Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

Name: Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 305 min
Total time: 315 min
Ingredients: 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts; 3/4 cup wild rice (rinsed and drained); 1 onion (peeled and chopped ); 3 carrots (peeled and chopped); 3 ribs celery (chopped); 2 bay leaves; 2 cloves garlic (minced); 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence (or mixture of dried thyme, oregano, and rosemary, or similar herbs); 2 teaspoons salt; 1.5 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper; 8 cups low sodium chicken broth; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup heavy cream (up to 1.5 cups if you want things super creamy); Chopped fresh parsley or chives (garnish to taste (optional))

Published: January 12, 2019 Updated: May 26, 2020 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 44 Comments

Jump to Recipe

This slow cooker chicken and rice soup is filled with lots of chicken, wild rice and veggies for one comforting meal that’s sure to warm you up on the coldest of days. It’s like a hug in a bowl!

Bowl of chicken and rice soup garnished with parsley.

I seem to be on a soup kick lately. I can’t help myself! They’re just too simple to whip up. Plus, I can’t stand the cold and I need all the comfort food I can get.

The older I get, the less I can handle being chilly. As I think about it, I guess I’m quite finicky because I don’t like it too hot either. Anyway, this slow cooker chicken and rice soup is totally delicious!

Ingredients Needed

What I love about this slow cooker chicken and rice soup (besides the taste, of course), is aside from a couple minor finishing things at the end, it’s all dump and go.

Place everything in your slow cooker and go about your business. Come back a little while later, serve yourself a bowl and enjoy!

All you need is:

A good quality store-bought broth (or homemade)
Chicken breast
Wild rice
Carrots and celery
Aromatics, like onion and garlic
Seasoning, like salt, pepper, dried herbs and bay leaves
A touch of cream
And, if you like, flour and butter to make a flour roux (totally optional)

Ingredients for a homemade chicken and rice soup recipe.

How To Make Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

Place chicken breasts and rice in the slow cooker.
Veggies are added next.
Pour in broth and seasoning. Cover and cook.
After the cook time is up, carefully remove chicken and shred. Place back into the slow cooker. Remove and discard bay leaves.
Stir cream into soup.
Make a roux on the stovetop and stir into the slow cooker.

Collage of steps to make slow cooker chicken and rice soup.

Best Rice To Use

Use regular wild rice, not white, pre-cooked or a wild rice blend.

Do I Have To Cook Wild Rice Before Adding to Soup?

No! Just put it right into the slow cooker as it is and it will cook along with the rest of the ingredients.

What Is a Flour Roux?

A roux is a mixture of flour and fat, usually as equal proportions, and used as a thickening agent in soups, stews, sauces and gravies. Most often butter is used as the fat component (as used in this chicken rice soup).

Making a roux is easy! Simply melt butter in a pan, stir in flour to form a paste and cook for a few minutes until it forms a paste and the flour taste is gone. You don’t want to overcook or brown the roux too much because it will lose some of it’s thickening abilities if you do this.

Close-up of a bowl of chicken and rice soup garnished with parsley.

Can I Thicken Without Flour?

Absolutely!

Instead of using a flour roux to thicken the slow cooker chicken soup, use a cornstarch slurry. Simply mix about ½ tablespoon of cornstarch with ½ tablespoon of cold water in a cup and stir into the slow cooker and cook for a few minutes during the last few minutes of cook time.

Cornstarch is a more potent thickening agent than flour, so that’s why you need less cornstarch than flour.

Remember, if you want things even thicker you could always add more cornstarch slurry.

Tips for Making This Recipe

Boneless and skinless chicken breasts in this recipe, but you could use chicken thighs or a combo of both, if you prefer.
Cook time is 5 to 6 hours on low. Since each slow cooker varies, check on at 5 hours.
If you want the soup thicker, add more roux.
This chicken wild rice soup is just a touch creamy, but not overwhelmingly so. If you want a super creamy chicken and wild rice soup, simply add more cream, up to 1.5 cups.

Bowl of chicken and rice soup alongside celery, parsley and a bay leaf.

More Cozy Soup Recipes

If you make this easy chicken and rice soup, be sure to leave a comment below!