Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I usually bring my lunch to work, but sometimes I end up buying my lunch from the deli in the building next to my office.  One day I didn’t have anything to pack for lunch so I decided to change things up and got lunch from Panera.  I got myself a cup of their cream of chicken soup and let me tell you, I was hooked after that.  I went back several times after that first taste of their cream of chicken soup and every time I stopped, they had all kinds of soups but cream of chicken! So I scoured the net to find a recipe to make my own cream of chicken soup and that’s how I stumbled upon this recipe today.  This copy cat Panera cream of chicken and wild rice soup is a perfect lunch or dinner option because it’s easy to make and for sure to make even the pickiest eater happy!  A bowl of this soup is satisfying, stick to your gut goodness! Another bonus is that the ingredients are easy to find and wallet friendly.   So if you want to be a copy cat too, here’s the recipe for you:

5.0 from 1 reviews
Copy-Cat Panera Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
 
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Ingredients
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup butter (12 tbsp. or a stick and a half)
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 3 cups light cream or half and half
  • 6 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
  • 2 chicken breast halves (cooked, boneless and cubed)
  • 1 (6 ounce) package long grain and wild rice blend, quick cooking version
  • 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, combine pepper and flour. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
  3. Add celery and onion and saute for 5 minutes.
  4. Add seasoned flour gradually while constantly stirring, to form a roux. Saute roux for 3-4 minutes to cook out raw flour taste.
  5. Whisk in cream a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
  6. Add in the broth, cooked chicken cubes, frozen peas and carrots and rice.
  7. Let it simmer until it's heated through.
  8. Season with salt and pepper.

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