Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup


**UPDATED ON 1/22/12 based on comments left**

Last week we had 2 days with the temperature in the high 60's. Then this week starts out with the temperture in the 30's and a small amount of snow. Honestly, I didn't mind it a bit because it gave me the excuse to make this wonderful soup that I've had bookmarked for a while.

This soup is of course easy (as most slow cooker meals are) but also really delicious. It was creamy, flavorful and loaded with fresh veggies. The best part.... BOTH of my kids eagerly ate it up.

The base for this soup is this package of Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice. This is easy to find in almost all major grocery store's rice aisle.


Serve this up with a crusty roll...can we say comfort food?




Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half (I used fat-free half and half)
1 cup grated carrots (I diced mine)
1 cup diced celery

Directions:


Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, chicken and rice (along with seasoning packet) in a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. Take out chicken and shred with two forks and then add back into slow cooker. In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, and flour. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour mixture by tablespoon to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and then let cook on low for 15 more minutes.

Source: 365daysofcrockpot

81 comments:

  1. Oh wow this looks good! I'm bookmarking this one, can't wait to make it! YUM!

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  2. A bowl of soup with crusty bread sounds so good right about now! This looks really delicious. Yummy!

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  3. Oh yum, this looks amazing. It sounds super easy to make, I've gotta try it!

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  4. Just pinned your recipe! Looks delicious!!! Sarah (Thrifty Decor Chick) put it on her blog. You may be getting quite a bit of traffic. : )

    ~ Catie

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  5. Sweet Sugar Belle,

    I'm a HUGE fan of your cookies. I have learned so much from your blog. Thank you for the comment.

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  6. Catie,

    I really love this recipe. I hope you enjoy it too. Thanks for the heads-up about Thrifty Decor Chic...COOL!

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  7. My friend pinned and then shared this recipe. I can not wait to try it. It looks amazing.

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  8. I just made this soup tonight and my family just loved it. Actually, everyone went for seconds! Thanks for sharing!! The only thing I added was 8 oz of fresh mushrooms. The soup was so easy and that makes making dinner a whole lot funnier.

    Rose

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  9. Thanks for the feedback Rose. Glad you all enjoyed it!

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  10. My soup came out incredibly thick, not soupy at all. Any ideas what I may have done wrong? Thanks!!

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  11. Hi Karyn,

    Well, this is a thicker soup for sure. The flour is what makes it thick, so you might want to cut it down to 1/2 cup next time. Also, you could add 1/3-1/2 of broth to the soup if you see it's getting too thick.

    Aside from it being thick, what did you think?

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  12. We love wild rice. This looks perfect for a chilly fall day! Thanks for sharing at Church Supper. Love to see new faces. Hope to see you again next week!

    Everyday Mom's Meals

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  13. wow!! I cant wait until I try this...Thanks for sharing,& found you via Church Supper event....

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  14. I made it the other day and it was awesome! I've directed a ton of people to your post about it, so if you notice an increase in traffic, especially from facebook, it's most likely mine. My soup turned out super thick, but I think it's because I used a some extra rice. Next time I'll use less rice or more liquid. But it's awesome. thanks again for sharing.

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  15. So do you put raw chicken into the crock pot with the other items (as it says)?

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  16. Raw chicken b/c it will cook for several hours.

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  17. mine is smelling amazing! Glad to see ppl talk about it coming out super thick.. thats what I want!!! :)

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  18. It sounds great. However, Rice A Roni has preservatives in it, and I try not to use 'boxed' meals when I can. Has anyone tried it from scratch? If so, what spices did you use?

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  19. Very flavorful, thick..almost casserole like! I had to make some substitutions. I added a can of cream of celery soup, Zatarains Vegetable Garden Rice mix, and frozen vegetable mix instead of fresh carrots and celery. It was delicious! !!

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  20. This was delicious and insanely easy. Thanks for sharing!

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  21. oh my gosh, made this tonight, so good! kids love it, i love it...waiting for my husband to get home so he can love it! ;)
    it was very thick, i added some more water at the end (i didn't have any more broth to use) but next time i may add less flour to the roux...all though, it's pretty great as the thick stew/porridge as is!

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  22. What size crock pot do you use? I'm wondering if this recipe will fit in mine!

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  23. The one I use the most is either a 4.5 or 5 quart size.

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  24. Hi Maria, I just started thawing chicken so that my husband and I can eat this for dinner tonight. I love Panera's cream of chicken and wild rice soup but it's so expensive! I'm hoping to put this recipe on my blog this week once I make it and of course I'll be sending the viewers to your website to see more of your awesome stuff! Thank you for sharing, I'm so excited for dinner now!!

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  25. Would love to make this but I noticed the Rice a Roni has sugar in it and I'm not eating sugar. Do you think I could use plain wild rice?

    Also would you double this recipe for a 7 qt. crock pot or 1 1/2 it?

    Please email me at: godsprincess1980@gmail.com with answers as I don't often know with blogger when a comment has been replied to.

    Thank you!

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  26. Stumbled upon this recipe today while wondering what to make on this blustery day, dropping down into the 30s. This was perfect. My 12 and 10 year old each had 2 servings and the crock pot kept is warm for my husband who came home late. My 8 year old asked for it for his school lunch tomorrow AND for his birthday celebration in January (and it's only just early November!) My neighbor who dropped by said the house smelled great. Thinking about making this for my Annual Soup Contest in a few weeks. Easy and inexpensive to make. Thank you!

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  27. I tried this recipe today thanks to Pinterest and it was delicious! I doubled it and it turned out fantastic with plenty to freeze!

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  28. Do you think it will fit a 2.5 qt crockpot?

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  29. You can cut the recipe in half, then you should be fine.

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  30. Can I use frozen chicken breasts? Thanks!

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  31. Sure....just a maybe an hour to cooking time.

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  32. This looks awesome - I was going to try this recipe for a work potluck. Do you think it would work if I made up the cream mixture the night before and added it a little before the potluck?

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  33. This was yummy, but my rice turned to mush. Next time i will add it in later

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  34. Rice turned to mush too. I think I cooked it too long. Its VERY thick, almot like a stew, but still delicious! Might get some sourdough bread from Panera (cheap) and cut out the insides and make my own soup in a bread bowl. Thank you, Maria. We will enjoy this tomorrow for a Chicago Bear Tailgating party. I'll let you know what everyone else thought!

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  35. How many servings does this make? I want to make it for a lunch I'm having. We're having 8 people; should I double the recipe?
    thanks!

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  36. The original recipe says it makes 8 servings. The soup is very thick, so I would add some extra liquid....maybe another cup of broth and half cup of half and half. That will give you more soup. Let us know how it turns out.

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  37. Good, but, not a ton of flavor. I will make it again and probably add more veggies, definitely peas.

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  38. Mine turned to mush too. Ended up throwing out most of it. :(

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  39. Hmmm....sorry to hear that. Do you think it cooked too long?

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  40. I love a good Chicken and Wild Rice soup, so maybe my expectations were too high, but I followed the recipe to the letter and it tasted like flour paste. I "salted to taste" so it tastes like salted, flour paste. It was easy to make for sure, but if I try again I'd definitely cut down on flour.

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  41. Thanks for the comment. This is a good recipe but I think I need to make it again and adjust the flour amount and time.

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  42. This soup was amazing! Going to make it for the second time tomorrow. Thanks!

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  43. I found and made this soup today; it is a keeper. I did change a few things....added extra veggies. I would agree, it gets very thick, so next time will add the rice an hour into the 4 hours on high. Also, I ran out of time so didn't do the creamy part with the rue; it is delicious as is without the extra fat. This will be a great dish to take when providing dinner to a friend. Love it.

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  44. I am making bread bowls to eat with this!
    http://jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/2011/10/soft-bread-bowls.html
    can't wait!

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  45. I just made this and my family LOVED it!!! Even my hubby,who is hard to please with soups because he never feels 'full' after.SO good!

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  46. This was awesome and so creamy! Sharing recipe with MY mommy!

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  47. this soup was fantastic! I did cut down on the butter/flour/half and half mixture since I am trying to watch calories. I used about 3/4 of what recipe called for......next time I will try to 1/2 it as it was plenty thick and creamy. My family loved it! Husband said it is his favorite soup now! Thanks for sharing.

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  48. This is our favorite crockpot soup right now....I love this recipe...so yummy and warm.

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  49. I made this last night and was very impressed! Thanks for sharing an excellent soup recipe!

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  50. I saw this recipe while I was out of town on a trip and have been hungry for it for DAYS! 1st day home and made this wonderful soup....So easy, and fantastic flavor. Can't wait to try more of your recipes!

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  51. I made this for dinner tonight and my boyfriend and I loved it!! The only thing I changed was to add mushrooms, which I think added even more flavor. We also didn't mind the thickness - it was about as thick as a stew, which was just fine for us. Thanks for the recipe!

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  52. This is THE best soup I've EVER made in our slow cooker. Awesome. Thank you so much for posting it!

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  53. Mmmm, its in the slow cooker now and I just tasted it and it is sooo good.
    I did it just a little different, instead of making the rue I just whisked the flour right into the slow cooker and left out the butter, salt, and pepper (trying to cut some fat and sodium). Thanks for the recipe!! I found it on pinterest.

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  54. Just made this for the first time, have to say I love Panera Chicken and Wild Rice soup and so does my daughter, she actually said that this was better! Very good flavor! I used the Rice/Roni Garlic Wild rice because that was what I had in my pantry also added mushrooms, was wonderful! Will be making again!

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  55. I am going to make this to freeze as i am preparing for after i have my baby. Would you recommend that i thaw it out to reheat or could i just put this in a pot frozen on low until warm??

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    Replies
    1. I made and froze some and just popped it in the pan when I wanted a bowl. (Or microwave.) I thought it froze really well and am just getting ready to make another batch.

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  56. Hmmm....I've never made it from frozen, so not sure. Maybe partially thaw it and see how that goes.

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  57. Made this tonight - loved it! So easy and so good!

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  58. This soup is so easy and so amazing. I think about it all the time and would make it every week if my family would let me. Thanks for the recipie!!!!!

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  59. This looks super yummy! I included it in my "fall foods" line up today :)
    http://www.discovercreatelive.com/2012/11/inspiration-friday-fall-foods.html

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  60. Love this soup. I use half the flour and it turned out perfectly for our preference. Thanks for the recipe. Everyone at my party loved it and ive made it twice since then. Frozen chicken is perfect for this recipe at four hours on high.

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  61. U think it is better with some peas. We are going to make yours..ours is similiar and we serve with hot biscuits,,yummy

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  62. This looks so good and great to have in these cold winter monthes thanks for sharing this recipe.

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  63. This was SO delicious!! I followed your exact recipe and I don't think it was too thick at all. It was nice and creamy and the flavors were great! My husband ate two bowlfuls and wanted more. We had plenty for leftovers. Thanks--this is a keeper!

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  64. I made this for dinner tonight and it is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing!!! YUM!

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  65. Best soup I have ever had! I didn't change a thing and it was perfect. My boyfriend loved it so much that I am going to make another pot of it for his Valentine's Day present :)

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  66. We tried this recipe and were disappointed with it. I'm sure we followed it step by step, and maybe it was supposed to happen this way - but the rice just turned to mush. the flavor was ok, but the mushy rice & the fact that there wasn't much nutritional value to it aside from some protein from the chicken, we won't be making it agin.

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  67. Love this recipe! We use it quite often. I double the carrots and celery and add minced onion flakes to it and use Uncle Ben's Wild Rice. After a couple hours check it to see if it needs a little bit more water added.

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  68. If your rice turns to mush, make sure you don't use the instant 5 minute rice, but the regular wild rice.

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  69. I made this tonight almost exactly as the new directions say. I had baked chicken left over from Sunday dinner so I used cooked chicken instead of raw. I just added the chicken and the rice a little later. It was not too thick at all. In fact just perfect. I love soup. Will be a family favorite.

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  70. I tasked the hubby with throwing this in the crockpot the other day for dinner. It turned out so good! I wouldn't change a thing. I also shared it on my blog today -- linking back to you of course :) Thanks for sharing!!

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  71. I had to comment...we've made this many times and hope to again this fall/winter. Absolutely love it!! Made a couple changes. We like bacon (who doesn't?) and put some bacon in the soup and use the fat for the roux. I also use Uncle Ben's wild rice...it's good!

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  72. I made this tonight with Uncle Ben's wild rice (less sodium than Rice A Roni) and it was super yummy! Mine was not too thick at all...in fact I would have liked it a bit thicker. I used fat free half & half, so not sure if that made a difference or not. Anyhow, thanks for this delicious comforting recipe on a cold & snowy Chicago day! :)

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  73. In the crockpot right now and smells delicious! Thanks!

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  74. This has been my go to recipe for years! Sometimes I'll skip the roux and add a little salt/pepper to make it a traditional chicken and rice soup. I've also shaved fresh corn off the cob and sautéed with garlic, added that in. Thanks for the recipe! So good!

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