Name: Chicken Soup with Wild Rice
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 230 min
Total time: 255 min
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (giblets and insides removed (or chicken thighs)); 3 large carrots (peeled and halved); 4 stalks celery (halved); 1 medium onion (quartered); water (to cover the chicken); 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 8 cups chicken broth; 3 cubes chicken bouillon; 1 cup wild rice (or Royal Blend Rice - uncooked); 3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 1/2 cups celery (sliced); 1 1/2 cups carrots (peeled and sliced); 1 cup button mushrooms (sliced); 1 cup yellow onion (chopped); 2 tablespoons garlic (minced); 2 cups cooked chicken (shredded); 2 teaspoons dried parsley; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Serve Chicken Soup with Wild Rice when you’re craving a hot bowl of rich, brothy soup. Slow-cooked on the stove in a homemade broth that is so delicious, it is sure to heal whatever is aching you.

(Post modified on 10/26/23.)

This recipe will help you understand why grandma served chicken soup for colds or a fever. Perfect comfort food.

I love the addition of wild rice to not only give it a little extra color, but also a nutty taste and toothy bite.

Royal Blend Rice Blend

Wild rice by itself can be difficult to find in our area, but I try to always have a container of Royal Blend Rice in my pantry, which I will often use in this recipe. It always has brown rice, along with variations of red rice, barley, couscous, flaxseed, lentils, and wild rice. It’s a nice option for this soup.

Please note that this recipe has two parts. Cooking the chicken and then preparing the soup. Total cooking time will be between 3 1/2 – 4 hours. But the wait is totally worth it!

A faster way to make this soup is to buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and use it. You will want 2 cups of shredded chicken to do this. Then you may skip the first part of this recipe and continue at Part 2.

More Chicken Comfort Foods to Enjoy

Ingredients for Chicken Soup with Wild Rice

(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)

whole chicken with giblets removed (or 5-6 bone-in chicken thighs)
large carrots
celery
medium onion
water
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

For the Soup

homemade chicken broth
chicken bouillon cubes
wild rice (Or Royal Blend Rice) uncooked
extra virgin olive oil
butter
celery
carrots
button mushrooms
onion
garlic
cooked chicken
parsley
oregano
rubbed sage
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions for Making This Recipe

Part 1 – Cook the Chicken and Homemade Broth

To begin, gather the first seven ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Using a vegetable peeler and knife, peel and slice the carrots. Slice the celery, and peel and quarter the onion.

For this part of the recipe, the vegetables can be big and chunky, so you don’t need to worry about precision.

Remove inner packet from chicken and place entire chicken in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Cover the chicken with water.

If desired, you may use 5-6 bone-in chicken thighs in place of the entire chicken. When raising our daughters, I always had a whole chicken in our freezer. But now that we are empty-nesters, I usually buy chicken thighs instead. As long as you use chicken that still has the skin and bones, this will work well. I do not recommend only using chicken breasts, however, as this meat tends to dry out too quickly.

Add in prepared carrots, celery, and onion. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 2-3 hours until chicken meat falls off the bone. Skim off foam as needed.

Part 2 – Make the Soup

To prepare the soup, remove chicken from the Dutch oven and place it on a large plate or tray to cool. Strain the broth, removing vegetables and any floating particles.

When the chicken has cooled some, pick meat off of the bones and slice into 1/2″ chunks. Measure out 2 cups of chicken and set aside.

You may refrigerate or freeze the remaining chicken for later use.

Some may opt to slice the cooked vegetables and use in the soup. For me, the vegetables were too soft and mushy, so I like to use fresh for the second part of this recipe.

Gather the remaining ingredients so that you have them close at hand. Prepare the vegetables for the soup. Slice the celery. Peel and slice the carrots. Slice the button mushrooms. Chop the onion and mince the garlic.

If necessary, add enough water to the broth to make 8 cups. Bring to a boil. Stir in wild rice and chicken bouillon cubes and allow to simmer covered for 25 minutes until rice is tender.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter. Sauté the sliced celery, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and garlic until tender, 2-3 minutes.

Add the sauted vegetables to the broth mixture along with the diced chicken. Season with dried parsley, oregano, and rubbed sage, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve this soup piping hot with saltine crackers or a hard crusty bread such as my Tangy Sourdough Bread. This recipe will serve 4-6 people.

See more Soup Recipes Here. Browse Chicken Recipes Here. View Rice Recipes Here.