Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Chicken and wild rice soup gives you a creamy bowl with a pleasing chew between spoonfuls of broth. Crisp bacon on top adds a savory crunch against the tender vegetables. Ladle out a helping and enjoy a little bacon with the chicken and rice underneath.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 13 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Chicken · Pork
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 16–30 minutes · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dish type
- Soups · Soups & stews · Rice dishes
A few quick notes
1. Save the crisp bacon
Lift browned bacon out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, keeping it for the soup topping.
2. Cook vegetables in the bacon fat
Soften onion, carrot and celery in the remaining fat before adding garlic and then the flour.
3. Whisk broth in slowly
Coat vegetables with flour and cook briefly before gradually whisking in broth until the soup base is smooth.
Get to know the ingredients
Cooked shredded chicken
Use cooked chicken already shredded; you can use rotisserie, leftover chicken or whatever cooked chicken you have.
Cooked wild rice
Cook the rice before adding it to the soup to warm through; a cooked blend is an option.
Prepared carrots
Peel, halve and slice carrots before cooking them with onion and thin celery slices in the bacon fat.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 8 steps completeMake room for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Top each bowl with bacon
Taste after the cream simmers, stir in parsley and serve immediately with the reserved crisp bacon over the top.
A little more help as you go
Cream comes after warming chicken
Heat chicken and rice through in the broth before adding cream for its final short simmer.
Season vegetables and finished soup
Season the softened vegetables first, then taste again after adding cream to decide on extra salt and pepper.
A few questions you might have
Does raw rice cook in this soup?
Use cooked wild rice; it goes in with cooked shredded chicken to heat through before the cream stage.
Should I discard the bacon fat?
Keep it in the pot for cooking the onion, carrots and celery after removing the crisp bacon.
When does the garlic go in?
Add it once the vegetables are just tender and cook briefly before stirring in the flour.
Is parsley only scattered over the bowls?
Stir chopped parsley into the soup after tasting the creamy mixture, then top individual servings with bacon.
How do I add the flour?
Sprinkle it over the softened vegetables, stir until they are evenly coated and cook briefly before broth.
Any more cooking tips?
Any cooked chicken will work here - rotisserie, leftover chicken, whatever you have on hand! I used a wild rice blend that had the long black rice, brown rice and red rice in the mix.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
