Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup

Side view of a black bowl of chicken mushroom soup topped with crisped mushrooms.

5 from 3 votes

Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup

This deeply savory chicken, mushroom, and wild rice soup is hearty, comforting, and heavy on the mushrooms. It’s easy to make with simple prep using leftover or rotisserie chicken. Serve it to feed a crowd or enjoy it throughout a busy week.

Makes 11 cups

Prep Time40

Total Time1 30

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken mushroom wild rice soup, chicken wild rice mushroom soup, wild rice and mushroom soup with chicken

Servings: to 8 Servings

Calories: 688kcal

Author: Tara Teaspoon

Ingredients

20 ounces mixed mushrooms oyster, shiitake, cremini, hen of the woods, etc; trimmed and cleaned, Divided
5 tablespoons butter Divided
4 tablespoons olive oil Divided
1 medium onion finely diced, 1 ½ cups
2 carrots finely diced, 1 cup
2 ribs celery finely diced, 1 cup
3 cloves garlic minced, Divided
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 ounces) wild rice rinsed and drained
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
10 to 15 sprigs fresh thyme divide sprigs in half: leave one half whole and pick the leaves from the other half and chop to yield 2½ teaspoons chopped thyme, Divided
1 lemon
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded or chopped cooked chicken
⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Chopped flat-leaf parsley for topping

Instructions

Get the soup started:

Heat oven to 400ºF. Divide the mushrooms in half. Finely chop one half (10 ounces) for the soup. Cut or tear the remaining half into slices or 1-inch pieces. Spread on a non-stick, or foil-lined baking sheet and set aside.
In a large soup pot (6 to 8 quarts), over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and 2 cloves minced garlic, and stir to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is just translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the reserved finely chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are very soft and start to brown on the bottom of the pan, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and flour. Stir to combine well.
Add the wild rice, chicken broth, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2½ teaspoons chopped thyme leaves. Stir. Bring to a simmer, reducing heat as needed. Cover the pot and simmer until some of the rice is just bursting and tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

Make the mushroom topping*:

Use a vegetable peeler to cut thin strips of lemon peel from the lemon. Chop the peel into thin pieces, add to the torn and sliced mushrooms on the baking sheet.
Add the remaining 5 or 6 sprigs of thyme and 1 clove minced garlic to the mushrooms.
Sprinkle mushrooms with ½ teaspoon salt and the ground black pepper.
Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over mushrooms and drizzle on 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss mushrooms, thyme, lemon zest and garlic to coat with the butter and oil and spread evenly on the baking sheet.
Bake mushrooms in the oven until bits are golden brown and crispy, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Use these mushrooms as a topping for the soup. (Remove the thyme sprigs before serving.)

Back to the soup:

When the rice is done, add chicken, Parmesan, and heavy cream. Heat through and season with cayenne (optional), and extra thyme if desired.
Serve soup topped with oven-cooked mushrooms and parsley on top. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

*If you forgo the mushroom topping, use the extra 10 ounces of mixed mushrooms as you do the other mushrooms (chopping finely) and cook them into the soup with the other mushrooms.

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