Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is super easy made in the crock pot, hearty, comforting and satisfying!
This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is creamy, cheesy, seasoned to perfection and couldn’t be any easier without making a roux! It makes fantastic leftovers and easy to double or triple for a crowd! It reminds me of my favorite cheesy chicken broccoli casserole but in in soothing soup form with shredded chicken, broccoli but you can also add carrots, celery or any of your favorite veggies.
Thank you Prego® for sponsoring this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup post. All opinions are my own.
About Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
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 Creamy Chicken and 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 Creamy Chicken and 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 Creamy Chicken and 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!
What kind of rice do you use for chicken soup?
Wild rice blend is the best kind of rice to use for soup. I also love it in pilafs like my Cranberry Apple Wild Rice Pilaf and Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf. Wild rice boasts a nutty, toasted, earthiness and is super difficult to overcook and become mushy like other rices. Instead, it remains fabulously al dente and even slightly chewy so it stores and reheats beautifully.
The excellent texture of wild rice is in large part due to the fact that wild rice may look like long-grain rice with a brownish-blackish color but it is not actually rice at all but a highly nutritious grain. Wild Rice comes from the seed of long-grain aquatic marsh grass that grows in the shallow waters of lakes, rivers, and bays indigenous to North America; this is considered “true” wild rice. Today, however, the vast majority of the wild rice sold in the United States is cultivated in controlled fields similar to rice paddies.
Where Can I buy wild rice?
Wild Rice Blends are an exciting blend of rices, which give you complementary firm, fluffy cooked textures and robust, nutty, earthy vibrant flavors. I use Lundberg Wild Blend Rice which is made of long grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, whole grain wehani rice, whole grain black japonica rice.
You can find wild rice blends pre-packaged in a bag, box, or in the bulk bins at Sprouts. If your wild rice package comes with a seasoning packet, you can discard that for our purposes.
How do you Make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup?
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.
Once the chicken is tender, remove it from the slow cooker to a cutting board and allow it to rest 5 minutes then shred (or chop if you prefer) and add it back to the slow cooker to seep up all the flavorful broth in every nook and cranny.
EASY, right?!
How can I thicken chicken soup?
Now it is time to add the cream to our Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Whisk half and half with some cornstarch and then stir it into the chicken soup to thicken. Next 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 Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup – comforting, packed with flavor and so easy it is guaranteed to become a new family favorite and even a requested birthday special.
Can You Freeze Chicken and Rice Soup?
No, I don’t advise freezing this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. As a general rule of thumb, dairy does not freeze well. The texture will become unpleasantly grainy and curdle. If you want to make the soup up to the point of before you add the half and half, then you can freeze it then and then add half and half and Alfredo sauce after you thaw your frozen soup.
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
- One Pot Lasagna Soup
- One Pot Creamy, White Bean and Ham Tortellini Soup
Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, Wild Rice Soup
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Ingredients
- 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
- ⅛ – 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
Add Later
- 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
Garnish
- sharp cheddar cheese , Freshly grated
- Cooked and crumbled bacon (optional)
Instructions
- 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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Carleigh says
Hi! Can this be made with frozen chicken breast? Increase the initial cooking time and maybe add the broccoli and rice halfway so they don’t overcook?
Jen says
Hi Carleigh, unfortunately it is not advisable to start with frozen chicken in the crockpot for food safety reasons, sorry!
Tamara Garvin says
Hi there! Love your recipes. I wonder if could go do the steps up to shredding the chicken ahead of time, and refrigerate to finish later (perhaps even a day later)? Thanks very much.
Jen says
Thanks so much Tamara! Yes, that would absolutely work, just be ready to add a little extra broth to thin. Enjoy!