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Cozy Fall Harvest Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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A creamy, comforting soup with tender chicken, nutty wild rice, and sweet autumn vegetables in a savory broth. Perfect for chilly fall days and meal prep.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
  • 2 celery stalks, diced (about ¾ cup)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup uncooked wild rice
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider (optional)
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • 2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (½-inch cubes)
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Prep your ingredients first. Dice the onion, carrots, and celery into similar-sized pieces (about ¼-inch). Cube the butternut squash. Mince the garlic. Rinse the wild rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water for about 30 seconds.
  2. Brown the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in your Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  3. Sauté the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the pot. Once it melts, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the onion turns translucent. Add the minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, and smoked paprika, and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.
  4. Build the broth. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in about 1 cup of the chicken broth while stirring, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add the remaining 5 cups of broth, the rinsed wild rice, the bay leaf, and the apple cider (if using). Stir everything together.
  5. Add the chicken and squash. Return the browned chicken to the pot along with any juices on the plate. Add the cubed butternut squash. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes. The wild rice should be tender and starting to split open, and the squash should be fork-tender.
  6. Shred the chicken. Carefully remove the chicken breasts from the pot using tongs and place them on a cutting board. Let them rest for 2-3 minutes, then shred with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
  7. Add the corn and cream. Stir in the frozen corn. In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of the hot broth from the pot (this tempers the cream so it doesn’t curdle). Pour the cream mixture into the soup and stir gently. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, just until everything is heated through. Don’t let it boil after adding the cream.
  8. Finish and serve. Remove the bay leaf. Taste the soup and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Notes

Don’t skip rinsing the wild rice to prevent a murky appearance. Brown the chicken first for deeper flavor. Add cream off the boil to prevent curdling. Soup tastes even better the next day. For freezing, undercook the wild rice by 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Keywords: chicken soup, wild rice soup, fall soup, harvest soup, creamy chicken soup, autumn soup, comfort food

Find it online: https://forkmila.com/cozy-fall-harvest-chicken-and-wild-rice-soup-recipe/