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    Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

    October 10, 2024

    Healthy, and warming, our chicken and wild rice soup recipe sings with simple, soothing flavors like fresh garlic and snappy fresh ginger.

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    a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, spinach, garlic, ginger, spinach & green onions
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    We celebrate soup season year round, but in the fall we really start to crave healthy, cozy soups and chicken and wild rice soup recipe is our current obsession. Fragrant with garlic and ginger, it’s a fun, FAST and super healthy riff on classic chicken and rice soup. We often have leftover cooked Shredded Chicken on-hand, either from other meals or from meal prepping (Instant Pot Chicken or Perfect Poached Chicken are on our Sunday afternoon must-do list) and this soup is the best use of leftover chicken we know. Whether you’ve got a cold in your home that needs soothing soup, or just crave a bowl of healthy comfort, whip up this soup tonight. Need even more soup inspo? Our 30 Best Soup Recipes will not let you down.

    chicken, wild rice, chicken stock, onion, salt, pepper, carrots, spinach, garlic, ginger, spinach & green onions in bowls

    Ingredients You’ll Need

    • Cooked chicken: For the shredded chicken in this recipe, use homemade Poached Chicken, or you could even just the meat from a store bought rotisserie chicken if you don’t have leftover chicken.

    • Wild rice: Wild rice is actually not a rice (technically) but it IS loaded with protein and fiber, doubling down on the healthiness and heartiness of this soup recipe!

    • Ginger & garlic: This soup is so incredibly healthy, and loaded with things that likely support your immune system like garlic — which has anti-inflammatory properties — and ginger, which can sooth everything from sore throats to upset stomachs and has long been used to support recovery from colds.

    • Onions: Soup always starts with onions!

    • Carrots: To us, chicken soup always also must have carrots!

    • Chicken stock: Clearly, soup needs a liquid! Our broth is simply made from stock and water.

    • Spinach: We call for baby spinach, but if you don’t have that, you could just chop up some regular spinach. No biggie!

    • Green onions: We love the sweet sharpness of scallions in this soup.

    onion and carrot being cooked in olive oil in a soup pot
    garlic and ginger being added to a pot with olive oil, onion and carrots
    chicken stock, water, wild rice, salt, and pepper being added to a pot with garlic, ginger, onion and carrots
    a pot of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, and spinach

    How To Make Easy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

    1. Sauté onion, and after a few minutes, add the garlic and ginger. Do this in the pot you want to cook the whole soup in (we usually use a big stock pot or Dutch oven).

    2. Pour in the chicken stock, water, wild rice, salt, and pepper and bring the soup to a gentle simmer.

    3. Add the shredded chicken, spinach, and green onions.

    4. Simmer the soup until the wild rice is cooked. It usually takes about 20 minutes.

    5. Dig in! Ladle the chicken soup into bowls and help yourself. Healthy, easy, soothing and so good for lunch or a light dinner.

    a ladle in a pot of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, and spinach

    Tips + How To Store Leftovers

    • Store leftover chicken soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

    • You could add more veggies to this soup if you’d like! Cauliflower, potatoes, or even green beans would work. Chop them up small and add them when you add the chicken —they should be nice and tender when the soup is done.

    • You could swap other kinds of rice if you’d like to, it just might alter the simmer time slightly. Try brown rice if you’ve got it!

    a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, spinach, garlic, ginger, spinach & green onions

    Serving Suggestions

    While it can stand alone as a light meal, we like to round out this chicken and wild rice soup with:

    a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, spinach, garlic, ginger, spinach & green onions

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    Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

    October 10, 2024

    • Serves:  6
    • Prep Time:  25 min
    • Cook Time:  35 min
    • Calories:  277
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    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
    • 2 medium carrots, ¼-inch sliced
    • 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
    • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
    • 6 cups chicken stock
    • 1 ½ cups water
    • ¾ cup wild rice
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more for serving
    • 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
    • 2 cups packed baby spinach
    • 2 green onions, white and green parts sliced, plus more for serving
    • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, (optional)

    Method

    1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.

      chicken, wild rice, chicken stock, onion, salt, pepper, carrots, spinach, garlic, ginger, spinach & green onions in bowls

    2. Add the chicken stock, water, wild rice, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the carrots are tender, about 8 minutes.

      chicken stock, water, wild rice, salt, and pepper being added to a pot with garlic, ginger, onion and carrots

    3. Stir in the chicken, spinach, and green onions. Return to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is warmed through and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

      a pot of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, and spinach

    4. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with green onions, pepper, and red pepper flakes, if using.

      a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup made with carrots, spinach, garlic, ginger, spinach & green onions

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 277
    • Protein 23 g
    • Carbohydrates 25 g
    • Total Fat 10 g
    • Dietary Fiber 3 g
    • Cholesterol 51 mg
    • sodium 1020 mg
    • Total Sugars 4 g

    Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Vanessa

      I am so excited to try a dairy free wild rice soup! What would you recommend for crock pot?

      Hi Vanessa, we have not tested this in the crock pot to give you specific instructions. Sorry!

    • Eric

      Is there a wild rice you recommend for this? Mostly what I find at the store is a pre-cooked "instant" wild rice blend, which cooks in about 8 minutes. The brand I find usually is "Rice Select Royal Blend" and it is pretty good. Pure wild rice is harder to find, but you can get it on Amazon and it takes quite a bit more to cook -- typically 45 minutes.

      We usually get the brand "lundberg" wild rice. It's sold at Fred Meyer and New Seasons in our area. Hope this helps!

    • A

      What changes should I make if I want to make this in a crockpot with raw chicken breasts?

      We haven't tested this recipe in a crock pot, sorry A M.

    • Eric

      This is one of the better chicken soups I've made. Very tasty, and everything in balance. I used no-salt chicken broth ... so the sodium was very low but the flavor was not lacking. Followed the recipe closely but I did use broth instead of water, and added about 2 cups extra broth on top of that. It ends up with a subtle ginger flavor-- I might add 50% more ginger next time just to dial that up a bit. But that's just an experiment, this was already very good.

      Thanks Eric, so glad you loved it!

    • Maureen

      This soup was the perfect fall soup for fighting off a cold! I put my husband on it and it turned out amazing. Sharing it with friends and adding it to the rotation. The ginger and broth are delicious and the wild rice feels very fall.

      Thanks Maureen, so glad you enjoyed it!

    • Jenny

      Simply delightful. I used rotisserie chicken which made it incredibly easy. Thank you for this recipe.

      Thanks Jenny, glad you enjoyed it!