Best Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
This homemade soup with delicious broth, wild rice, tender chicken, and delicious vegetables is one of our family's favorite soup combinations. This non-dairy comfort food in a bowl is complex in flavor and tastes as delicious or better when you make it ahead. Enjoy!
Servings: 8
By: Heather Bursch
Equipment
- 1 8-quart stockpot This All-Clad piece can be a stockpot and a roaster. It heats evenly and can withstand high heat.
- 1 12-Quart Stockpot I have both stockpots with very different price points. Both are good for stock and soup making. This one can burn more easily, so watch the onions sautéing, but it's great for long simmers, and I wouldn't trade it for the usefulness of having a large pot in my kitchen.
Ingredients
Roasting Chicken Ingredients
- 8 cups of chicken stock, or 1 recipe of Instant Pot Chicken Broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for roasting chickens
- 2 bone-in skin-on split chicken breast or 2-3 cups of cooked chicken
Soup Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or more as needed for sautéing onions, carrots, and celery
- 1 small-medium yellow onion, small diced
- 4 medium carrots peeled, halved lengthwise, and chopped into half moons
- 2 medium-large stalks of celery washed, halved lengthwise, and small diced
- 6 oz dry wild rice *See notes below!
- 2 teaspoons of fresh herbs like parsley and thyme
Optional Ingredient
- 1-2 cups kale cut into fine ribbons
Instructions
Roasting Chicken Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan with sides and roll chicken breasts around in the oil using your hands to rub it all over the meat.
- Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and again rub it into the chicken on all sides.
- Roast chicken for 40-45 minutes. Check the temperature of each piece in the thickest part of the meat. If the temp is between 155°-160°, it's ready and will continue to rise in temperature as it rests.
- Let chicken cool to the touch, remove skin and bones and save. Trim anything you need to as you shred or chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. (Save skin and bones or pieces you remove in a freezer bag for your next broth!)
Wild Rice Instructions
- Add 6 oz of dry wild rice to about 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, partially cover, and simmer the rice for about 50 minutes. If using a different rice amount, reduce water as needed, or cook according to packaged directions.
- Drain wild rice and let rest until broth is ready.
Soup Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large stock pan over medium to high heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Stir to coat all vegetables with oil.
- Sauté vegetables uncovered for about 1 minute, then turn heat to medium and cover for 8 minutes. Check halfway through and stir, adding a drizzle of oil if dry or vegetables are getting browned. Cook until lightly softened and onions are translucent.
- Add 8-10 cups of chicken broth to the onion mixture.
- Add 3 cups of wild rice, at least 2 cups of chicken pieces but more if desired, and chopped herbs. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Taste soup and vegetables to see if more time is needed, and adjust seasoning with added salt or pepper. Lastly, add kale ribbons and let simmer for 1-2 minutes util wilted. Cool soup slightly and serve!
- If adding kale, sprinkle in the ribbons and let simmer for 1-2 minutes until wilted. Cool soup slightly and serve!
Notes:
*Red Lake Nation Wild Rice is cultivated on Red Lake Farms in Northern Minnesota. It's distributed by Red Lake Nation Foods, owned by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians of the Red Lake Nations. It is the most delicious wild rice I've ever had and contributes to the earthy goodness of this nourishing soup. I find it locally at Whole Foods and co-ops throughout Minneapolis. You can read about how Chippewa tribal leadership courageously hung onto this portion of the lower and upper Red Lakes. Today, they share their cultural heritage with us as they are the only American Indian tribe that grows and harvests wild rice. ❤️
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