Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup! – I should say ‘light’ and creamy as this clocks in at less than 300 calories for a big one and half cup serving!
It’s fall here in Seattle and that means soup to me! Soup and casseroles. Soup, casseroles and pumpkin! Soup, casseroles, pumpkin and….okay, you get it :). Basically fall means food! Comfort food too…my favorite kind! I’m a savory gal so fall and winter are my food seasons. Spring and summer aren’t bad either…basically, I’m a four season eater!
This Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup will go straight to the top of your favorite soup list!
I used store bought rotisserie chicken and a box of brown and wild rice mix that I cooked up without the seasoning packet. While your rice is cooking, you chop and sauté the veggies. The whole thing takes less than 30 minutes to throw together.
This was my first time ever cooking with kale. I have always thought it was meant to garnish a deli tray and not for consuming. And guess what…I was right! Next time I’ll use spinach or swiss chard. Kale is kinda chewy dontcha think? It holds up great in soup though. Actually the stuff would hold up to 8 hours in a slow cooker. I will leave it in the recipe but will also suggest spinach if you are not a fan of gnawing on grassy stuff. Maybe I got the wrong kinda kale? Help me become a lover of kale please!
You can see all 30 of my soup recipes HERE!
A few of my faves are:
Skinny Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato – a super quick easy soup that is full of flavor!
Beef Barley Soup! You can make this in a slow cooker or stove top!
To Chicken Soup and you do!
Clink!
Kathi
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 5 ounce package of brown and wild rice, prepared without seasoning packet I used Near East brand
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 cup celery, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced I used cremini
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 5 cups chicken broth I like low sodium
- 4 cups chopped kale or spinach
- 6 ounces shredded chicken I used store bought rotisserie chicken
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or 1 cup half and half
Instructions
- Prepare the rice according to package directions, leaving out the spice packet. While the rice is cooking, start on the soup!
- In a large dutch oven or soup pot, cook the bacon until crisp. About 4-5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Drain all the drippings leaving one tablespoon in the pot.
- Saute onion, carrots and celery in remaining bacon drippings. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until slightly soft.
- Add thyme, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, cream, cooked chicken and kale (or spinach). Taste for seasoning. If using unsalted chicken stock you will be adding more salt and more pepper. Taste again...adjust.
- Top each serving with a teaspoon or two of the crispy bacon!
Nutrition
This looks delicious! We love all of your recipes ; I wish you had a cook book 🙂
On the Kale, i get the pre washed , boxed organic BABY kale. It much more tender and disguisable 🙂
Otherwise baby spinach is great!
Thats a great idea about the baby kale Marci (and the cookbook…it’s a discussion we are having. Stand by!). I was working on a recipe for Bean, chorizo and kale soup that I had eaten recently and was going to sub spinach, but I think I’ll try the baby kale instead. Great tip! Clink!
I can’t wait to make this soup this weekend! I’m drooling over here! Great job 🙂
Thanks Christina! I hope you love it!
It’s fall here too and this soup looks like the perfect comfort food to cheer a grey day up ! Love the explosion of colors!
Hope you get a chance to try it Linda!
This is one very colorful soup. They say eat the rainbow and I think we can manage that in this gorgeous soup.
Hi Janette! Love your blog and thanks for the nice note!
I’m a savory gal too, and this soup is right in my wheelhouse! Love the flavors and fall colors! Gorgeous!
Soup in 30 minutes is perfect! I want the same foods in fall 🙂
This is just what I need! Thanks for sharing.
Clearly you are part of the food blogger conspiracy to get me to make and eat soup! This one sounds very nice. With regard to kale, one thing that helps it is to massage it. I’ve always seen that done with oil when one is going to use it in a salad. But you may not ever like kale. My husband tells me it is bitter, no matter what I’ve done to it (it’s only been a couple of times, I’m not running a torture operation here, although he might argue that point…). If you don’t like the texture of the curly kale, try the laminate kind, which by the way, is much easier to work with.
Susan you make me smile! I am probably never gonna like kale, but I love spinach and chard and from what I’ve read it has about the same nutritional properties. Now about that kale massage…mmmmmmmmm :).