Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – cut into 1 ½’’ cubes
- Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 8 ounces Bacon - cooked & crumbled
- 1 Cup Uncooked Wild Rice - rinsed*
- 4 cloves Garlic – peeled & minced
- 1 Parmesan Rind + ½ cup grated parmesan , plus more for garnish
- 1 small Yellow Onion – peeled & diced
- 2 large Carrots – peeled & diced
- 2 large Stalks Celery – diced
- 1 TBS Fresh Thyme Leaves , plus more for garnish
- ½ tsp EACH: Dried Sage & Dried Rosemary
- 5 -5 ½ Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Stock depending on desired thickness
- 1 Cup Dry White Wine optional
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese – at room temperature & cut into small cubes
- 1 ½ Cups Half and Half *
- ¼ Cup Cornstarch
- For serving: Artisan bread, fresh grated parmesan, parsley
Instructions
- Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the bowl of a 6 quart slow cooker or crockpot.
- Add half of the bacon, rice, garlic, parmesan rind, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, sage, rosemary, stock and wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 ½ - 3 hours or LOW for 4 ½- 5 hours*. (Chicken and rice will continue to cook in next steps)
- Remove the lid. (Optional – remove and discard parmesan rind.) Add the cream cheese and grated parmesan to the slow cooker. In a large (2 or 4 cup) glass measuring cup, mix the cornstarch with the half and half. Add the mixture to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes – 1 hour, or until the cream cheese is melted, the chicken is cooked and rice is tender.
- When the soup is done, stir in the remaining cooked bacon. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt, pepper or additional half and half if you like a thinner soup.
- To serve: Divide the soup among bowls and garnish with fresh herbs and more grated parmesan. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- This recipe calls for real or cultivated wild rice, not a wild rice blend! The texture of wild rice in this soup is so much better than a wild rice blend!
- If you want a thinner soup, you can use 5 1/2 cups of chicken stock. However, I recommend sticking with 5 cups of stock. You can always thin the soup out later with half-and-half or more stock if desired.
- While I used half-and-half, you can use heavy cream if a richer mouthfeel is desired.
- The exact cooking time depends on the strength of your slow cooker.
- To make freezer-friendly creamy chicken and wild rice soup: Freeze the uncooked wild rice, veggies, spices and chicken together in a large, freezer-safe, zip-closure bag. When you are ready to make the soup all you have to do is pop the contents of the bag into the slow cooker with some chicken stock, a bit of white wine and cook according to the recipe directions!
