Parmesan Mushroom Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Print Version)

Hearty soup with tender chicken, mushrooms, wild rice, and Parmesan in a creamy, savory broth. Pure comfort in a bowl.

# What You Need:

→ Protein & Dairy

01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 14 oz), diced
02 - 1 cup (3.5 oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
03 - 1/2 cup heavy cream

→ Grains

04 - 3/4 cup wild rice, rinsed

→ Vegetables

05 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
06 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
07 - 1 large yellow onion, diced
08 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
09 - 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
10 - 3 celery stalks, sliced
11 - 10 oz cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
12 - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
13 - 1 bay leaf

→ Liquids

14 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

→ Seasonings

15 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
16 - 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
17 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

# Directions:

01 - Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until beginning to soften.
02 - Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes until mushrooms are tender and most liquid has evaporated.
03 - Stir in diced chicken, wild rice, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
04 - Pour in chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes until wild rice is tender and chicken is cooked through.
05 - Remove bay leaf. Stir in heavy cream and grated Parmesan. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
06 - Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The wild rice stays pleasantly chewy and doesn't dissolve into mush, giving you real texture in every spoonful.
  • Mushrooms release their earthy essence into the broth, creating that restaurant-quality depth without any fancy ingredients.
  • One pot means less cleanup, and it reheats beautifully for days if you don't finish it in one sitting.
02 -
  • If you skip the step of letting the mushroom liquid evaporate, your soup will taste watery and mushroom-flavored rather than actually mushroomy—that evaporation concentrates everything.
  • Adding the cream at the end rather than earlier prevents it from curdling and also keeps the soup from becoming heavy and one-note, letting each ingredient still taste like itself.
03 -
  • Toast your wild rice in a dry skillet for a couple of minutes before adding it to the pot if you want an even nuttier, more pronounced flavor.
  • Use a Microplane grater instead of a box grater for the Parmesan—it creates much finer shreds that melt silkily into the hot broth instead of clumping.
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