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Lightened Up Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

lightened up creamy crockpot chicken and wild rice soup - featured image
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A velvety, creamy chicken and wild rice soup made healthier with cottage cheese instead of heavy cream. This easy slow cooker recipe delivers rich comfort food flavor with minimal effort.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • 1 cup wild rice blend (e.g., Lundberg)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
  • 1/2 cup small-curd low-fat cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup milk (dairy or unsweetened almond milk)
  • Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Dice onion, carrots, and celery into uniform pieces. Mince garlic.
  2. Place chicken in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Scatter diced vegetables and garlic over the top.
  3. Sprinkle wild rice blend over vegetables. Add dried thyme, dried rosemary, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
  4. Pour chicken broth over everything. Do not stir. Liquid should mostly cover ingredients; add a splash more broth or water if needed.
  5. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily, and wild rice is tender but still has a slight bite.
  6. Remove chicken from slow cooker using tongs. Shred with two forks. Discard bay leaf.
  7. Ladle about 2 cups of hot soup liquid (with some cooked vegetables and rice) into a blender. Add cottage cheese and milk. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. (If using an immersion blender, add cottage cheese and milk directly to the pot and blend.)
  8. Pour the creamy blended mixture back into the slow cooker. Add shredded chicken. Stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed.
  9. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Notes

For thicker soup, reduce broth to 5 cups or simmer uncovered on HIGH for 20-30 minutes. For thinner soup, stir in extra warm broth or milk. Soup thickens as it sits; add liquid when reheating. To freeze, leave out the creamy base and add fresh when reheating. Wild rice is done when it starts to ‘pop’ open. Let soup cool 5 minutes before blending to avoid steam pressure.

Nutrition

Keywords: creamy chicken soup, wild rice soup, crockpot soup, slow cooker soup, healthy creamy soup, lightened up soup, chicken and rice soup

Find it online: https://dinadinnertable.com/lightened-up-creamy-crockpot-chicken-and-wild-rice-soup-easy-healthy-recipe/