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–+ servings

Copycat Panera Chicken & Wild Rice Soup Recipe

Copycat Panera Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is a creamy, cozy soup loaded with tender chicken, carrots, herbs, and wild rice, perfect for easy homemade comfort food, cold weather dinners, and meal prep lunches.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced small
  • 2 large carrots peeled and diced small
  • 2 celery ribs diced small
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water as needed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried parsley
  • ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning optional
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup dry wild rice blend or ¾ cup dry wild rice
  • 2½ cups cooked chicken shredded or chopped
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • ½ cup heavy cream optional
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice optional
  • Chopped parsley for garnish optional

Instructions
 

  • In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until softened.
  • Add garlic and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant.
  • Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
  • Slowly pour in chicken broth, stirring constantly to keep the mixture smooth. Add bay leaf, thyme, parsley, poultry seasoning (if using), salt, and pepper.
  • Stir in dry wild rice (or wild rice blend). Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, 35 to 45 minutes for a blend or 50 to 60+ minutes for pure wild rice. Add small splashes of water if the soup thickens too much while the rice cooks.
  • Stir in cooked chicken and warm for 5 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half and heavy cream (if using). Heat gently for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil.
  • Remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add lemon juice if desired. Serve warm with parsley on top.

Notes

Rice continues absorbing liquid as it sits. When reheating leftovers, stir in broth or water until the texture looks right.
For freezing, freeze the soup before adding dairy, then add half-and-half when reheating for the smoothest texture.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!