Chicken and Wild Rice Soup in Slow Cooker

Easy creamy chicken and wild rice soup with artichokes, spinach and flavorful spices... prepared in your trusty slow cooker. 

Healthy dose of spinach, some boneless chicken, and some potent spices is my go-to recipe for wild rice soups. For this version, I also added some frozen artichokes, carrots, and lemon which gives me a two-in-one soup.

Two-in-one in various ways really.

First, delicious combo of lemony spinach and artichoke soup, and chicken and wild rice soup in one trusty crockpot.

Second, option to choose between a creamy chicken and wild rice soup or a clean clear soup. Trust me, it tastes amazing either ways!

Last, but no way the least... option to make is vegetarian! That works out best when we are on meatless diet!

That much and still an easy chicken and rice soup which is also a complete nourishing meal!

Sounds great! Isn't it?

Let's get cooking!!

There are two ways we enjoy this soup. 

Vishal's favorite: is slightly thick clear soup with chunks of chicken, lemony broth and warm bits of rice and spinach in every bite.

Savita's favorite: Creamy chicken soup with rice.... stick-to-ribs comforting thick soup with chunks of chicken, chewey rice, and all of the above! This is how we had first batch of soup, for dinner, even before I clicked these pictures.

Honestly, I had hard time deciding which one should I share with you - clear version or creamy version. So, when Vishal suggested, Why don't you share both! I totally liked that idea!

So here you have it, one soup catering to all kind of picky eaters. Clear version is also dairy-free and gluten free.

Cooking Wild Rice in Slow Cooker:
Wild rice are excellent when cooked in slow cooker. These don't get mushy and have some bite even after being cooked for long.. I cooked this soup on high in about 3 hours. On low, I mostly cook it for 7-8 hours. In this time, chicken gets juicy and tender, wild rice are very tender but still have bite... A one pot meal which is filling, has protein, veggies, and it needs almost no effort. 

Just a side of crusty bread and dinner is ready.

Now, that's a winner in my book! What do you say?

Note: It is important to know that rice based soup gets thick when sit for long after cooking. When I have leftovers of rice soups.. I dilute them with some chicken stock and adjust the seasonings before serving again.

Meatless Spinach Artichoke Soup? There is one more variation of this soup which we love to enjoy on our meatless diet days. That is Lemony Wild Rice Spinach and Artichoke soup. Trust me, meaty texture of artichokes will not make you feel like missing chicken, for a second. To make it vegetarian, I skip chicken and substitute chicken stock with good quality or homemade vegetable stock. That's it! You can serve it creamy or clear like Chicken Soup.