You won’t believe how quick and easy this healthy Gluten Free Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is! Plus, it’s loaded with lots of veggies and brown rice for a completely whole grain, hearty meal.
You know that saying, “Looks can be deceiving”???
Well ain’t that the truth?! There are so many times in my life where the look of things are completely different from what they actually are. I’ve learned to give some foods a try that I might not ordinarily gravitate toward for this very reason.
But, at the same token, sometimes looks are an exact preview for what you’ll be receiving. Perfect example: mochi. Have you ever tried mochi? It looks disgusting and it is disgusting! People love it here, but I can’t even handle the texture. It’s basically a gummy, dense cake made from a sticky white rice flour.
No matter what version I try, it makes me want to barf. It can be prepared more like a cake, cut into brightly colored jiggly Jell-O looking squares coated in cornstarch, or I’ve also seen it wrapped around little balls of ice cream (I haven’t ever tried this version, but I’m pretty sure I would hate it too). Basically any baked good you can hold in your hand and jiggle is a HECK NO in my book.
The reason I despise mochi so much is that it reminds me of all my baking failures when I first started experimenting with gluten free. Usually when something didn’t turn out right, it was because the texture was off. My failed muffins and cakes ended up dense and gummy, just like mochi. So to me, mochi is something that should be dumped in the trash can, not ingested and enjoyed.
On a more serious note, we had to have a stern discussion with Braelyn last night about how looks can be very deceiving.
She and her friend down the street were riding bikes and playing with a few other kids. I feel Braelyn is old enough to play out on the street alone. Once Emry decided she wanted to join the gang with her scooter, I obviously walked outside to escort her to the group and keep an eye on her while she was playing.
Anyhow, when I got out there, I immediately spotted Braelyn and her little friend practically hanging inside this guy’s truck window just chatting away and asking him to play all kinds of songs on his phone. They were dancing and laughing and had ZERO concept of the danger of being this close to a total stranger. At one point, they even opened the guy’s door to get closer to him so he could show them how to shoot rubber band guns with their fingers.
I about had a heart attack.
When Ben and I discussed this situation with her later that evening, she exclaimed, “But he was a nice stranger!”
It’s quite difficult to convince a kid that things aren’t always as they seem. We had to put a slightly uncomfortable amount of fear into her about what strangers could do in order to assure this situation didn’t happen again. Poor kid. She’s just too darn friendly.
Now back to food.
One of the most deceiving foods to me is soup. Ben and I were just talking about this tonight after eating a bowl of red pepper soup. It never looks like it’s going to be filling enough. A ladle full of soup just doesn’t seem like it should be considered a meal. But then you add mix-ins, toppings, and a side salad and all of the sudden your gut is about to burst with all that food. That sneaky satiating soup.
And speaking of filling soups that can be a complete meal in itself is this Gluten Free Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. So creamy, so satisfying!
This soup has it ALL. Literally, it has it all:
- spoonfuls of hearty brown rice
- chunks of pan seared white meat chicken breasts
- slices of tender carrots and celery
- a mixture of aromatic herbs
- a creamy savory broth
Sounds pretty dreamy, right? Indeed it is!
I love that this soup can be considered a one pot meal. Since I cook the chicken in the same pot that I cook the soup in, and the fact that I use prepackaged precooked rice, there is very little to do in the clean up department. Oh how I LOVE an easy clean up!
And two more tips to make this soup even easier to make:
- Do not peel the carrots. Who cares???! They’re being cooked anyway, so just rinse them and chop.
- Chop ALL that celery. Don’t worry about cutting off the leafy ends because that can be thrown right into the soup. I always save my celery leaves and ends for cooking. Waste not, want not over here!
Seriously, though. This soup is so darn delicious. It is perfectly seasoned and has so much variety of texture and flavors. This soup far exceeds the Mmm Mmm Good test (thank you Campbell’s for that catch phrase!), and it is sure to satisfy all the mouths at your dinner table.
So the next time you see a bowl of soup trying to be a meal, give it a chance. It may just pleasantly surprise you. And if you have some stranger danger tips for my social butterfly, send them my way!
Do you consider soup a meal?
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1½ pounds raw chicken breast (about 2 large breasts)
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups chopped (1/4" thick) celery stalk, including heart and leaves
- 2 cups thinly sliced (1/8" thick) carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 cups milk (I used 1%)
- ⅓ cup white rice flour
- 1½-2 teaspoons salt
- ½-3/4 teaspoon pepper
- ¾ teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups precooked wild rice or brown rice/quinoa blend (I used 2 packages of Seeds of Change brand that I purchased from Costco)*
- In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. While oil is heating, generously season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Once pot is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, place chicken breasts in pot. Reduce heat to slightly less than medium and cook for about 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from pot and set on a plate to cool.
- While chicken is cooking, cut up onion, celery, and carrots. Once you remove chicken, add additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once heated, add onion, celery, and carrots. Season with some more salt and pepper. Stir to coat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add ½ cup white wine and bay leaves to pot. Stir veggies and cook for 8-10 minutes or until wine has reduced. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- While wine is reducing, prepare liquid by whisking together milk, white rice flour, 1½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, coriander, rosemary, and thyme.
- Once garlic has cooked, pour in chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Slowly add in whisked milk mixture, making sure to whisk again right before pouring. Bring pot to a boil and stir continuously for about 5 minutes until thickened. Bring heat to low and simmer.
- Dice chicken into bite sized pieces. Add rice and diced chicken to pot. Stir to heat through and season to taste. Serve immediately.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
