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My goal? Make November the coziest month ever…starting with this cream of mushroom chicken wild rice soup!
Okok, and December too…obviously.
Yes, my two favorite months of the year, with all of my favorite foods.
This soup clearly being one of them! I mean, it’s creamy, full of wild rice, caramelized garlic, mushrooms and well, maybe just a splash…or two of wine! Perfect soup for a mid November night, right? RIGHT. Also, it’s quick and easy, one of those recipes where you might even have a lot of the ingredients on had at this very moment. Like for realz. 🙂
I spent Monday playing all the usual head games with myself. I mean, there are just not enough days in the next month and half to make all the recipes I want to make…soo many good recipes – both sweet and savory! I couldn’t choose which ones would be best so I went back and forth, back and forth, UGH.
Here’s the deal though, it seems that lately, all I have been wanting to make are cozy types of recipes: roasts, meals with mushrooms, squash, chicken and pasta, lots and lots of pasta! Oh, and pomegranate and cranberry dishes too! Tis the season.
As you can see, I’m pretty indecisive as to what to make for the upcoming holiday weeks. My mind is so filled with recipes that it cannot organize them all into the proper categories of “must make now” and “maybe later”. First world problems, here, right?
On another totally off topic note. I was running around kitchen cooking on Monday night, trying to work way too fast because the days are just too darn short and there’s a bit of hustle and bustle…I gotta keep up! I was slicing mushrooms (yes, more mushrooms) and I accidentally bumped the knife next to my cutting board off the counter.
SIDE NOTE: I feel like I should say that nothing bad happened and no one should tremble through this next paragraph. No horror story today!
Normally when knives take the plunge off the counter I jump outta the way and let the knife fall, but Monday was not friendly to my brain. Meaning I was not thinking clearly and decided to try to stop the knife from falling with my leg. Not sure how on Earth that seemed like a good idea, but like I said it was Monday, and my brain just was not at full strength. Long story short, the knife cut through my favorite leggings and left me with a nice little cut. I was super lucky the knife didn’t cut me deeper because my dad had just come over and sharpened all my knives over the weekend and it was crazy sharp. It was also weird because at first I didn’t realize I was cut, but then I saw my leggings had a huge gash. Not going to lie, I was (and am) way more upset about the slash in my Lululemon tights.
So yeah, that was my Monday, but hey, it’s now Wednesday and things are lookin’ up…it’s supposed to SNOW tomorrow – yeah! Therefore, I’m thinking that tomorrow seems like the perfect day to have Christmas things baking away while the snow falls all around me. Did I mention I kind of love what I do? Cause I do, I do!
Alright, but back to this soup!
How delicious does this soup sound? It really doesn’t get better than a creamy soup, flavored with mushrooms and loaded with wild rice. I added the chicken for protein and heartiness, but it can easily be left out if you’re a vegetarian, or even if you’re simply looking for a meatless soup!
Question: how do you guys feel about rice in soup? I know that chicken and wild rice soup is kind of a classic, but do you like to put rice in other soups? Growing up my mom would put rice in all of her soups. Minute rice to be exact. I LOVED it, and clearly still do. But I’m curious if that’s just us or do you guys dig the whole rice in soup thing too?
Regardless, this soup is kind of my everything right now. It’s the perfect easy weeknight meal, but still feels special enough for a cold weekend by the fire.
Also, I added a little parmesan just before serving…perfection.
Cream of Mushroom Chicken Wild Rice Soup.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 362 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1/2 sweet onion chopped
- kosher salt and pepper
- 6 ounces cremini mushrooms
- 2 ounces wild mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1/2-1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often until the onion is soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cremini mushrooms and the wild mushrooms, cook another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are caramelized. Stir in the thyme and cook another minute longer. Remove the pot from the heat and ladle out half of the wild mushrooms. Transfer the remaining ingredients to a food processor. Add 2 cups broth and pulse until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Return the mixture to the soup pot and add the remaining 4 cups broth plus 2 cups water. Bring the mixture to boil and stir in the rice and chicken. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and the chicken has cooked through. Shred the chicken in the pot. Stir in the milk and parmesan. Season the soup with salt + pepper. Simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes until warmed through.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with the reserved wild mushrooms (warm them if needed). Enjoy!
Notes
To make this vegetarian, simple omit the chicken from the recipe.
Nothing feels cozier than this bowl of soup right now, NEED IT!
Hello, you mention using wine in the article but it’s not in the recipe or list of ingredients. Can you please clarify? I’m guessing you used some red or white wine in place of chicken broth or water but was curious. Thank you.
This is amazing! So many wonderful rich and earthy flavors and veggies. I used chopped kale since it was on sale at the store and extra mushrooms since those were on sale too. I added extra broth only because my husband likes lots of broth in a soup and with the extra mushrooms it was still thick and filling. The rice does suck up a lot of the liquid overnight but I just added more broth when I heated it up and it was still amazing. I thought too much broth would weaken the flavor but somehow it didn’t. We ate it all week with some homemade rolls. He’s declared this his new favorite soup. 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Hey Rita,
Happy Friday!!❄️🧑🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Hi! Should I cook the rice first before adding it to the recipe? I would hate for it to absorb all the liquids.
Hi Bryer,
Nope, you are going to use dry rice, it will cook in the soup. I hope you love this recipe! xT
This recipe was fantastic!!!
Hey Kim,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for making it. Have the best weekend! xT
This soup was so delicious and perfect for a cold, Texas night! For having a husband that doesn’t like mushrooms, this was definitely a win-win! Thank you for the great recipe, will make again!
Hey Arryn! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it (and that’s a win to get him to eat mushrooms! haha) xTieghan
Hi! Is it possible to make this in an instant pot?
Hey Nida,
I’ve not tried this recipe in the instant pot, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Do you save the leftovers? If so, for how many days? I’d love to make this on a Sunday and have it meal-prepped for the week!
HI! Yes, I do! The soup will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I was so excited to make this soup but it turned out bland for me 🙁 The only thing I did differently was blend it in a vitamix rather than a food processor – do you think this had an impact? Willing to try again!
Hey Kellie, I don’t think that made a difference. What varieties of mushrooms did use? Was there anything else you did different? sorry you had some trouble!
Need the nutrition info on your awesome soups! Especially the cream of mushroom with wild rice one? Thanks
Hi Rosey! The nutrition info is listed just next to the recipe tittle. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Delicious! Don’t have a food processor so skipped that step – more brothy than creamy but still yummy.
Thank you so much Ayla!
I don’t have a big soup pot (it’s on my Christmas list ha!) could i do the first part on a stove then put everything in an instant pot on the slow cooker function or would that likely not work well?
Hey Erika! I am sure that will work just fine. I have not used the instant pot slow cooker, but assuming it is similar to a regular slow cooker. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, Well, poor me, I have leftover morels in the freezer from last season and need to use them up. So I’ve had mushroom soup on the brain for a few days…was thinking to add chicken to it cause hubby doesn’t think it’s a meal without meat ya know. So I go to your blog and voila! There it is….you’ve already figured it out for me PLUS you added all the goodies that absolutely SHOULD be in mushroom soup. Can’t wait to try it, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your hard work. I ADORE your blog and have been reading it for a few years now. You are some kind of wonderful, can’t imagine your energy.
Wow that is such perfect timing, i hope you absolutely love this recipe! Let me know how it turns out for you!! Thanks Karen.
Is there an option to make this soup dairy free?
HI! You can use your favorite full fat non-dairy milk (i like canned coconut milk) in place of the cream and olive oil or coconut oil in place of the butter. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s 🙂
So pumped to try this tonight! My husband is out of town and this is the perfect meal for mama and baby girl to last a couple of days 🙂
Yes! I hope you love it! Thank you!
Hi
hi! 🙂