It’s time to cozy up to another delicious bowl of soup. This Dairy-Free Creamy Chicken + Wild Rice Soup is absolutely perfect to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. I love saving all of the bones/carcass from the turkey and making homemade bone broth after Thanksgiving. Using that as the base of this soup + the diced leftover turkey is quite lovely.
However, if it’s not Thanksgiving season and you still want this soup–have no fear! You can use store-bought broth and rotisserie chicken instead! Regardless, this soup is absolutely phenomenal and all made in one pot. I let the rice cook directly in the soup and once the rice is tender, I thicken it with a dairy-free creamer and arrowroot starch slurry.
The end result of this Dairy-Free Creamy Chicken + Wild Rice Soup is a comforting bowl of creamy, hearty and healthy soup. It’s one that the whole family will adore and I can’t wait for you to try it for yourselves!
Find more soup + stew recipes here.
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup carrot, diced small
- 1 cup celery, diced small
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, or more to taste
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade turkey stock)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves)
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1/2 tsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- dash of cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 2 cups cooked, diced chicken or turkey you can use rotisserie chicken
- 3/4 cup Nutpods Dairy-Free Original Creamer you can use heavy creamer here
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or the juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the veggies are just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, oregano and cayenne. Stir to combine and increase heat so that it comes to a boil.
- Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer over low heat. Add the diced chicken (or turkey) and the uncooked wild rice. Cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 45 minutes. *see note below
- After the rice is tender, uncover the soup and increase the heat so that is it simmering more vigorously, but not boiling (about medium heat).
- In a small bowl, combine the dairy-free creamer and arrowroot flour and whisk until arrowroot has dissolved in the creamer.
- While slowly stirring the soup, slowly pour in the creamer/arrowroot mixture until it is well combined in the soup. Continue to cook the soup, uncovered and simmering, stirring often until it has thickened, 5 to 10 more minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice, serve and enjoy!
37 Comments
Nikki
January 16, 2022 at 10:34 pmCan you do this in the crockpot
Alex
January 29, 2022 at 3:02 pmyes I think this would work well in the crockpot!
Melanie
February 16, 2022 at 12:42 amMade this tonight – delish!!! How would you do this in the crockpot with uncooked chicken breast? Do you add rice and the thickening agents at different times or just throw it all in together? Also, could you sub rice for GF pasta?
Alex
February 16, 2022 at 6:11 pmHi Melanie– I haven’t yet done it in the crockpot but here is how i would do it:
-throw boneless, skinless chicken breast in the crockpot with all ingredients EXCEPT for the creamer, arrowroot and lemon juice. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4. Once cook time is complete, using tongs remove the chicken and either shred or chop and place back into the crockpot.
Make the slurry with the creamer and arrowroot and stir into the soup and let set for 5 to 10 mins on warm or so to thicken. Stir in the lemon juice right before serving!
Hope this helps!!
Bill
December 18, 2021 at 10:47 pmI made this today after my COVID Booster yesterday. It restored me fantastically.
Lexi
December 14, 2021 at 12:27 amSoup is delicious! Is it supposed to be pretty thick? My turned out on the thinner side. Wondering if I went wrong somewhere!
Sarah
December 12, 2021 at 5:32 amHave you ever frozen this? Does it reheat okay?
Alex
December 13, 2021 at 5:16 pmyes it reheats very well!! Sometimes the rice can drink up a lot of the broth– so you may just need to add more broth when reheating in the future!
Jen
December 1, 2021 at 5:32 pmLooking forward to making this!!! Do you think I can add raw chicken when I add the rice and just cook it in the soup instead of cooking it ahead of time?
Alex
December 2, 2021 at 8:08 pmyes absolutely!
Shirley
December 1, 2021 at 3:18 pmHi Alex! Recipe looks great! Any recommendations for cooking the chicken with the soup broth? I have boneless skinless chicken thighs I need to use but am feeling a little lazy about cooking them beforehand. Thanks!
Alex
December 2, 2021 at 8:08 pmyes, just toss them in there and once they are cooked through, remove from the soup and chop them up!
Sarah
November 9, 2021 at 3:02 pmMade this for dinner last night and it was DELICIOUS!! Served some sourdough bread with it and it was so cozy!
Shannon Star
August 14, 2021 at 11:24 pmExtended family members have Covid 🙁
Making this favorite for them now so I can drop some on their porch. Saving some for my daughter and I to eat tonight so we can stay healthy. Thanks Alex, for having so many healthful recipes to keep us well. We love you!
KP
March 21, 2021 at 7:02 pmBest soup i’ve ever made hands down. Followed the recipe exactly and it was absolutely heavenly!!
Honor
March 18, 2021 at 10:57 pmDo you use the seasoning packet that comes with the rice?
Alex
March 21, 2021 at 12:45 pmnope! Just the seasonings/herbs I provided in the recipe.
Sarah
March 16, 2021 at 9:13 pmCan’t wait to try this! What could I use as a substitute for the arrowroot starch?
Alex
March 17, 2021 at 12:49 pmYou can sub cornstarch or tapioca flour in this one.
Kinsey
January 25, 2021 at 1:47 amWow! This is so flavorful. I slowly cooked sliced mushrooms alongside the soup and added them in with the cream ant the end. The lemon juice brightens it and is so good. Will make again!
Catie
January 11, 2021 at 1:35 amWow! This is so so yummy! Made it with half and half so not dairy free but absolutely delicious. I will absolutely be making this again and again…
Lauren
February 22, 2021 at 8:26 pmMaking this soup for tonight! What is best way to cook chicken before hand? I’m using chicken breasts 🙂
Alex
February 23, 2021 at 1:59 pmYou can roast them or poach them!
Melissa
December 15, 2020 at 4:35 pmI would love to make this but don’t have Wild Rice on hand, what other type of rice can be used here?
Andrea w
December 12, 2020 at 3:08 amThis is delicious. I used chicken and had some heavy cream I needed to use so mine wasn’t dairy free but dang! I took a bite and said WOW!
Sarah
November 15, 2020 at 3:34 pmDo you think you could use coconute milk or cream instead of nutpods?
Alex
November 16, 2020 at 1:58 pmyes it works with coconut milk– coconut milk definitely has a stronger taste to it but it’s still great.
Anna Hughes
November 17, 2020 at 10:16 pmWhat about oat milk?
Alex
November 18, 2020 at 12:08 amI haven’t tried it with oat milk– as long as it’s neutral in flavor it should work well in the recipe 🙂
Cassie
January 22, 2022 at 11:34 pmI’ve just made this soup, subbing the creamer for light coconut milk 1:1. It was absolutely delicious! Fantastic recipe. Love the subtle lemon!!
Brittany Mayfield
November 15, 2020 at 12:25 amHi – I’m thinking about trying this with jackfruit instead of chicken as a meat substitute. Do you think I should still put it in at the same time as I put in the rice? Thanks!!
Alex
November 30, 2020 at 4:24 pmTo be honest– I am not very familiar working with Jackfruit
carly
November 10, 2020 at 12:05 amdelish!! had to add a little bit more salt and pepper but so good and filling. I added peas to have more veggie and was a great addition
Roxie
October 26, 2020 at 1:18 amHi Alex! Do you have recommendations on making this in an instant pot or slow cooker? Thank you!
Alex
October 26, 2020 at 9:36 pmohh, I haven’t yet tried doing the rice in the IP… so I am not sure on cook time. But it would certainly work!
Claire
November 3, 2020 at 1:37 amFavorite soup I’ve ever made!
Alex
November 3, 2020 at 1:04 pm🙂 that makes me happy.