Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

When I was a kid and someone in the family got sick, homemade chicken soup was the go-to remedy. I don’t know why it worked so well, but it did and I’ve continued that tradition by feeding it to my own family at the first sign of any illness. So, last week, when my son unexpectedly came home with a sore throat and deep cough, I immediately started making a batch of my homemade chicken noodle soup. When I realized I was out of noodles, I added wild rice instead. It was a nice variation and I’m happy to report his cold immediately started to go away, and even better, it didn’t spread to anyone else in the house. I’m convinced the magic to this soup is the homemade chicken stock. Here’s to healing what ales you.

For this recipe you’ll need about 3 cups of cooked wild rice.

On a side note, check it out - this company uses a kind of velcro instead of a pesky zipper-top so their bags can be resealed easily. I wish every company would do the same. Big shout out to LUNDBERG FAMILY FARMS!

Ok, back to the recipe. Cook your wild rice according to the package directions, OR cook it even faster in an electric pressure cooker (instant pot). Here’s how.

Place 1 cup of wild rice in the pressure cooker.

Add 1 quart (4 cups) of chicken stock (I used my own homemade chicken stock, but you could use store bought stock, or even plain water).

My stock was unsalted so I added 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Be careful not to add too much salt if you use store bought chicken stock.

Set the cooker to manual, pressure cook, or high pressure for 15 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally for about 10 minutes.

Voila!

To assemble the soup - place the wild rice in a 5 or 6-quart stockpot.

Add the chopped or shredded chicken.

Add the frozen mixed vegetables.

And add more homemade chicken stock. Heat through and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• electric pressure cooker https://amzn.to/2Dm00pu

• 6-quart stockpot https://amzn.to/2TaTkQl

• wild rice blend https://amzn.to/33dODzg

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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

makes 2 quarts

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked wild rice (directions below)

• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken

• 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables

• 4 cups chicken stock

• kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Directions

1. place all ingredients in a 6-quart stockpot and heat thoroughly. Taste carefully and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

• To cook wild rice in a pressure cooker (instant pot), place 1 cup dry wild rice in pressure cooker with 4 cups water or chicken stock, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (omit if using store-bought stock). Cook on manual, pressure cook, or high pressure for 15 minutes and allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.

• Alternatively, cook according to package instructions.

More Soup Recipes:

Broccoli Stem Soup

I don't know if you celebrated Valentine's Day this week or not, but we ate our weight in steak and seafood.  We didn't lose complete control though - we managed to abstain from sweet treats this year, but I know many of you indulged in copious amounts of cream and butter and chocolate! 

Time to lighten things up a bit - enter the humble broccoli stem.  Just curious - do you say stem or stalk?  Anyway, my grocery store had a great deal on fresh broccoli last week so I bought a small forest and, after cutting all the florets away, I was left with all these lovely green tree trunks.  If I had just one or two, I'd cut them into coins or sticks and toss them in a salad, but since I had 1 1/2 pounds worth, I decided to make a batch of broccoli stem soup.  This is how it's made. 

To start, trim the dry ends from the broccoli stems, but that's all - no need to peel them.   

Chop the broccoli into 1/4-inch dice.  Onions too. 

Heat a large heavy-bottom skillet with a good drizzle of olive oil.  (this is the skillet I used)

Add the onions, broccoli stems, salt, and pepper.

Saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to caramelize.

You'll notice a nice brown layer of "fond" will form on the bottom of the skillet.  Mmmmm! 

Add chicken stock and scrape up the fond from the bottom of the skillet.  That's going to add wonderful flavor to the soup!  

Uh, you do make your own chicken stock, right?  No?  Try my recipe here.  It's about a gazillions times better than store bought.

Bring the chicken stock to gentle boil and throw in a whole clove of garlic.  Continue to cook for about 15 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and puree to the thickness you desire.  I like some texture to remain, so I used an immersion blender (like this one), but you could also puree the soup in batches using a blender or food processor.  

That's all there is to it.  A healthy, frugal soup that's gluten-free, dairy-free, and practically fat-free.  Want to make it vegan too?  Just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Maviel Rondeau https://amzn.to/3LjrbBP

• Cuisinart immersion blender https://amzn.to/3ryVnRp

• Nakiri knife https://amzn.to/3GvrBBz

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Broccoli Stem Soup

makes 6 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli stems, diced

• 1 pound onions, diced

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 4 cups chicken stock (try my homemade)

• 1 whole clove of garlic, peeled

Directions

1. In a very large skillet over medium heat, saute broccoli stems, onions, salt, and pepper in olive oil until caramelized.

2. Add chicken stock and garlic clove; bring to a gentle boil for 15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and puree to desired thickness.

4. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.