Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, Wild Rice Soup is your favorite comforting casserole in soup form!
This Chicken Broccoli Wild Rice Soup is creamy, cheesy, seasoned to perfection and couldn’t be any easier with no roux or assembly! It makes fantastic leftovers and easy to double or triple for a crowd!
Thank you Prego® for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
I looove creamy, comforting soups from my White Chicken Lasagna Soup, Potato Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Broccoli Cheese Soup, Bacon Ranch Chicken Chowder, White Chicken Chili and now I’m excited to add this Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Wild Rice Soup to the mix!
Every birthday growing up, each sibling excitedly chose their favorite “birthday meal” that Mom would make for our special family birthday dinner. I always looked forward to my birthday for this reason alone (I was always food motivated 🙂 ) and always picked either Waikiki Meatballs or Chicken Divan. I couldn’t get enough of that tender chicken and broccoli smothered in a creamy sauce all served over rice. To this day, creamy, cheesy rice is one of my favorite comfort foods in the world.
As I was salivating over concocting a chicken, wild rice soup, my mind kept reminiscing to comforting Chicken Divan (especially with my birthday coming up), and I knew nothing would be better than Chicken Divan in soup form! The thought of slurping chicken, broccoli, rice casserole is enough to make me giddy, but the thought that all you do is throw your all your ingredients in your slow cooker fills me with giddiness for days. This easy Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, Wild Rice Soup is the answer to your weeknight dinner dilemmas, and because it’s all made ahead of time, dinner can be relaxing and enjoyable for you and the whole family. Win-win!
To prepare this easy, flavorful soup, simply add your chicken, broccoli, wild rice, garlic, onion, seasonings, chicken stock and evaporated milk to your slow cooker and let it cruise until the chicken, broccoli and rice are all cooked – about 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.
Then whisk in some half and half mixed with cornstarch to thicken the soup and then comes my favorite part – pour in Pego’s Homestyle Alfredo Sauce! I have made this soup both with and without this sauce, and I’m telling you, this sauce makes the soup. It elevates the soup to a whole new level with its superior rich taste and smooth, velvety, creaminess with the depth of subtle Parmesan. Can we say slurp-worthy?!
Then, just because we can, stir in some sharp cheddar, so this soup instantly becomes creamy and cheesy – two of the most foodie soul comforting words in the world.
Then it’s eating time!
Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, Wild Rice Soup, is so comforting, so packed with flavor and so easy it is guaranteed to become a new family favorite and even a requested birthday special.
Looking for More easy Soup Recipes?
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
- Loaded Zuppa Toscana
- Cheesy Taco Soup
- Italian Vegetable Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
| Prep Time | 8 minutes |
| Cook Time | 240 minutes |
| Servings | -8 |
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 4 cups broccoli florets chopped
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend, rinsed and drained
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano, cumin, salt, pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 cups half and half (I use nonfat)
- 1 14.5 oz. jar Prego Homestyle Alfredo
- 2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- sharp cheddar cheese , Freshly grated
- Cooked and crumbled bacon (optional)
Ingredients
Add Later
Garnish
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- Add chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker followed by all of the ingredients up to the cornstarch (do not add cornstarch and ingredients after). Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-7 hours, or until chicken is tender enough to shred and rice is cooked.
- Remove chicken and allow to rest 5 minutes before shredding or chopping if preferred.
- Meanwhile, whisk half and half with cornstarch and add to slow cooker. Add chicken and cook on HIGH for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Stir in Alfredo followed by cheese, stirring until melted.
- Taste and add additional salt, pepper, red pepper as desired. If you would like a less “chunky” soup, stir in additional broth/half and half.
- Garnish individual servings with freshly cheese and bacon (optional).
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Sweet and Smokey BBQ Chicken Chili (Slow Cooker or Stovetop)
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Cheesy Homemade Taco Chili Dip or Soup
Shannon says
I have tried two of your recipes this week alone, both were amazing and both will be made over and over again!
This looks so fantastic and I would love to try it, however, I am unable to eat rice. Would quinoa would be suitable as a substitute in this recipe? Same quantity as the rice? Many thanks.
Jen says
Hi Shannon, I am thrilled you have enjoyed the recipes of mine you have tried! As far as substituting quinoa, same quantity is perfect but you should add it the last 30 minutes – 60 minutes of cooking so it doesn’t become super mushy. Hope this helps and enjoy!
Shannon says
Thank you, I think this will be tomorrow nights dinner 🙂
Caoline says
Wild rice is not really rice it is a seed…
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
Now that’s what I call comfort food. It is comforting just looking at it. Great recipe — once I get back to my slow cooker it will be a go.
Jen says
Thank you so much Marisa! I just LOVE my slow cooker – I am having a hard time making recipes that aren’t i the slow cooker lately 🙂
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Jen! This is pure comfort food! We went shopping yesterday and there was NO broccoli, something about a growing problem ?? I will sub in steamed frozen near the end. My Mom did the same birthday dinner choice! 🙂
Jen says
Yes, pure comfort food, perfect for these cold days! I am shocked there was NO broccoli! I am sure that is every kids dream but one of my nightmares :)! LOVE that your mom did the same birthday dinner – so special! There is nothing like food and family together!
Sara @ Biscuits & Burlap says
This looks like a perfect weeknight dinner. Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to try it!
Jen says
You are so welcome Sara! It is nice and cozy, I hope you love it!
Trina says
Oh my gosh – this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it 🙂 One question: when you say chicken bouillon – do you mean granules or the jar that’s a paste? Thanks for some great recipes!
Jen says
Hi Trina! I mean the chicken granules – hope that helps and you can make this soon!
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon says
Hi! What a great picture of that soup! It looked so yummy I included it in my latest buzzfeed post.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annemariewalker/17-meals-that-will-make-you-wish-for-cold-weather-20ib5
I’m trying to get some buzz on it, so it would be awesome if you could upvote the article and share it across social media. Have a great weekend. 🙂
Jen says
Wow, all those meals look so incredible -and gorgeous too! I will definitely start promoting tomorrow! Thanks for including me!
Sara says
Yum! Your pictures are amazing… I just shared this link in a post about great soups for these cold winter months! Check it out… I have made this so many times and its always a huge hit! Also, I just shared this in a post of my favorite soup recipes! Check it out: http://www.biscuitsandburlap.com/2016/02/15/10-soups-for-those-cold-winter-months/
Jen says
Hi Sara, thank you so much for featuring my soup! The entire roundup looks delicious!
Lauren says
This soup is amazing – even my kids couldn’t get enough of it ! The Alfredo sauce adds so much flavor and creaminess and I love the rice with the broccoli. Thanks for another favorite!
Jen says
You are so welcome Lauren! I am so happy that your whole family loved this soup!! Thank you!
Layne says
just looking through your site while meal planning and of course landed on this one. I feel like we would have been bff as kids bc those were always my cravings as well!
Jen says
haha, you are the best and so are your childhood cravings! I love your comments so so much, they make me so happy!
Hillary says
This looks AMAZING. Any advice for freezing leftovers? It’s only me so I try to find things I can freeze!
Jen says
Hi Hillary, I think this soup would freeze well, but would freeze better if you add cheese to individual servings instead of to the whole soup. Hope that helps, enjoy!!
Andrea says
My husband LOVED it and wanted to eat more but I stopped him because I made it for a girls’ night at my place. He even ate it without the added cheese and bacon on top but he didn’t even care. He told me to “put it in the rotation” – which is his way of saying “It’s fabulous!” Thanks for a GREAT recipe!! 🙂
Jen says
Awesome Andrea! I love the visual of him sneaking more and you having to stop him! hahaha Thank you for taking time to comment, Happy New Year!
Jennifer Nelson says
Do you cook the chicken first before putting it in the slow cooker? looks yummy!
Jen says
Hi Jennifer – nope you just add the raw chicken – super easy- and then it will cook and be tender enough to shred. Enjoy!
Jimmy says
Is there nutrition for you recipes?
Thanks
Jen says
Hi Jimmy, I don’t provide that info, but you can calculate it at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Jenn says
This looks awesome and I’m totally planning on trying it. There’s just 2 of us, so I have this little slow cooker that I can halve the recipe in and it will bake up nicely. I do have one question – neither of us like the taste of jarred alfredo sauce, but I don’t want to lose that creaminess. Can you suggest a substitute? Thanks for the new recipe!
Jen says
Hi Jenn, jarred alfredo is super creamy and already infused with Parmesan, so I would suggest replacing it with heavy cream and adding Parmesan to taste. Hope that helps!
Janet says
Looks delicious! What do you use for the wild rice blend? I have just plain black wild rice; what do you mean by blend? Is there a brand you can recommend? Thank you so much – looking forward to making this!
Jen says
Hi Janet, I get my wild rice blend in the bulk bins at sprouts but I think Uncle Ben’s has a blend too. My blend is: wild rice, long grain brown rice, short grain brown rice, and red rice. I am sure anything similar will work great. Enjoy!
Kim says
Hi jen,
What size slow cooker did you use?
Jen says
I use a 6 qt 🙂
Bari says
Hi- I bought the ingredients for this but won’t actually have time to eat it before the broccoli goes bad. Do you recommend I freeze it all together now and treat it as a “dump meal”, or should I cook it first and then freeze it to reheat later? Thanks!
Jen says
Hi Bari, I’m so sorry I’m just getting to your comment! I know it’s too late but I would have said in general dairy based soups do not freeze well but if you wanted to try it I would have recommended to make it but hold the half and half and cheese and add that after it’s defrosted.