Believe it or not, in the 2.5 year history of this blog, I have never made a basic chicken noodle soup. Well, I almost made it this weekend until I went perusing through my pantry to see what left over ingredients I had that needed to be used. I found a half bag of wild rice mix that I had left over from this holiday rice dressing last year. It’s a really delicious mix of all sorts of wild rices and since I had kept it tightly sealed, I thought it was definitely worth using.
You don’t have to use wild rice for this recipe, although it gives a really nice texture. White or brown will certainly work in a pinch. See the step by step photos for cooking adjustments for white or brown rice.
If you don’t like creamy soups (this one isn’t super creamy), you can skip the milk mixture at the end of the recipe and use chicken broth instead. Then you’ll have yourself a delicious, clear broth chicken and rice soup. You’ve got options!
I also used the carrots and celery that I had left over from this recipe a couple of weeks ago. I just cleaned and sliced the entire bunch then froze half to use later. I was happy not to have to peel and chop today!
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Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.11)
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.56)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 lb. carrots, sliced ($0.39)
- 1/2 bunch celery, sliced ($0.79)
- 1 lb. chicken breast ($1.99)
- 1 whole bay leaf ($0.15)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- to taste cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1-2 tsp to taste salt ($0.05)
- 1 cup wild rice mix ($1.37)
- 6 cups water ($0.00)
- 1/3 bunch fresh parsley ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 cups whole milk ($1.07)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Meanwhile, dice the onion (and mince the garlic if using fresh rather than pre-minced). Add the onion and garlic to the hot oil and saute until tender (5 min).
- If using fresh carrots and celery, clean and slice them while the onions are sauteing. Add them to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes more.
- Add the chicken breast (whole), bay leaf, oregano, thyme, cracked pepper, dry rice, and 6 cups of water to the pot. Do not add salt yet. Bring the pot up to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for one hour.
- Near the end of the hour, begin to make the creamy milk mixture. In a small pot, melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. When it is fully melted, whisk in 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour. Cook and stir the butter and flour mixture for two minutes. Whisk in the milk and allow it to come up to a simmer, whisking occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Once it reaches a simmer, it will have thickened slightly.
- Carefully remove the chicken pieces from the soup and shred or dice with a knife and fork. Rinse and chop the parsley. Add the parsley and the thickened milk mixture to the soup. Season with salt to taste. I used about 2 tsp of salt, but start with a little and add more as needed. I also added a touch more pepper at this point. Serve hot!
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Nutrition
Step By Step Photos
Start by dicing the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the diced onion and minced garlic over medium heat until softened and transparent.
‘Till it looks like this.
Most recipes that I use only require half of the smallest bag or bunch of carrots and celery that you can buy at the store. I never let the other half get limp and moldy in my fridge. I just prep the entire bunch and freeze half so that I’ll have some for next time. I added these to the pot straight out of the freezer and just cooked it for about five minutes or until they were fully thawed.
Once the carrots and celery are thawed (they don’t have to be tender because they’ll boil for quite a while), add the raw chicken and herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme, cracked pepper).
This is the wild rice mix that I had in my pantry. I used one cup. Feel free to use any type of rice. Wild rice has a thicker hull so it can withstand one hour of boiling, but if you’re using a regular rice variety, add it a half hour into the simmer step.
Add the dry wild rice mix and 6 cups of water. Bring the whole pot up to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for one hour.
After an hour, the rice will be cooked and the chicken will be tender.
Carefully remove the chicken pieces from the pot and cut/shred into bite sized pieces.
It will be hot, so use a fork and knife. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
Rinse and chop the parsley. Add it to the pot as well.
At this point you have a really great chicken, rice, and vegetable soup. You can stop here, season with salt, and enjoy it as is. Or, you can go on to the next step and make the creamy milk base.
To begin the cream sauce, melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour. Stir and cook this mixture over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
Whisk in the milk and allow the mixture to come up to a simmer over medium-high heat. Whisk occasionally as it heats to prevent the bottom from scorching. Once it reaches a simmer, it will be slightly thickened.
Pour the thickened milk mixture into the soup. Stir to combine.
Season the soup with salt to your liking. Start with a 1/2 tsp of salt, stir, taste, and add more as needed. I added close to 2 tsp before it reached a point that I liked. I also added a little more pepper. A little cayenne wouldn’t be too bad either!
This is a really hearty soup that is everything you need in one pot! Protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates!
This is one of my new most favorite soups. First time I made it with black rice, and well, the soup (and chicken) turned purple! But was delicious. Second time I made it with brown rice, but didn’t reread the intro, so I cooked the rice the whole hour. It wasn’t very “soupy” – kind of way too thick, so I just added a little more broth and it turned out just fine. Just had some leftovers for lunch and it’s definitely an A+ soup!
It was a little bland for me at first, so then I made it with half water half chicken broth. Much more like a chicken soup! Love it! :)
I made this soup vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using mushroom bouillon cubes and dried mushrooms soaked and chopped. I also made the creamy sauce with vegan becel and soy milk.
Delicious! This will be in our soup rotation! Thanks for posting.
This was an excellent way to stretch out a half pound of leftover chicken I had. I froze the extra carrots, celery, and parsley. I feel so frugal, and so full!
This soup was vary tasty. I did change the rice up a little bit it was “UNCLE BENโSยฎ LONG GRAIN & WILD RICE” I also used the seasoning packet it came with. Turned out wonderful! Looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow.
This is my FAVORITE chicken and wild rice soup recipe! I made it for the third time on Sunday! :)
I have made this receipe using turkey instead. The same instructions except the turkey will have to be cooked for at least one hour. I used white rice instead of the wild thats all I had including the turkey when i read this. The best receipe ever! Thanks for the post. Keep up the good work!
well so far i’ve made 4 of your recipes and i’m thoroughly enjoying your blog! i’m especially happy with this one because i didn’t have to buy anything from the store ; )
absolutely delicious!! Just like everything else that I have tried from your blog. Thank you.
just happened upon your blog and so glad i did! cant wait to try some of your recipes!
I love this recipe- I added a bit of kale to it to make it even more nutritious! What a great soup to tuck away for cold winter nights! Thanks!
Kimberly, I think freezing would work great with this recipe. If the broth gets a little watery on top upon thawing, it can just be stirred back in.
Beth, what do you think about freezing & reheating this soup? Thanks! Love your blog!
just made this soup and its really really good. Especially for a cold day like this.