It's National Soup Month, Y'all! Have Some Chicken and Wild Rice!

Not only is it soup season but January is also National Soup Month! As a new Minnesotan-by-marriage, I thought I would share my new absolute favorite soup that is VERY popular in the North Star State: Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Did you know wild rice is the state grain? I do now!

I’m going to give you the stovetop recipe but have also made the soup in the Instant Harry Potter, just so you know. The directions for stovetop chicken and wild rice soup are pretty universal from what I’ve seen but here are a few things to note:

• I was mainly inspired by this recipe which includes the Instant Pot directions
• Dairy isn’t a friend to my skin so instead of making a roux to thicken the soup, I used a can of full-fat coconut milk
• I also pretty much universally use this vegan Not Chick’n product instead of chicken broth because I LOVE the taste.
• The use of coconut milk plus the vegan stock makes this soup dairy-free, gluten-free and, if you choose not to add chicken, it’s downright vegan and still tastes amazing! If you want to make this completely grain-free, just add in more celery!

​Ready? Let's do this.

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp cooking oil (I used avocado oil)
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
5 carrots, sliced
8oz sliced baby bellas/creminis
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 cup wild rice (a special shout out to my client Myra who brought be back REAL MN wild rice as a gift! It was YUMMY)
6 cups chicken broth
1 already-made rotisserie chicken
1 can full-fat coconut milk
3-4 handfuls chopped curly kale

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oil over medium heat. When hot, sauté onion until translucent.
• Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add celery, carrots, mushrooms, bay leaf, Old Bay, salt, rice and broth.
• Bring to a boil; once the boil is reached, lower heat and simmer the soup, partially covered, for 45 minutes, or until rice is tender.
• While the soup cooks, get your already-cooked-so-it-saves-you-a-lot-of-time rotisserie chicken (preferably from Costco says dad). Get rid of the skin and then start taking the meat off the bones. Cut into small pieces or pull it apart. Place the chicken to the side.
• Turn the heat off and add in the coconut milk. Stir until it’s fully incorporated.
• Then, stir in the kale and cover. Get it in the mixture so the hot soup cooks it down.
• Once cooked down a little, add the chicken in.
• Serve hot!
  
  

This pot of soup can totally last you the work week. It will solidify somewhat in the refrigerator and the rice will absorb a lot of liquid; this is normal. Feel free to add more broth or coconut milk to soupify it if needed.

If you’re like me and like things to be a touch spicy, add in a little sriacha, live on the wild (rice) side!

Enjoy!