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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

-Chicken and Wild Rice Soup-

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a hearty and filling soup! It’s like chicken noodle soup, but instead of noodles, it’s made creamy with a béchamel sauce made with milk and heavy cream. Read through to get more information on this information.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

What is Chicken & Wild Rice Soup?

Chicken & wild rice soup is made with chicken broth, fresh pieces of cooked chicken, wild rice, vegetables, and a variety of seasonings. On cold days, it is a creamy soup that soothes the soul and keeps you warm.

If you liked it at Panera, you’ll love it even more when you make this panera chicken & wild rice soup copycat.

It tastes exactly like what you would get at a restaurant, but it will be even fresher because you made it with ingredients you already had in your kitchen.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Ingredients

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Just a few quick notes on the ingredients you’ll need to make this chicken and wild rice soup! (As always, they can find the full ingredient list and instructions at the bottom of this post.

1. Mirepoix

As a base for this soup, we’ll sauté carrots, celery, and onion in butter or olive oil until softened.

2. Garlic

Lots of it, to give the broth a rich garlicky flavor. And also, it has a lot of health benefits, so, ensure to include it 

3. Flour

To thicken this soup, use all-purpose flour, but see the alternatives below for gluten-free thickeners you can use instead. (Alternatively, you can leave out the thickeners and enjoy the thinner broth on its own, which is equally delicious!)

4. Chicken Stock

Use whatever stock you have on hand.

5. Chicken

Toss two boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the soup, which cook along with the wild rice, and then shred them afterward. But you also have the option to pre-dice the raw chicken and then add it to the soup.

Or you can just add in precooked diced or shredded chicken that you have on hand instead.

6. Mushrooms

 Use baby Bella mushrooms in this soup, either diced or thinly sliced, but if you don’t like mushrooms, you can leave them out.

7. Rosemary

Add a tablespoon (or more, if you’d like!) of finely chopped fresh rosemary to this soup. But you could also sub in 1 teaspoon (or more) of dried rosemary if that’s what you have on hand.

8. Bay Leaves

Whose flavor really enhances this broth.

9. Milk

 use whole cow’s milk in my soup, but you could also use any other plain plant-based milk that you prefer.

10. Baby Spinach

Just to sneak some greens into this soup too! I like to add chopped baby spinach, but you could also use collard greens or kale.

11. Salt and pepper

 As always, for seasoning. We all know salt and pepper give food taste, so add it.

How to Make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

How To Make Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

To make this chicken, wild rice soup recipe, here are some things you should do:

1. Sauté The Veggies

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter or oil. Sauté the onion for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauté the carrots, celery, and garlic for 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Cook for 1 minute more, stirring frequently, after adding the flour.

2. Add in The Next Round Of Ingredients

Pour in the chicken stock gradually, stirring frequently to allow the flour clumps to dissolve into the broth. Stir in the chicken breasts, mushrooms, wild rice, rosemary, and bay leaves.

3. Simmer

Let the soup continue cooking until it reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until the wild rice is tender. 

Be sure to stir the soup every 5-7 minutes so that the bottom of the pot does not burn.

4. Shred Or Dice The Chicken

Use tongs to carefully transfer the chicken breasts to a clean plate. Then you can either dice or use two forks to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir it back into the soup.

5. Include the Remaining Ingredients

Stir in the milk and baby spinach until combined.

6. Season

Remove and discard the bay leaves. Taste and season the soup with however much salt and black pepper you think it needs.

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Possible Chicken Soup Variations

Possible Chicken Soup Variations

There are so many delicious ways that you can customize this soup, so please get creative and add in whatever favorite ingredients you have on hand! For example,…

1. Make it Gluten-Free

Overlook the all-purpose flour, make a cornstarch slurry (with equal parts cornstarch and cold water whisked together) to stiffen the soup instead.

After the rice has cooked, put in 1-2 tablespoons of the slurry to the soup at a time until the broth reaches your desired level of thickness.

2. Make it Vegetarian

Sub in a can of chickpeas in place of the chicken (and veggie stock in place of chicken stock) to make this soup vegetarian. 

3. Skip the Thickener

If you would like a thinner broth, omit the flour (or cornstarch) altogether.

You can also use an immersion blender to just purée some of the broth (be sure that they have removed the chicken when you do this) to thicken the broth a bit if you would like.

4. Add Bacon

If you really want to amp up the flavor of this soup, I highly recommend frying 6-8 slices of bacon at the beginning of the recipe.

Then remove and crumble the bacon to use as bacon bits to garnish your serving bowls, and use the leftover bacon grease to sauté the veggies (instead of the butter or oil).

5. Use Different Rice or Orzo

Sub different rice or orzo pasta in for the wild rice, if you would like. Just note that the cooking time will be different depending upon which type of rice/pasta you choose.

How to Store Your Soup

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

You should store the soup in a large plastic container with a lid. Refrigerate your soup after you’ve sealed the container.

 They can store it in the refrigerator for up to five days. When you need a quick meal, simply reheat the copycat Panera chicken & wild rice soup on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Can I Freeze the Chicken & Wild Rice Soup?

The chicken and wild rice soup can be frozen, especially if you want to keep it for more than a week. All you have to do is place it in a food storage container and freeze it.

The soup can be frozen for up to six months. Put your soup in the fridge to defrost before heating it in a microwave-safe bowl with a bit of butter. It will taste just as good as the first time you made it.

What to Serve with the Panera Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Serve your Panera chicken & wild rice soup in a bowl with buttered crackers or bread on the side. When dipped in the soup, French bread tastes fantastic.

Croutons can be added to the soup for added crunch. Consider using a bread bowl and pouring your soup into it if you know how to make bread bowls. On the side, cornbread or buttery biscuits are also delicious!

Can I Add Extra Vegetables to the Soup?

Can I Add Extra Vegetables To The Soup?

Extra vegetables can be added to the soup. Skip the extra veggies if you want it to taste exactly like what you’d get at Panera.

If you want to make this chicken and wild rice soup even more nutritious, add more vegetables to it. Peas and corn are two good vegetables to include.

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Can I Use Canned Chicken or Chicken Thighs?

If you want the recipe to taste exactly like what you’d get at Panera, cook the chicken breasts first and then shred them before adding them to the pot with the chicken broth and other ingredients.

 However, if you want to save time, you can use canned chicken. If you only have chicken thighs, you can substitute them for the chicken breasts.

Chicken and wild rice soup are the best, regardless of the type of chicken used.

Conclusion

There is no doubt about it, but chicken and wild rice soup are delicious, but just like any food you know, how you prepare it is what will determine how tasty it will be will.

We hope you follow the guidelines in this article for a completely delicious food today.

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