Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup with Garlic Bread

There is always one day in September when I decide it is soup season whether Georgia agrees with me or not. It usually happens after we’ve had one morning that feels a little cooler. Not cold, mind you. We’re talking about the kind of morning when you walk outside and think, “Oh, this is nice,” instead of immediately wondering why you bothered fixing your hair.

That’s enough encouragement for me. By lunchtime it may be eighty-five degrees again, but the damage has already been done. I’ve started thinking about soup. Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is one of my favorites when I want something that feels like a full meal. This isn’t a thin little soup that leaves everyone wandering back through the kitchen an hour later looking for something else to eat. It’s loaded with chicken, wild rice, carrots, celery, and a creamy broth that makes you want another bowl even when you know you’re full.

And because we’re having soup, we’re having bread. Those two things belong together. I don’t care how many crackers you put on the table. If there’s a pot of creamy soup involved, I want something warm and buttery that I can tear apart and dip into the bowl.

Garlic bread will do nicely.

This Is a Good Use for Leftover Chicken

One of the easiest ways to get this soup on the table without spending half the afternoon in the kitchen is to use chicken that’s already cooked. If I roasted chicken earlier in the week and have leftovers, they’re going in here. A rotisserie chicken works perfectly too. Sometimes buying one of those chickens is worth it simply because half the work has already been done.

I’ve never understood the idea that using something convenient somehow makes dinner less homemade. I’m still standing in my kitchen making soup. I just didn’t personally raise, pluck, and roast the chicken. We’re fine.

You’ll need about three cups of cooked shredded or chopped chicken. White meat, dark meat, or a mixture of both works. I actually like a mixture because the dark meat adds a little more flavor.

If you don’t have cooked chicken, you can certainly make some specifically for the soup. A couple of chicken breasts or thighs simmered until tender will work just fine.

Wild Rice Takes Its Sweet Time

Wild rice is wonderful in soup, but it isn’t in a hurry. That’s something you need to know before you start. Depending on the type you’re using, it can take 40 minutes or longer to become tender. I prefer using a wild rice blend because I like the different textures, and it’s generally easy to find at the grocery store.

Check your package. Some blends cook faster than others, and there’s no reason to stand there waiting for 45 minutes if the particular rice you bought only needs 25.

I also recommend rinsing the rice before adding it. It takes about thirty seconds and helps remove some of the excess starch.

One thing I would not use here is one of those seasoned wild rice mixes that comes with a flavor packet unless that’s all you have. The seasoning can be very salty, and we’re already adding plenty of flavor ourselves.

Plain wild rice or a plain wild rice blend gives you much more control.

Start With the Vegetables

Carrots, celery, and onion are doing a lot of the work in this soup. I like cutting everything fairly small so you get a little bit of everything in each spoonful. Nobody wants one enormous chunk of carrot taking over the bowl.

The vegetables cook in butter until they begin to soften, then the garlic goes in.

You don’t want to add the garlic too early because burnt garlic tastes terrible. Give the onion, carrots, and celery several minutes first, then add the garlic for about thirty seconds.

You’ll smell it immediately. That’s also about the time somebody in the house will wander into the kitchen and ask what you’re cooking. Garlic and onions in butter are basically a dinner announcement.

Making It Creamy Without Making It Too Heavy

I like creamy soup, but I don’t want it so thick that my spoon stands up in the bowl.

For this one, I use chicken broth for most of the liquid and add heavy cream near the end. You still get that rich, creamy texture without turning the whole thing into gravy.

A little flour helps thicken the broth.

The important thing is to cook the flour for a minute or two before adding your liquid. If you dump flour into the soup at the end, you’re going to spend the next ten minutes chasing little white lumps around the pot.

Nobody needs that aggravation.

Cooking the flour with the vegetables and butter first gets rid of the raw flour taste and gives you a much smoother soup.

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Serves: 6 to 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: About 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend, rinsed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until everything is coated. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Slowly pour in the chicken broth while stirring so the flour blends smoothly into the liquid.

Add the rinsed wild rice, thyme, parsley, rosemary, garlic powder, black pepper, and bay leaf. Stir everything together and bring the soup to a gentle boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer according to the cooking time on your rice package, usually about 35 to 45 minutes. Stir occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom.

Once the rice is tender, remove the bay leaf.

Add the cooked chicken and heavy cream. Stir well and let the soup cook uncovered over low heat for another 5 to 10 minutes, just until the chicken is heated through and the soup is creamy.

Don’t let it come to a hard boil after adding the cream.

Taste before adding salt. Chicken broth can vary quite a bit in saltiness, so I always wait until the end.

If the soup becomes thicker than you like, add another splash of chicken broth. Wild rice continues absorbing liquid as it sits, so you may need to add a little more when reheating leftovers too.

Sprinkle fresh parsley over the top before serving if you’d like.

And Now We Need Garlic Bread

You could pick up a loaf of garlic bread from the freezer section.

I have.

I will again.

There is absolutely no garlic bread judgment happening here.

When I have a loaf of French or Italian bread, though, making it myself takes only a few extra minutes. I also get to decide how much garlic and butter goes on it, which means the answer is plenty.

Easy Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French or Italian bread
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise and place both halves cut-side up on a baking sheet.

Mix the softened butter, minced garlic, parsley, garlic powder, and salt together in a small bowl.

Spread the garlic butter generously over the cut sides of the bread.

If you’re using Parmesan, sprinkle it over the top.

Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the butter has melted into the bread and the edges are beginning to brown.

For a crispier top, switch the oven to broil for the last minute or two. Watch it closely. Bread has an amazing ability to look completely fine one second and turn black the next.

Slice and serve it warm alongside the soup.

Save Some for Tomorrow

This is one of those soups I look forward to eating again the next day.

The rice will continue soaking up broth while it sits in the refrigerator, so don’t be surprised if you open the container tomorrow and discover your soup has gotten considerably thicker.

Nothing went wrong.

Add a little chicken broth or milk while you’re reheating it and stir until it’s back to the consistency you like.

I actually think the flavor is even better after everything has been sitting together overnight.

The garlic bread probably won’t make it that long.

At least it doesn’t around here.

And if September decides to give us a ninety-degree afternoon on the same day I make this, I’ll turn the air conditioner down a little and eat my soup anyway.

Once I’ve decided it’s soup season, there’s really no going back.