love that it’s so, so easy to put together and (slow) cook.
I usually serve with a side salad and homemade Gluten Free Focaccia or Gluten Free Biscuits and we’re off to the races. I hope you and yours love this easy, crock pot soup recipe as much as we do – enjoy!
More Cozy Chicken Soup Recipes
- Chicken Stew
- Pastina Soup
- Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- CrockPot White Chicken Chili
- Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
- One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Gluten Free Homestyle Chicken and Noodles
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 small onion or large shallot, minced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced (~1 cup)
- 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried ground sage
- small pinch dried rosemary, crushed between your fingers
- 1 large or 2 small bay leaves
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3/4 cup Wild Blend Rice, Lundberg Farms recommended
Directions
- Add all ingredients into a 6-quart crock pot then cook on LOW for 4 hours or until chicken breasts are cooked through. Rice should be done around the same time.
- Shred chicken then stir back into soup and serve. Soup will thicken slightly as it cools.
Notes
- If you use a wild-brown rice blend other than Lundberg, it may not be cooked through at 4 hours. If that’s the case, shred the chicken then keep in the refrigerator until the rice is tender, and then stir into soup before serving.
- Do not use straight brown rice, or straight wild rice for this recipe. It was developed to use a brown rice-wild rice blend.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
This soup is an absolute favorite, I keep making it again and again. Husband and kids love it! Thanks for a great, easy recipe
What’s the reason as to not using frozen chicken?
It’s the USDA’s recommendation – frozen pieces don’t reach 140 degrees quick enough and could possibly result in a foodborne illness.
can you make a big batch of this and freeze it for later meals and still taste as good?
Hi Viki! I haven’t tried freezing this soup cooked, but do freeze all the ingredients in a Ziplock bag together, thaw overnight in the fridge, then dump into the crock pot and cook like regular. Works great!
I made this tonight–it’s soooo good and perfect for a rainy, cool day. Thank you!!
This soup was SO delicious and so easy! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
*I made a couple of changes – I used my own brand of items and I was in a time crunch so I did 3 hours on HIGH and it worked out great!
* Also- the next day we had some leftovers but it was a little thick, so we added 2 cups of chicken broth, heated it up again and it was great! :)
This soup was SO delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I was under a time crunch to I did 3 1/2 hours on HIGH and it worked out great! Also, the next day we had some leftover but it needed some more broth. I simply added two cups of chicken broth, let it heat for a bit and it was good!
So super excited about this recipe! Sounds easy and it’s gluten free. I bought the same rice as you used and I have the same crock pot you mentioned earlier in comments… chicken is done and delicious but the rice is still crunchy and carrots are still pretty hard. I’ve taken the chicken out and am continuing to cook veggies and rice. It’s been 30 min on low and both are still not cook. I saw another comment where someone put it on the stove to finish cooking these. Do you suggest this?
UPDATE… I ended up leaving the rice and veggies in for an additional 2 hours on low and the soup is delicious! I will probably pre-cook the rice next time… using less broth. Or use a different kind of rice. Thank for you for the recipe!
It’s so odd – I’d say for 90% of the people who comment, the recipe comes out as written, but the other 10% has the same issue you do and I can’t figure it out! The ONLY thing I can think of is that maybe your vegetables were chopped larger than mine? Either way I’m so glad it finally came together for you!
Just wondering if you have ever doubled the recipe and how long you cooked it?
Thank you!
Hi Sabina! I’ve never tried doubling the recipe but would probably cook for 6-7 hours vs 4.
We loved this crockpot chicken and wild rice soup. Will be making it again, just printed it off. ?
I threw this in the crock pot yesterday and I have to tell you…one of the best dishes I’ve had in a long time. It was filling and flavorful… thanks so much !
So glad to hear it! Thanks for your feedback!
This has no flavor! Had my crockpot on high for 4 hours and vegetables r not done yet. Won’t make again!
I followed your recipe to a T, in spite of the fact that I had my doubts on the rice, chicken, and vegetables all being cooked but not overcooked at generally the same time. (Should have listened to my gut feeling.) I even went out and bought the specific brand name items. I also have a programmable crockpot and I had it set for 4 hours on low. At 4 hours, the rice was COMPLETELY disintegrated, the chicken was cooked perfectly, and the vegetables were completely raw. The only way I was able to “fix” it to the point of making it edible was to make a roux on the stovetop (re: lots of added carbs and calories), mix it into the crockpot, and then cook on high for another 2 hours. Was not happy with this recipe at all. =(
I’m so sorry to hear that, Lili! I haven’t received similar feedback so thinking it might just be a difference in how our crock pots cook? Regardless I am truly sorry for the waste of time and ingredients!
Hello so i doubled the recipe first time out of the gate so please take my comment worth grain of salt (lol), but I’m missing flavor…and wasn’t skimpy with the seasonings and my veggies took forever to cook! I will adjust and make it again…super easy!!