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Probably one of my favorite slow cooker recipes. So much flavor! And the leftovers are just as good. 🙂
Lindlee
Chicken Wild Rice Is My Favorite Soup.
We LOVE this recipe in our house. Living in Minnesota, chicken wild rice soup is easily one of the most nostalgic, cozy, family-friendly recipes I make!
This version is so easy to prep and the end result is savory, thick, creamy, comforting, and so nostalgic.
My mom has made wild rice soup for Christmas Eve dinner for as long as I can remember. I adore her recipe – but it’s a bit more involved, with lots of pans and lots of hands-on time. So almost ten years ago, I came up with this method that is easy enough for a weeknight (YAY):
- Cook the wild rice, chicken, and veggies in a slow cooker.
- Just before serving, make a stovetop bechamel (like a creamy base for the soup).
- Stir them together. 🙂
I add the bechamel into the soup for the creamy thickness, but I like to ALSO add a bit of cream for the buttery flavor that wild rice soup is known for. OOOH BABY.
Dunked with warm crusty bread? GOOD BYE. It is a truly a dream on a cold winter night. I do love a good Panera moment, but Panera wild rice soup doesn’t stand a chance.
This soup is such a favorite in our house – probably a top 10 family fave for us, out of thousands of recipes on the site. I hope you love it too!
How To Make Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Step-By-Step!)
1
Cook The Wild Rice and Chicken in The Crockpot.
Wild rice, veggies, chicken, broth, bouillon, and some spices. Good house smells coming through!
2
Cut The Chicken.
If you’re able to pull the chicken out early, that’s ideal – it will prevent it from drying out and shredding too much. Just remove the chicken and chop it up on a cutting board. But if not – it’s no biggie, I’ve done it many times without and you can just shred right in the slow cooker when you get home from work!
3
Make The Creamy Base.
Make your bechamel in a saucepan. It should be thick and creamy.
4
Add Bechamel to Crockpot.
Pour it in and stir it up. This will help it thicken up and take on a creamy finish.
5
Finish and Serve.
Add a bit of cream for that buttery rich taste, season with salt and pepper, and serve!
What To Look For When Buying Wild Rice
You want your wild rice to look like this:
Look for pure wild rice with a consistent black color.
Avoid wild rice that is mixed with other rice types. If you use a wild rice blend (as several people have noted in the comments), the rice will cook too fast. Pure, long grain, black wild rice cooks long and slow, which is why it’s perfect in this recipe. 🙂
I can almost always find wild rice at Cub Foods, Kowalskis, Trader Joe’s, and recently I even saw it at Costco. You can also buy it on Amazon!
Ingredients You’Ll Need
For such a deep, rich, savory flavor, this soup has a pretty short ingredient list. It’s just that each member of the team here is really doing their part, bringing their own special something to this beautiful soup. Here’s what you’ll need!
- wild rice
- chicken breasts (pulled rotisserie chicken is also delicious – just add it at the end of cooking)
- mirepoix (chopped celery, carrots, and onions)
- chicken broth
- poultry seasoning
- garlic and onion powder
- Better Than Bouillon chicken base (helps the flavor so much)
- butter
- all-purpose flour
- whole milk
- heavy cream for a great mouthfeel and buttery taste *chef’s kiss*
Also get your favorite crusty bread ready to tear because you are definitely going to want to be swooping, scooping, and dipping through this soup over and over again.
What To Serve with This Soup
No soup experience is complete without some big hunks of warm crusty bread like maybe this easy peasy no-knead bread to dip. And sure, spoons are helpful with soup but also…how great is it to just scoop it with bread?!
If you are looking to add a little green to the meal, this Simple Green Salad or these House Favorite Brussels Sprouts are the two I make with this soup most frequently.
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
My family LOVES this Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup. It’s easy, thick and buttery, and so good. Chicken, carrots, celery, onion, wild rice, seasonings, and cream. Pair with a piece of crusty bread on a cold night for the perfect meal!
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker:
- 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed (this must be pure wild rice – do not use a wild rice blend)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups mirepoix (chopped celery, carrots, and onions)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken base
Before Serving:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- your favorite bread for dunking! essential.
Instructions
- Load Up The Crockpot: Place the uncooked wild rice, raw chicken, mirepoix, garlic, chicken broth, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and bouillon in a slow cooker.
- Cook Time: Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. If you’re able to: remove the chicken after 3 hours to prevent overcooking. Cut into bite-sized chunks or shreds; set aside in the fridge. Otherwise, just shred chicken in the crockpot after 6 hours. It will still turn out great. When it’s done, the wild rice grains should be opened up, and there should be a small amount of liquid left (see photo above).
- (30 min before serving) Warm Up The Milk: Warm the milk in the microwave for 60-90 seconds – this makes the bechamel in the next step smoother.
- Make the Bechamel: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and let the mixture cook out for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of milk, whisk, and let it thicken slightly. Repeat until all the milk is gone and you’re left with a creamy thickened base. Season with salt.
- Bring it Together: Add the bechamel, chicken, and heavy cream to the slow cooker. Stir to distribute.
- Finishing Touches: Add extra broth or milk to adjust the consistency as you like it. Season with additional salt and pepper, or a dash of sherry for something more grown-up and fancy (my family actually prefers this without the sherry, though). Serve it with bread. We love this recipe and make it all the time. So cozy and so good!
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → Notes
You can use 2-3 cups rotisserie chicken meat instead of chicken breasts – just cube or shred it, and add it into the crockpot in Step 5.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: crockpot wild rice soup, chicken wild rice soup, wild rice soup
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
The poultry seasoning is a mix of several things, including thyme and sage. Even though it’s only about a teaspoon, do not omit this because it adds a lot of the flavor. If you don’t have any, go with a combination of dried thyme and sage (3/4 teaspoon each).
Absolutely! Check out our mushroom version of this recipe here.
Add your wild rice, chicken, seasonings, veggies, and broth to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 30-40 minutes with a quick release once the soup finishes cooking. Shred the chicken in the Instant Pot. Make your roux on the stovetop with butter, milk, and flour. Whisk it up and add it to your Instant Pot with the rest of the soup. Stir to combine and enjoy!
Yep! Instead of cooking the first step in the slow cooker, just simmer it on the stove instead for about one hour, until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Then follow the rest of the steps as-is!
More Cozy Crockpot Soups
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our all-star slow cooker recipes page. Check it out!
Do you have any suggestions about how best to make this dairy free? Or would this soup not work well for that? Thanks!
This is one of our favorite soups! Everyone in the family likes it. I double the recipe & freeze 3 individual quart containers for emergency meals. Not all soups freeze well but this one does!
This soup is glorious! So much flavor and a rich, warm texture. I followed the instant pot instructions and it was perfect! Immediately texted the recipe to my mom and sisters.
I probably make this recipe a 2-3 times/month all year long… it is definitely a family favorite and we love the MN wild Rice! Thank you!!
Delicious! I omitted the heavy cream and used 2% milk in the bechamel, and it was perfectly indulgent and creamy for me!
I can also confirm that completely frozen chicken breasts cook in about 4 hours, and the rest of the soup came together just right after 6. 😉
Wild rice soup is a Christmas staple for our house, too. I love the tweaks you made to this version!
I love this soup! I make it all the time in the instant pot (I don’t add the chicken. It is wonderful without it!) Last night I made it with farro instead of wild rice because I couldn’t find any at Kroger and didn’t want to wait for Amazon. It was fantastic with farro! Highly recommend this swap if you also have a hard time finding wild rice.
Oh, good to know the farro worked well!
Is there a way to reduce the heavy cream? Trying to lighten this up a little for health reasons.
Yes, you can actually just omit the cream! 🙂 The cream is primarily for the flavor and a rich finish. (You may want to just add a bit more liquid to make up for the difference in consistency.)
Hi, this sounds delicious and I love a crockpot soup. Can you point out a wild rice that you can find in a grocery store? I can’t find it on any of my stores websites, only the blend. Thanks so much
Yes! This is a great question – I actually just added a section in the post with some pictures for what to look for and info on where to buy! I live in Minnesota and I can find wild rice at Cub Foods, Kowalskis, Trader Joe’s, and Costco. (You can also buy on Amazon – I added a link in the post!)
Easy steps to follow, tastes delicious, and your house will smell great all day long!
Thanks Jaime! 🙂 🙂
This has been by go to recipe for a few years. The changes you’ve made are amazing! My husband noticed and said how much better it tasted!
Yay I’m so glad to hear that!
This one is a regular in our house! We make it on nights when we know we’ll be busy and use Trader Joe’s shredded rotisserie chicken breast and a package of mirepoix. I’ve forgotten to add cream a couple times and it turned out just as delicious. Our preference is for it to be brothy so we also add 2 cups of water. So good!
I do the same thing with the Trader Joe’s mirepoix! 🙂 It is such a time saver!
What’s the best way to make this gluten free?
You can use a gluten-free cup for cup flour blend!
This is one of my favorite soups and I’m so glad to find a real recipe and not something that calls for canned soup. I hope you’ll post the long version your Mom makes also!
I have a question, I’m considering this recipe because it sounds delicious, but I want to substitute the wild rice with white rice. I know the cook times are different, so could I just cook the white rice separately and then fold it in last (at the same time I add the chicken)?
Hi! you could do this; we would add the cooked white rice with only about an 1 hour left to cooking, otherwise it will get too mushy.
did you change this recipe recently? I dont remember the bullion in the original.
We did, after extensive retesting after reader feedback!
This has been my go-to for a long long time but now I can’t find the one with white wine (your original recipe). The last time you had a link in the FAQ or comments. Can you please repost??? This one didn’t land as well as that one. 🙁
Hi Lisa! If you shoot us an email (hello@pinchofyum.com) we can get you the version you’re looking for. 🙂
I made this and it was delicious! I added my chicken at the last 2 hours instead of at the beginning. I’m not huge on soup, I mainly make it for my mom but this was a game changer. 10/10
So glad you liked it Sarah!
I goofed up and bought a wild rice blend. Planning to cook this on the stovetop – thinking I’ll sweat the veggies and cook the chicken in the broth and add the rice once I’ve taken the chicken out. Any suggestions re: if I should change the amount of rice and/or a cook time once I’ve added it in? I’d appreciate any suggestions you have. Thanks!! XO
We haven’t tested this with a blend, but it may be slightly less cook time.
This was delicious! I added 16 oz of sliced mushrooms (had to add additional stock/water) and skipped the bechamel and heavy cream to simplify/lighten. I just did a healthy drizzle of half and half, stirred it up, and let it cook a little longer on low. The starches of the rice release as it cooks, so it was plenty thick without the bechamel/a slurry etc. Just wanted to share in case anyone wanted to lighten this up/make it a one pot meal!
Love this! I do the same sometimes especially if I’m short on time! 🙂
This is delicious. I did read reviewers say theirs turned to mush and per the advice of POY and other comments, only added the rice when I took the chicken out. I ended up having a wild rice blend, so the grains that are closer to long grain did end up kinda mushy but everything else is so tasty it doesn’t matter. If i can dig up true wild rice I’ll try again with it, this is definitely a keeper.
I made this for the first time tonight.
It tastes AMAZING‼️
I highly recommend others try it!
Thank you for being so kind to share your recipes. 🙃
This is one of my family’s cold weather favorites! Quick question – has it been updated from a previous version? I didn’t recall the better than bouillon and heavy cream but maybe I’m just getting old! Ha!
Yes, this was recipe was updated December 2025!
I grew up in Minnesota, and this soup reminds me of home!
Easy, delicious and so comforting! Loved the flavors the poultry seasonin and bouillon added. Will definitely make again.