CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP (DAIRY FREE)

January 28, 2023

Still on that soup kick and this one's a goodie! I made this Chicken Wild Rice Soup dairy free, gluten-free, macro-friendly, and loaded with flavor. It took several tries to perfect this soup, and it's a winner! It's got hearty wild rice, tender shredded chicken, delicious mushrooms and fresh herbs all in a thicker cream broth. 

You might also like my Hamburger Lentil Soup or my Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili :)

Did you know? Rinsing rice repeatedly with hot water can remove much of the grain's stored arsenic from the soil, researchers have found. (source) You can also reduce the amount of arsenic by up to 60% by cooking rice like pasta then draining. Arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral that is toxic but found in small amounts in virtually all drinking water (unless using a reverse osmosis filter). 

The best chicken and substitutes

This recipe uses raw boneless skinless chicken breasts so you don't have to hunt for rotisserie or pre-roasted chicken! I always buy "organic" chicken or at the very least "free range" and "antibiotic free." This ensures that the chickens had access to the outdoors and were not administered antibiotics due to diseased conditions. 

You could also use vegan chik'n or chickpeas for protein instead! 

Wild rice and substitutes

I usually buy Lundberg brand from Walmart, but you can also buy it on Amazon. If substituting brown rice or long grain white rice, just adjust the cooking time based on the package instructions. Wild rice takes up to 45 minutes to become tender, which is longer than most rice varieties. It's hearty texture and nutty flavor make up for it!

Vegetables and substitutes

The base of any good soup is onion, carrot, and celery. You'll notice I include these in almost all of my broth based soups! I also added some mushrooms because I feel like that's a classic add-in with wild rice soup. However, if you really don't like mushrooms, you can leave them out or substitute spinach or another tender vegetable you like.

Broth and cream

To get a nice thick broth, I used both gluten free all-purpose flour and dairy-free cream. You can also get this plant cream from Walmart or use full fat coconut milk (do not use light which is sweeter tasting).

If you prefer a clear broth, then just skip the flour and cream and use an extra cup of low sodium organic chicken broth or vegetable broth for vegan. I always choose low sodium broth so that I can add salt to taste!

Spices and herbs

For this recipe, I used fresh thyme, dried rosemary, dried crumbled bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. You could totally swap any of these for fresh (just use three times as much), or trade the fresh thyme for one half teaspoon of dried thyme. I have also made this before with poultry seasoning in place of the rosemary and it's also delicious! 

Since I know some people don't tolerate much salt, I wrote this recipe for one teaspoon of salt but actually used closer to one and a half teaspoon. I figure you can always add more but it's impossible to take out!

Here is the printable recipe for this cozy Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Dairy Free)! I hope you'll rate and comment below if you try it :) 

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