Sep 30, 2022

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This recipe is sure to become a family favorite! It's full of goodness with lots of veggies, shredded chicken, and wild rice all topped with bacon. The perfect bowl of soup to warm you up on those chilly nights. We love how thick and creamy it is!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Serves 6

5 bacon slices, chopped

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 (8 oz.) package cremini mushrooms, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced (2 teaspoons)

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

4 cups chopped kale

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 (8 oz.) package precooked wild rice (Great Value is what we use)

1 cup half-and-half

1/3 cup white rice flour

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high. Add bacon to pan; cook 4 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery to drippings. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add thyme, mushrooms, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add kale, salt, and pepper, then stir in chicken and rice. In a bowl, whisk together half-and-half and flour. Stir into the soup; bring to boil and cook until thickened. When serving, top with bacon.

Step-by-step tutorial:

Gather your ingredients. You will need bacon (I used precooked for convenience, but raw bacon is great), an onion, 1-2 large carrots, celery, fresh thyme, fresh mushrooms (cremini if you can find them, but any kind will do), garlic, chicken broth, kale, rotisserie chicken, precooked wild rice (you can also cook 2 cups of your own if you don't buy a precooked one), half-and-half, and flour.

Prepare all of your ingredients ahead so when you make the soup, it goes smoothly and causes you less stress! I put all the ingredients on paper plates, so I don't have too much clean-up after. When I make soups, I use my Ninja chopper to chop the onion, carrots, and celery so that they are in very small pieces. My kids eat it better than if it has big chunks. Slice the mushrooms, shred the chicken, chop the kale, mince the garlic, chop the thyme leaves, and stir the flour into the half-and-half. Now you're ready to make the soup!

In a large stock pot, heat over medium high, then add the chopped bacon and cook until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in the pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and water, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the kale, and season with salt and pepper. You can add more or less according to your tastes.

Add the shredded chicken and precooked rice. Cook and stir for a few minutes. Then pour in the half-and-half with the flour. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.