Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup
Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup is like a warm hug in a bowl. It’s deliciously creamy, herby, and hearty. It’s made with lots of vegetables, whole milk and cream but the special ingredient is small bites of sweet and tart dried cranberries. It’s also the perfect way to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 448kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups carrot diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 2 cups onion diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup wild rice (wild rice and brown rice blend is what I used)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp rosemary dried
- 1 tsp ground sage dried
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 2 bay leaves optional
- 1 lb chicken cubed
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups half n half cream
To Thicken The Soup (optional step)
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup flour
Instructions
- Before beginning, chop all your vegetables and set out all the ingredients. Cook the cubed chicken in a large soup pot or Dutch oven until lightly browned and fully cooked. Set aside.
- In the same large soup pot, and melt 2 tablespoon of butter. Add the chopped onions and cook for several minutes until softened.
- Add the diced carrots and celery and cook for several more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken broth, wild rice blend and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until the carrots and rice grains are tender.
- Reduce the heat, remove the bay leaves and add the remaining spices, dried cranberries (snip each cranberry two or three times with kitchen scissors for smaller bites), milk and cream.
- Stir in the cooked chicken and taste the soup. Take your time to carefully adjust for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as needed.
- Optional Step: If the broth requires thickening, make a slurry by melting ¼ cup of butter in a separate small saucepan and whisking ¼ cup of flour into it. Stir for several minutes. Add the slurry to the soup to thicken. Bring the soup back to temperature, stirring constantly. Taste again for seasoning.
- Serve the soup with a garnish of fresh herbs (like parsley or thyme) and a sprinkle of snipped dried cranberries.
Notes
- Prepare all ingredients before beginning. This makes for a more enjoyable and stress free cooking experience.
- For smaller bites of cranberry throughout, I snip the cranberries two to three times with kitchen scissors.
- I provide the option to thicken the soup. Depending on the brand of wild rice sometimes the rice itself lends enough starch to thicken the broth but if you find the broth too thin, you can add a slurry of butter and flour to thicken. Instructions found above in the recipe card.
- Before you add the milk and cream, check that the carrots and rice grains are cooked and tender.
- Once you’ve added the milk and cream ensure to not let the soup reach a boil again. If the dairy gets too hot it will separate.
- For a beautiful presentation when serving, sprinkle fresh herbs and a few dried cranberries on each soup bowl.
Nutrition
Serving: 58.06g | Calories: 448kcal | Carbohydrates: 26.1g | Protein: 30.7g | Fat: 24.1g | Saturated Fat: 13.8g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 673mg | Potassium: 686mg | Fiber: 2.5g | Sugar: 6.6g | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 2mg