Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Last Friday I was in the mood for really good creamy chicken and wild rice soup. That's all I wanted in the soup - chicken, rice, a creamy base and lots of flavor. But then I found a recipe from Taste of Home that got great reviews but it called for broccoli and carrots, which ended up being a great addition.

You need to plan ahead a bit for this recipe because you have to prepare the chicken and cook the wild rice which can take up to an hour - then you can start preparing the soup.

2/3 cup uncooked wild rice (can take 45 minutes to an hour to prepare)
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped carrot
2 tablespoons butter
7 cups chicken broth
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf (I got this idea from a reviewer on the Taste of Home website)
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I roasted a split chicken breast with salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven at 350 until done and then shredded the meat)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free half-and-half

Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook onion and carrot in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, potatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add broccoli; cook 3-7 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Discard bay leaf.

Drain rice if necessary; fluff with a fork. Stir chicken and rice into potato mixture; heat through. In a small bowl, combine flour and half-and-half until smooth. Gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Yield: 8 servings (2-1/2 quarts).


My soup was thick so you can add more milk or broth if it's too pudding-like for you.

You can play with the amount of ingredients or omit an ingredient all together. It would be good with more potatoes and no broccoli too but I like that we got a serving of greens!

We ate the soup with a baguette from Panera.
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