Creamy Wild Rice Chicken Soup with Roasted Mushrooms. (2024)

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The coziest bowl of Creamy Wild Rice Chicken Soup with Roasted Mushrooms to welcome these cold November nights. An easy and delicious slow cooker meal (or instant pot or stove-top). This soup is made using pantry staples like wild rice, autumn herbs, and chicken breasts. It’s a hearty warming meal to enjoy any night of the week. And the best part? It’s the easiest dinner to prepare! Just throw everything into the slow cooker and done. The roasted buttery mushrooms only take minutes to make but add just the right amount of texture to this creamy soup. It’s creamy, buttery, and every spoonful is so delicious.

Hands down I could not think of a better November soup than this wild rice chicken soup. It’s one of the coziest bowls and just has cold November nights written all over it. I LOVE this recipe.

Back home in Colorado, the temperatures are pretty chilly and we’ve even had some below zero days. Funny enough though, I’m in sunny eighty…ish degree LA today and it feels like summer. But honestly…and I cannot believe I am saying this, at this time of year I prefer the crisp, cold, and cozy Colorado weather. It’s fall and there’s nothing all too cozy about eighty degrees. That said, I’m going to enjoy every minute of the warm sunshine. I know that it will be a long time before I feel warmth like this again.

Anyway, point is, if you’re experiencing true fall November weather, then my guess is that you need a cozy, creamy bowl of soup.

This is that bowl of soup.

Here is how you make this wild rice chicken soup.

First things first, you can make this on the stove, in the slow cooker, or in the instant pot. Either option tastes the same, it’s really just a matter of how much time you have. These days I’m loving my instant pot and slow cooker, so I normally go with one of those. Either way, the process is the same.

Add all the ingredients for the soup into the slow cooker, cover and cook low and slow. This will take about six hours in the slow cooker or fifteen minutes in the instant pot. Once the rice and chicken are both cooked, shred the chicken and stir it back into the soup. Add in a touch of cream, some parmesan cheese, and fresh spinach for a pop of green color.

And that’s it, simple and easy. By this time your house is going to smell amazing and you’ll have delicious soup all ready for eating…

But first, you should roast some mushrooms.

Here’s the thing about creamy soups, especially ones with rice, they lack texture. This is where the roasted mushrooms come in.

I know this is an extra step, but I promise, it’s easy as can be and worth the extra effort. Roast the mushrooms with a good amount of butter, fresh rosemary, lemon, garlic, and a little salt. See – simple as that.

The butter browns in the oven and creates the most delicious, buttery, herby, slightly crisp mushroom. The perfect finishing touch to this creamy soup. I like to stir the mushrooms into the soups just before serving.

It. Is. SO GOOD.

I’d highly recommend serving this soup with a side of crusty bread. If you own the HBH Super Simple cookbook, there’s a really good, really easy, no-knead bread recipe that’s perfect to pair with this soup.

Ingredients

▢ 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
▢ 1 1/2 cups dry wild rice blend
▢ 6 carrots, chopped
▢ 3 stalks celery, chopped
▢ 2 medium shallots, chopped
▢ 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
▢ 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
▢ 2 cups fresh baby spinach or kale
▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
▢ 1 cup heavy cream or whole milk
▢ 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
▢ kosher salt and black pepper
▢ 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
▢ 2 pounds mixed mushrooms, roughly torn
▢ 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
▢ 4 cloves garlic, smashed
▢ zest from 1 lemon

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Instructions

Slow Cooker

1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the rice, chicken, carrots, celery, shallots, broth, thyme, sage, crushed red pepper, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
2. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and spinach. Cook until warmed through, about 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley. If the soup is thick, add an additional 1/2 cup water.
3. To make the mushrooms. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.On a baking sheet, combine the butter, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until the mushrooms are golden and crisp
4. Mash the garlic with a fork, then stir in the mushrooms, mashed garlic, and any butter left into the soup.
5. Divide the soup among bowls and top with rosemary and additional parmesan.

Instant Pot

1. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the rice, chicken, carrots, celery, shallots, broth, thyme, sage, crushed red pepper, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Quick release the steam.
2. Switch the instant pot to sauté. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and spinach. Cook until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley.
3. To make the mushrooms. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.On a baking sheet, combine the butter, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until the mushrooms are golden and crisp.
4. Mash the garlic with a fork, then stir in the mushrooms, mashed garlic, and any butter left into the soup.
5. Divide the soup among bowls and top with rosemary and additional parmesan.

Stove-Top

1. In a large soup pot, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the carrots, celery, shallots, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant and caramelized, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the broth, chicken, wild rice, thyme, sage, crushed red pepper, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a bowl over high heat. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to low, cook 35-45 minutes, until the rice is tender.
2. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and spinach. Cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley.
3. To make the mushrooms. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.On a baking sheet, combine the butter, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until the mushrooms are golden and crisp.
4. Mash the garlic with a fork, then stir in the mushrooms, mashed garlic, and any butter left into the soup.
5. Divide the soup among bowls and top with rosemary and additional parmesan.

Notes

Leftovers: If eating this leftover, the rice will soak up a good amount of liquid. It will still taste great, but if you'd like for it to be soup again, you will need to add broth. Or just eat good flavored rice!

Slow Cooker: please note that slow cookers can vary and some are having issues with their rice getting mushy. I recommend to start checking for doneness around 5 hours on low. If the soup gets too thick, add water to thin.

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