Easy to make, filling and super tasty, this soup is made with chicken and wild rice and flavoured with lemon. It’s a perfect soup recipe to make if you have any leftover roasted chicken or you can use a fresh chicken meat too.
Lemon chicken wild rice soup is a delicious and comforting dish that is perfect for a cozy night in or a warm meal on a cold day. This soup is packed with flavor from the lemon, chicken, and wild rice, and it is easy to make with simple ingredients. Whether you are looking for a healthy meal or just a tasty and satisfying soup, this recipe is sure to please.
Why make this recipe?
- Easy to make soup recipe
- High in protein & other nutritions
- can easily be made Dairy Free, Gluten Free
- Can be made with leftover roasted chicken and leftover rice
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Pro tip
Don’t worry about measuring out the ingredients exactly. If you have only handful of rice left or don’t have a wild rice, use what you have. There is no need to run out to the shops to get more.
This goes for the chicken too – use fresh or leftover baked chicken legs or chicken roasted on a can or whatever you have in your fridge.
The only thing you need to keep is the volume of the water/vegetable broth. I’d found that about 300 mil (about 1 1/3 cup ) is a good portion for one person.
Ingredients you will need for this soup recipe
- chicken – either fresh or leftover roasted chicken
- onion
- carrots
- rice – best wild rice or any other type of rice – see my notes below
- water
- vegetable stock – or chicken stock
- butter – can be left out or use dairy free butter or a little bit of oil if you wish
- garlic
- thyme
- lemon
- celery
- bay leaves
- parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
What to do if you don’t have wild rice for this recipe
I’ve used wild rice, because I like the unusual taste and because I already had it at home, but if you don’t have wild rice, there are plenty of other types that will work with this soup recipe.
There are other types of rice that can be used as a substitute for wild rice in soup, including long grain brown rice, wild pecan rice, brown basmati rice, and even quinoa. Medium or long-grained brown rice is particularly good as it has a similar chewy texture and nutty flavor as wild rice, making it a great alternative. Red rice, black rice, and any other type of wild rice can be also used in this chicken soup recipe.
If you don’t have any of these, then just use white rice or any regular rice and the recipe will work just fine. I tend to use different rice every time I make this soup anyway.
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Saving tip
This recipe includes making your own chicken or vegetable broth, whilst cooking the fresh chicken at the same time. If you are using a leftover chicken or chicken that’s already cooked or baked, you can skip this step completely.
Use stock cubes (either chicken, turkey or vegetable cubes) instead of making your own broth. Add the chicken in at the end of the simmering time, just to warm through. You will need the longest cooking time for the wild rice and carrots.
How to make Lemon Chicken & Wild rice soup at home
If using fresh (uncooked) chicken, chop the chicken into smaller pieces (it will cook quicker) first.
In a large saucepan or soup stock pot, add the water, vegetable or chicken stock cubes, celery and any bits of the onions and carrots you won’t be using in the main part of the recipe.
Season the stock pot with salt and pepper and add thyme and bay leaves.
Add the chicken and bring the whole stock to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until chicken is cooked though. Depending on the size of the chicken this might take about 20 minutes.
Take out the chicken pieces and cut the up or shred with scissors into even smaller pieces.
Pour the chicken stock through a fine sieve and throw away the vegetables and bay leaves. Keep the broth
In another large pot, heat up some butter and add the onions, carrots, garlic and sautee until the onion is see through and the carrots soften. This might take about 5-7 minutes.
Add the chicken pieces, rice and pour the prepared chicken stock in.
Bring to the boil again, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on what type of wild rice you are using (check individual packages for timings).
When the rice is cooked through, add a juice of one lemon and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve in a deep bowls topped up with fresh parsley and slices of lemon.
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How to serve lemon chicken and wild rice soup
This soup is great (and quite filling) as it is, so you can serve it without any side dishes. But if you want to make it into a full meal, then the following dishes work great with this chicken soup:
- Grilled cheese sandwiches
- Bread with my easy homemade herb butter
- Croutons made from my homemade sourdough bread without starter
- Cornbread (Traditional, vegan or without sugar cornbread)
- Green salads
- Seeded Crispbread
- Quesadillas
- Roasted sweet potatoes
- Dumplings
Serving size & can I scale up or down this recipe?
This recipe is for 4 people, but you are welcome to half the recipe or double it based on how many people you are cooking for. Just toggle the recipe card to display the quantity you need if you want 2 or 3 times large quantity.
To make smaller amount, you need to half all the ingredients or make the whole amount and freeze some for later.
Can this chicken and rice soup recipe be made in advance?
Yes, this soup keeps well, although the rice can get a little soggy if left in for too long. Cooked rice soup can last in the fridge for about 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container, providing that the chicken is also freshly cooked before you make the soup. If you are using leftover chicken and you had it in the fridge already for 1-2 days, then I’d make sure to eat the soup within 48 hrs or freeze it on the day you make it.
I always make sure that I cool the soup to room temperature before storing it in the fridge to prevent bacterial growth. If you want to keep the soup for longer, you can store it in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
How to store this chicken & rice soup recipe if you have any leftovers
To keep this soup fresh, it’s best to freeze it if you can’t finish the soup on the same day. You an also store it in the fridge, but the vegetables and rice won’t taste as crispy the next day as they are when you’ve just made it.
Although you could freeze the chicken and rice soup following my steps for freezing potato soup, the rice does go slightly soggy when it’s defrosted and re-heated. If you are fine with it then it’s absolutely O.K to freeze this soup.
How to re-heat this soup
Simply heat it up again on a stove if you are heating up large amount or heat up one bowl at a time if you need just one portion.
- Stovetop: Place the rice soup in a pot on the stove and heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches your desired temperature.
- Microwave: Transfer the rice soup to a microwave-safe bowl, cover it with a microwave-safe lid or plastic wrap, and microwave it on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is heated through.
- Slow cooker: Pour the rice soup into a slow cooker and heat it on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until it is heated through.
No matter which method you choose, make sure that the soup reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F (74°C) to ensure that it is safe to eat.
Is chicken and wild rice soup healthy?
My wild rice soup recipe is a healthy and nutritious meal, providing that you (loosely) use the ingredients used in the recipe and don’t add any heavy or double cream, cheese or other calorie laden ingredients. Each portion works out around 250 calories.
My recipe for chicken and wild rice soup include nutritious ingredients such as chicken, vegetables, wild rice, and low-sodium chicken broth, which provide protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. You can skip the butter if you want to make the soup dairy free and leave few calories out.
.Lemon Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 300-500 grams chicken either fresh or leftover roasted chicken – cut up into smaller pieces
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 100 grams wild rice
- 1,5 litre water
- 2 cubes vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 lemon
- 1 celery roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- handful fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If using fresh (uncooked) chicken, chop the chicken into smaller pieces (it will cook quicker) first.
- In a large saucepan or soup stock pot, add the water, vegetable or chicken stock cubes, celery and any bits of the onions and carrots you won't be using in the main part of the recipe.
- Season the stock pot with salt and pepper and add thyme and bay leaves.
- Add the chicken and bring the whole stock to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until chicken is cooked though. Depending on the size of the chicken this might take about 20 minutes.
- Take out the chicken pieces and cut the up or shred with scissors into even smaller pieces.
- Pour the chicken stock through a fine sieve and throw away the vegetables and bay leaves. Keep the broth
- In another large pot, heat up some butter and add the onions, carrots, garlic and sautee until the onion is see through and the carrots soften. This might take about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the chicken pieces, rice and pour the prepared chicken stock in.
- Bring to the boil again, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on what type of wild rice you are using (check individual packages for timings).
- When the rice is cooked through, add a juice of one lemon and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve in a deep bowls topped up with fresh parsley and slices of lemon.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally written on 5 July 2021 and last tested and updated on 17 September 2023
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