Healthy Chicken Wild Rice Soup (no cream) - Bowl of Delicious (2024)

Published October 21, 2020. Last updated September 30, 2021 By Elizabeth Lindemann &nbsp&nbsp/&nbsp&nbspThis post may contain affiliate links.

This healthy chicken and wild rice soup has no cream or milk, and only a handful of ingredients made in one pot! It’s easy to make, freezer friendly, and great for meal prep. At only 212 calories per serving it’s a low-calorie, comforting soup to make for cold days.

Is there ever a bad occasionfor chicken soup? It’s great when you’re sick, when you’re healthy, when you’re cold, when you’re a kid, and when you’re an adult.I don’t think there is another meal as soul-satisfying, easy to make, and simple as chicken soup.

This version of chicken soup with wild rice is simple and tasty. It has all the classic tastes of traditional chicken soup with a bit of an earthy, nutty flavor and deliciously chewy texture from the addition of wild rice.

Most chicken wild rice soups have a thick, creamy base, but this version has no cream. It’s healthier and lighter than other recipes, and easily adaptable to be 100% dairy free.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Butter – use olive oil or ghee for a dairy-free option.
• Celery, carrots, onion
• Chicken stock – homemade chicken stock is best, but store-bought or boullion-based is fine.
• Wild rice – or a wild rice blend
• Cooked shredded chicken – leftover roast chicken, poached chicken breasts, or slow cooker chicken works well, or store-bought rotisserie chicken.

How to make chicken wild rice soup

1. Sauté the veggies in butter in a large pot or Dutch oven.
2. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in wild rice along with some salt and pepper and simmer uncovered until rice is fully cooked.
4. Add shredded chicken and continue to heat for few minutes.

Tips and Tricks

• Rinse the wild rice off before adding it to the pot. This is good practice for rice and other grains/seeds like quinoa as it will remove some surface starches and improve the flavor.
• To save time, you can soak the wild rice or use already cooked wild rice. Soak the rice overnight in salted water, drain and rinse, and add to the pot with 2 cups less chicken broth. If using pre-cooked, use 3 cups less chicken broth.

What is wild rice?

Did you know that wild rice is actually a seed, not a grain? And that it contains as much protein as quinoa? And it has a lot of fiber?It’s a great, healthy thing to keep in your pantry, and an awesome gluten-free alternative to noodles in chicken soup. It’s also lower in carbs than other rice.

Wild rice is a dark color. When you buy it, look for a bag with only the really dark wild rice, as pictured above. You can find it at Trader Joe’s or on Amazon.

Some bags of wild rice are actually wild rice mixes, and will include wild rice along with brown rice and other kinds of rice. You can use either kind in this recipe.

Wild rice takes a while to cook– usually around 45 minutes, but it can take an hour or more depending on the age, size, etc. So be sure to allot enough time to cook!

Can I freeze it?

Yes! This soup freezes really well. Since chicken noodle soup doesn’t freeze well (the noodles get mushy), chicken wild rice soup is great to stick in the freezer.

Whenever I make soup, I usually freeze half of it. I just run some warm water over the container I froze it in to dislodge it, then I pop the frozen soup block right into a pot and heat up on the stove. So easy!

Can I make it in my slow cooker / pressure cooker?

Yup!

To make this soup in your slow cooker, just add everything except the chicken to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Then, stir in the cooked chicken and heat. You can omit the butter if you like, or keep it in for added richness.

To make this soup in your instant pot, sauté the veggies in the butter using the “sauté” setting, then add the stock and rice. Cook on high manual pressure for 30 minutes, then manually release the pressure. When the float valve has depressed, open the pot and str in the chicken, and season to taste.

Other recipes with wild rice

• Creamy mushroom, chicken, and wild rice soup
• Wild rice and mushroom casserole
• Wild rice and black bean veggie burgers
• Mushroom and wild rice pilaf
• Wild rice stuffing

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