Make this slow cooker creamy wild rice and chicken (or turkey) soup on any day of the week. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure and totally easy to put together. The best part about it is hearing the slurping at the dinner table and the empty bowls of your family members. Everyone loves this soup!
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| This recipe was originally from November 2009. It has been updated with new photos and instructions. |
Since Thanksgiving is coming up, many of us will be needing a recipe for turkey leftovers. This is definitely a winner and will be perfect for the cold weather. I made the recipe easy by adding the flour and butter at the beginning instead of making a roux on the stove at the end. I was so hoping it would work and it did! The soup gets nice and thick because of the flour…in fact it wasn’t even necessary to add in the cream (but of course I did anyhow). You’ll definitely want to pin this recipe to make soon!
Slow Cooker Creamy Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 2-3 cups of cooked turkey
- 1 cup finely diced celery
- 1 cup finely diced or grated carrots
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup butter
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 1 (4.3 oz) package of Long grain and Wild Rice Rice-a-Roni
- 1/2 cup instant brown rice (I didn’t feel like the Rice-a-Roni gave it enough rice so I added in more but if you like less rice and more broth then feel free to leave this out)
- 2 cups heavy cream (you can also use half and half or milk)
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker (I used frozen chicken). If you’re using leftover turkey add in about 2-3 cups.
- In a microwave-safe dish combine the celery, carrots, flour and butter. Place in the microwave and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every minute. The butter will melt and the vegetables will get soft. The flour should be stirred in as best as possible but it will be a paste-y consistency. Add into the slow cooker.
- Add in the broth, water, salt, pepper, Rice-a-Roni plus the seasoning packet and instant brown rice.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for about 3 hours or on LOW for 6 hours (or until rice and chicken are cooked through). Remove the chicken and cut into pieces or shred. Add it back into the crock.
- Stir the soup a bit and then add in cream (or milk) that has been warmed up for about a minute in the microwave (if you add in cold dairy to the hot soup it will probably curdle). Let the soup cook on HIGH without the lid for about 10 minutes to thicken up. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Notes
Ideal slow cooker size: 6-7 quart
My “go-to” soup recipe. I use a Publix Lemon Pepper Rotissiere chicken and take all the meat off and save two cups for the recipe. I boil the rest of the chicken (bones, fat, skin, everything) in a big pot and use the chicken stock as the base of my soup. I also add a cup of diced onion to the celery and carrots. I also add leftover English peas if I have some. I cook it on the stove rather than in a crock pot. It is my most requested soup!
Sounds so great Donna!!
Awesome soup! Even my very picky teen ate it right up! 🙂
★★★★★
That’s a win!
I see mushrooms in the picture but not in the recipe. Would mushrooms hold up if added from the start? Thank you!
Yes they do great!
Hi I don’t understand, you say you use frozen chicken thighs in the bottom of the crock pot. Does the chicken break down into smaller pieces on its own? Don’t you end up with chicken thighs in your cream soup?
Oops I just updated the recipe. You remove the chicken after is has cooked and cut it or shred it and then add it back into the soup.
Hi! I’m a terrible cook and I dislike it to boot — the only thing I can manage is cooking in the crock pot and I love your site!! Question for you — I’m not familiar with Rice-a-Roni; I only have Uncle Ben’s instant brown rice. Could I just use more of that instead of the Rice-a-Roni? What other spices would you recommend I add if so? thanks!
Hi Nicole, here is a homemade rice a roni recipe. https://www.bigbearswife.com/homemade-chicken-rice-roni/ This will give you an idea of what goes into a package of the stuff and what spices you’ll want to add to a recipe. I need to make a HOMEMADE version of this recipe don’t I??? I’ll work on it!
I don’t have a microwave (yes, I know!). So how can I do the 2nd step on my stove?
In a pan on the stove melt the butter. Saute the celery and carrots for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir in until smooth. Add the mixture into the slow cooker.
Print option isn’t working, very frustrating. Tried it on 4 different recipes and 2 different computers. I have been a software exec for 25 years, so don’t think it is on my side.
I’m sorry I will work on this to see if I can figure it out soon!
Try screenshotting and printing…… most soft execs know how to screen grab.
This looks divine! By chance do you know if I would need to make any measurement adjustments in order to sub almond flour for the regular flour? Thank you!
I’m really not sure on that! But I bet 1 to 1 would work alright.
Can I use regular wild rice instead of instant type rice? I cook with non-instant ingredients so would love to know if I can make this as it looks good.
Also can it freeze after finishing?
I like to freeze slow cooker foods in individual containers for future.
Lovely site and thanks for so many good ideas and recipies!!
yes you can however it may take longer to cook and you’ll need to add in some seasonings. And I think this soup would freeze nicely!
That looks so good!
Hey Karen, Would love to know what size crock pot you used. I have a 7 quart one, so if this is a 4-5 quart recipe I will adjust accordingly.
Can you visit my blog and leave me a comment, please with the answer as I do not know with blogger when people respond to my comments.
Thanks,
Julie
I actually got this recipe from my sister and adapted it to the slow cooker 🙂
This is an exact copycat recipe of "Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup" from AllRecipes.com with the exception of milk in place of cream and the addition of veggies. I'm all for sharing recipes from good sites, but please give credit where credit is due.
Adding veggies makes a significant change to the recipe so a “credit” should not be considererd necessary.
This is one of my favorites from your blog. Yum!!!