Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a steamy, decadent bowl of comfort that will fill you up and warm you from the inside out! Now that it’s cold out and everything is covered in snow, all I want to do is stay in, snuggle up in a fluffy blanket, read a good book and eat this soup. My mom has been making this recipe for a long time (she adapted it from another blog) and it reminds me of my favorite soup from Panera (of the same name). I’ve had a lot of readers say it reminds them of that soup too! I’ve tried a few other similar recipes but none have held a candle to this one. This is definitely one of my favorite soups and a recipe I look forward to making again and again when the weather gets cooler.
This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup freezes well, so it’s perfect to make a big batch and then freeze individual servings. Then a hot, comforting, satisfying bowl of soup is only a microwave or stovetop warming away! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
On a soup kick? Check out my Black Bean Soup, Creamy Chicken Stew, Sausage and Tortellini Tomato Soup, Buffalo Chicken Soup, Beef Taco Soup, Zuppa Toscana, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup, Cheeseburger Soup, Spaghetti & Meatball Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, White Chicken Chili, and more in the Soup section of my recipe index!
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups (32 oz) low sodium fat free chicken broth
- 1 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 (6 oz) box of Long Grain & Wild Rice with seasoning, (I used Uncle Ben’s - not the quick cooking kind), do not prepare
- 1 cup sliced or diced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) light butter , (I used Land O'Lakes)
- 2 cups fat free half and half
Instructions
- Bring the water and chicken broth to a boil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the chicken, rice (with seasoning packet), carrots and celery and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and easy to shred. Remove the cooked chicken breasts to a plate and shred with two forks. Replace the lid and continue to simmer the rest.
- Mix together the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl until combined. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in flour a spoonful at a time to make a roux. Pour the half and half in a little at a time, stirring continuously with a whisk to allow the roux to combine with the cream. Continue whisking and adding half and half until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add the shredded chicken and the cream mixture back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer and simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow soup to thicken and flavors to combine.
Notes
6 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Source: my Mom, adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking
Great recipe!
This looks delicious. May need to try it in the crockpot 🙂
This sounds fantastic! I will make it soon!! Thank you…
I don’t eat dairy. Do you think this would work with unsweetened almond milk?
I’ve never used almond milk (or even tasted it) so I really can’t say. If you try it that way let me know!
i used unsweetened coconut milk half & half because that it was i had and it worked just fine. as a matter of fact the super was so good my husband who does not eat rice tried some and went back for more.
This was absolutely fabulous! I used full fat half and half and just plain long grain rice because my store didn’t have wild rice and it was still fantastic. I doubled it as well to make a huge batch. So incredibly good! Perfect for cold football weather. This will definitely be one of my new go-to recipes for comfort food!
So happy you loved it! 🙂
Just made this. It is absolutely delicious!!! It’s so rich and creamy, you’d never know it was WW friendly!
Yay! Glad it was a hit 🙂
I made this last night and it was even better than I anticipated! Also, very easy. Believe me, I’ll be making this again and again!! (And I can’t wait for leftovers tonight!)
Mm, I love leftovers – I was sad when mine were gone! Thanks for letting me know you loved it!
Next time I’m probably going to just make a triple batch and freeze them because I love it so much!
I made a double batch of this for lunch at work and it was a huge hit! Making it again tonight and can’t wait to dig in to it! 🙂
So glad to hear it! 🙂
I just made this for my family and it was a huge hit!!! This is absolutely delicious!!!!
Yay, a hit with the whole fam! <3
My husband and I frequent your site and make a lot of your recipes (we love them all), but this is by far one of our favorite! It was so hearty and creamy (and delicious!) that my husband kept asking me if I was sure it was a WW recipe. We will be making this again!
Haha, that’s a great compliment – thanks for letting me know you both loved it so much!
Made this tonight. Really really good! Husband really liked as well. Can’t wait for leftovers!!!
Glad you both liked it!
Do the seasoning packets come with the Uncle Ben’s rice???
yup!
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I think ill add mushrooms and some onions next time, but this was excellent!
I just made a double batch of this and I have the slow cooker meatballs in the crock pot. I also made your lemon blueberry muffins and bubble up enchilada casserole today. We are trying to get better at meal planning and freezing things for our budget! We always love your recipes. We did weight watchers before and used them then fell off the band wagon when we had a baby but now we are back and using myfitness pal and your recipes again!!
I couldn’t find a small container of fat free half-and-half so I used skim milk and it was great. I also added baby portabella mushrooms and a package of frozen chopped broccoli for more veggies.
This was AMAZING. Although I left it warm on the stove for a while and it kind of turned into risotto. Oops.. I just added a bit of milk and it came right back to life 🙂 They don’t sell fat free half and half where I live so I tried it with 2% milk. I think next time I’ll try it with skim to cut out some fat 🙂 Another incredible recipe that I will use for years to come!
This was awesome. Did not taste “diety” at all, I felt guilty the whole time I was eating it, thinking there was no way it was low calorie. My husband who balks at the idea of diet food, went back for seconds.
I don’t know what I did wrong, but I did not get a roux like the one I saw online. I got a big lump. I threw it out and started over with half the fat and flour. Still didn’t come out smooth or creamy. The half and half made it creamy. So my question is, are you really supposed to get the standard roux? Or is it really the half and half that makes it creamy like a roux is normally supposed to be and next time I should just add yhe liquid to my flour lump? (I added the flour too quickly the first time, but even when I slowed it down for the second try it still seemed like twice as much flour as it could have incorporated to look like a standard roux)
I followed your recipe and instructions to a T and it was soooo delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe !!
Fabulous soup! My husband declared it the best soup I’ve ever made (not that I’ve made that many soups). Leftovers are as good as the first run and my husband even added a squeeze of lemon to his the second time around.
I really would like a response to my question. I googled videos of how to make a roux and it looks smooth and creamy with just butter and flour. One chef said it should smell nutty as the flour cooks. Mine came out crumbly and not anywhere near smooth until I added all of the half-and-half in to the butter and flour. Should it have been smooth and creamy before the half-and-half? Or was that liquid intended to make it smooth and creamy?
Hi Nicole, It’s hard for me to tell if you’re doing things right without being there but the flour and butter should make sort of a paste and when the half and half is added slowly while stirring, it’ll smooth out from your stirring and dissolve into the half and half making it thicker. I’m sorry it didn’t follow your expectations from the videos you watched online, but I promise it’ll turn out delicious!
It tasted good, it just wasn’t what I expected. It was sort of like too-dry paste that just balled up in my whisk. Next time you make it, do you think you could snap a pic of that step?
Emily I’ve been making your recipes for a while but I had to comment on this soup – it was outstanding! It reminds me so much of Panera’s soup. Even my picky dad and brother liked it! Thanks again for all of your recipes! 🙂
Outstanding! It was a hit with my whole family. Thanks so much for a great recipe!!!
Do you know if and how this can be adapted to a slow cooker?
It’s actually adapted from a slow cooker recipe, so definitely! If you follow the link at the bottom of the recipe to 365 Days of Slow Cooking you’ll have just what you need! 🙂
My entire family loved this soup. I am so happy to have found your site as it is making it easier to stay on track with W.W.
I just made this soup…oh my goodness! It was sooo delicious!! Thanks for posting it!!
It wa good but a little bland for us. Some Bells Seasonings fixed that. Will make again particularly when the weather gets cold and damp.
I made this tonight. It was delicious. It really did taste like Panera. This will definitely be a regular in my house. BTW made it with whole milk instead of half and half. Still great. Thick and creamy.
So happy you loved it, Deborah!
This turned out so awesome!! I left out the celery because I HATE celery, and added some garlic & onion powder to kick up the flavor a little bit. But I seriously couldn’t believe how absolutely delicious and filling this soup was! Can’t wait to eat some of the leftovers for lunch tomorrow 🙂
I love love LOVE this recipe! It’s a family favorite and I make it in batches to freeze for my sister, my mom, and my own family..thank you for updating with smart points! I was scared I wouldn’t be able to have this anymore since I don’t have recipe builder! You’re the best!
Thanks Sarah <3. I'm so happy you love this one!
Hand down my favorite soup!!! It was easy, delicious, and WW friendly! I was so excited to have so much leftover for lunches! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m glad you love it!
This was soooooooo good!! Its so cold outside, this is what I needed. I am on Weight Watchers, low in points, easy to make and so yummy! I froze one cup servings so I can have it on hand!! Thanks! Do you think if I used half the butter in would turn out?
When were the Smartpoints calculated? I just used the recipe builder and this is coming to 8 smartpoints not 6.
Does this recipe need to be modified at all for freezing? I’ve heard cream can separate after freezing? I love this soup recipe and am planning to make it for a freezer meal party.
Nope, this soup freezes great as is! Just a note, the leftovers can get thick as the ingredients soak up the liquid, so when you reheat it if you find this has happened just stir in a little more chicken broth and it’ll be perfect 🙂
What do you mean when you say seasoning packet? Is the rice supposed to be flavored?
Yes, the rice comes with a seasoning packet!
Thank you – this was incredibly delicious! In fact, it was so yummy that my 13 yr old son asked me to skip the flour/cream step. Said it was no point adding more calories when it was already so very good.
Side note – I popped the leftovers in the fridge overnight and the rice kept on expanding and soaking up more of the broth – became a thick porridge/stew the next day. Still yummy 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe. Everyone in my family always asks me to make it. The only change I made was I only do around 1 cup of the half and half. I love to eat soup all year around so I normally double this recipe when I make it and store it in the freezer. It is just as tasty thawed and heated up!
This is sooooo delicious! I’ve never been disappointed in one of her recipes and this is definitely at the top of my list for one of my favorite soups ever!
This isn’t a favorite at our house! I actually cut the butter, flour and ff half & half mixture in half and it is the perfect consistency.
Correction: This IS a favorite at our house!!
Haha, I like that better! 😉
I made this exactly according to the recipe and it is DELICIOUS!!! Another home run! My mom and I ate it for lunch every day for a week and I was sad when it was gone! It freezes and reheats well, too.
I LOVED this soup! Thank you so much ~ I will be making it again!!
Soooo yummy!!!
Delicious! It tastes just like he Panera soup but has much less points.Every recipe that you have created is perfectly delicious! Thanks for helping so much with my weight watcher journey!
Made as directed. This soup is perfection! Perfect ratio of chicken, vegetables, seasonings, etc! Very flavorful and filling! Perfect on a cold winters night! Will make again!
Just an FYI, I punched this in the WW recipe builder and on Freestyle it appears to be 4sp for a cup rather than the 6 you have posted.
Absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
This is delicious! Will definitely make again and extra to freeze for lunches 🙂
This is fantastic but I have a quick question. When I put the recipe in the WW recipe builder it is only coming out to 4 points for a one cup serving. Did I do something wrong?
This is amazingly yummy and so easy!!!!
This is now a favorite of mine to eat and make!!
Thank you, Emily!!
My husband and I love this soup!! BUT, when I make it it always comes out super-thick. I just add more chicken broth but I wondering if I’m doing something wrong???
I may follow some suggestions I just read and add mushrooms next time I make it!
This was delicious! Very easy and lots of leftovers!
Are you supposed to pour the entire half and half or just enough to make creamy?
The amount to use is listed in the recipe ingredients!
Wow! This came together so fast, everyone loved it
I make recipes from the internet frequently… I have NEVER come back to leave a comment… but this soup was THAT good! I love the recipe! And I made it gluten free for hubby by subbing GF Flour 1:1 for what the recipe calls for. It came out phenomenal!!! Thank you!
I have only recently discovered your recipes and YUM!!! I just threw this together while working from home, taking care of an 18 month old, and preparing for my first Airbnb guest so yeah, it’s very easy! It’s for my husband’s birthday tonight and I could not stop licking the spoon (and it’s 10am here). Love, love, love!
I have had this recipe saved for months… I decided today I would be cooking it for dinner. I read the reviews and got even more hyped about it. Let me just say it is the best soup I have had in a very long time!! Amazing recipe!! Can’t wait for leftovers!!
Well, Emily, you’ve created another great dish! I just now poured this in my bowl and had to tell you THANK YOU for this recipe while I’m eating it. It made the prettiest and creamiest roux I’ve ever made. My husband even said, “hmm that tastes pretty good”. (read that husband approved!! LOL)
OHMYGOD I am so in love with this soup. Just made it for the first time and it is so perfect for hitting the spot when you want something that feels indulgent and comforting, but is still healthy. My boyfriend does not get particularly enthusiastic about soup, but when I served this up for lunch today he said “you should make this ALL the time” and then he went back for seconds. It will definitely be a regular repeat for us.
I wanted to use my instant pot for this, so I did things a little differently. I used all the same ingredients and measurements listed in this recipe, but then followed the instructions listed on the 365 Days of CrockPot link at the bottom of the recipe. I cooked it on high pressure for 15 mins, instant release, shredded the chicken, added the gently warmed half&half, stirred it all up and let it sit with the lid on 15 mins before serving. It was perfect. The seasonings included with the Uncle Ben’s rice really gives this soup great flavor! Thank you for this recipe!
I made some serious substitution to get this lower for me on purple…brown rice….and even with messing with this recipe, it is still awesome!!! I found a copy cat version of the seasoning mix and then used brown rice instead of the white rice in the Uncle Ben’s. Thanks for the recipe even if I did do this and additional things to lower the points. Emily, you are the BEST!!!
This is amazing. The perfect comfort food on a rainy, cool day. The roux was easy and thickens the soup beautifully. I didn’t have any half and half on hand so I just used whole milk and I can’t even tell. Love this recipe-thanks Emily!
This was surprisingly so good. I hate light butter with a passion (almost as passionately as I love real butter!), but even with the high amount of it in this recipe, the flavors just worked. I did add finely diced onion and some garlic and sauteed all the veggies for just a bit before adding in the stock, etc. Perfect for fall–this will be in regular lunch prep rotation from now on. Thanks for the inspiration!
This is one of my favorite recipes that I keep going back to again and again! It’s a great recipe to use extra shredded chicken that I cook in the crockpot.
I have made this soup so many times now. I love making it for family gatherings because it’s easy to double the recipe and everyone loves it. I haven’t gotten a chance to freeze it yet because it’s always finished. We love all your soup recipes!
This is delicious! Wanted to share my substitute because two stores in my area didn’t have fat free half and half. I used Chobani Oat Plain Extra Creamy Milk. It worked just fine and was the same WW points (actually one point less total!). Thanks Emily!
I love this soup! Creamy, easy, delicious!
The soup is so amazing! Second time I’ve made it this winter and I’ve made it before also. I always add mushrooms and usually use chicken thighs (used tenderloins today because it was what I could find) because I prefer them but it’s so good and so easy!!
I make a lighter version by cutting the butter and flour in half and using skim milk. It’s still thick and delicious! This is a recipe I make over and over again… my family loves it!
I only have fast cooking uncle bens wild rice on hand, how would using that effect the recipe? I’ve made this so many times otherwise and it is amazing. Thanks Emily.
This soup is delicious! I used regular butter and regular half and half (mainly because I couldn’t find fat free half and half). I will be making it again soon!
Excellent! Very comforting on a cold snowy day. Also filling.
Just made for lunch today and we both LOVED the soup. I used land o lake light butter with canola oil spread and a little less than 1/2 cup of flour. The roux was plenty thick enough. Yes!! I will make it again!!!! Tyvvm!!
This soup is OUTSTANDING! I made it for the first time last week. My daughter has already asked me to prepare it for dinner again! Definitely in the monthly rotation.
This is amazing made with leftover turkey as well. I make my own “Uncle Bens” with a copycat recipe using 6 oz of bulk wild rice mix. I used a pound of cooked turkey breast, leftover from Thanksgiving dinner. The family loves it!
I love all of Emily’s recipes but this one was fantastic!!!!! Better than panera!
Ive made this recipe many times
Its delicious!
I do not like celery in my food so I replace celery with sliced white mushrooms
This is such good soup! We make it frequently. I add mushrooms to mine and a little extra seasoning.
This is really good, even my ‘not so crazy about soup’ husband liked it. I’ve enjoyed all of your recipes that I’ve tried. I’ll be making this one again!
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a delightful dish that blends tender chunks of chicken, hearty wild rice, and a rich, velvety broth. Often found in cozy restaurants, this soup offers a comforting experience, especially on chilly days. The possibility of enjoying a bowl at your favorite eatery adds to the anticipation of a warm meal that nourishes both body and soul. With its inviting flavors and creamy texture, it’s a dish that might just become a regular choice on your dining adventures.
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is one of my favorite comfort foods! The combination of tender chicken, hearty wild rice, and rich, creamy broth creates a satisfying meal. I love adding fresh herbs for an extra burst of flavor. It’s perfect for cozy evenings and is always a crowd-pleaser.
I make this soup for my elderly parents at least twice a month through the cooler months and winter. I’ve perfected making it low sodium for them as well. So delicious!