Need some warm soup to fill you up? Our copycat Panera chicken & wild rice soup is creamy, hearty and flavorful. It's quick to make and so comforting on a cold rainy day.
Love Panera soups? You'll want to check out our copycat 10 vegetable soup and our copycat Bistro French onion soup.
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Ingredients
All the ingredients for this delicious Panera soup are pantry staples except the wild rice blend, which is easy to find at large grocery stores.
- Meat: We used boneless, skinless chicken breast that was poached and diced, but feel free to use leftover chicken.
- Fat: We used unsalted butter, but you can also use chicken fat.
- Vegetables: We used yellow onions, baby carrots, celery, and fresh garlic.
- Spices: We used all dried spices except for the parsley.
- Flour: We used all purpose flour, but use your favorite gluten free flour if you prefer.
- Rice: We used a blend of wild rice with brown rice, red rice, and black rice. Do not use a pre-packed rice mix.
- Liquids: We used chicken stock and water.
- Dairy: To keep this lower in fat, we used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream.
- Sweeteners: We used ½ teaspoon of sugar, but feel free to use the sweetener of your choice.
- Thickener: We used a cornstarch slurry near the end of the cooking time. This soup is also thickened with a roux and the rice.
How to Make
- Melt the butter over medium high heat, then add the mirepoix and cook until the onions are soft and have some color. Add the garlic and dried spices, and stir constantly for 1 minute so the spices can bloom and the garlic is fragrant.
- Sprinkle on the flour, then whisk it for 2 minutes to help cook out the raw flour taste.
3. To toast the wild rice, stir constantly with a wooden spoon for a minute.
4. To deglaze the pot, slowly pour in a ½ cup of chicken stock while scraping the fond off the bottom with a wooden turner.
5. Pour in the rest of the chicken stock and the water.
6. Add in the sugar and fresh parsley. Mix well with a large wooden spoon.
7. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes to cook the wild rice.
Remove the lid and add the meat. Stir in the evaporated milk. Add the cornstarch slurry and mix it in with a spoon.
8. Taste and adjust any seasonings, then add more chicken stock if needed. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Enjoy hot!
Recipe FAQs
Panera describes this soup as u0022diced chicken, long grain and wild rice, celery, onion, and carrots simmered in chicken stock with cream and select herbs.u0022
No, there is wheat in the chicken stock. If you need their soup to be gluten free, make your own at home with our easy to follow recipe. Use gluten free flour and stock with no wheat.
They did in the past, but have brought it back due to popular demand.
For a large (1 ½ cup) serving size, Panera's soup has 260 calories, 27g carbs, 16 g fat and 10g protein.
For the same serving size, our copycat soup has 405 calories (due to extra rice and chicken), 54g carbs, 10g fat, and 26g protein. We used evaporated milk for to lower the fat. For more nutritional information, please scroll to the end of the recipe card.
It isn't recommended to freeze this soup because it has milk in it. When soups with milk are frozen, they tend to curdle and separate when they thaw out.
Serve
Panera serves this soup with your choice of baguette, kettle chips, or a red apple. You can also pay a little more for a summer fruit cup.
You can turn this soup into a meal by serving it with a crisp green side salad, a tasty sandwich, or crusty bread.
Store
There is a good chance you'll have leftovers, since this copycat recipe makes a lot. Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, transfer to a pot and reheat on medium, stirring occasionally.
Variations
- Need this gluten free? Use gluten free flour and chicken stock.
- Want more broth? Use ½ cup less wild rice.
- Want other spice options? Use ¼ teaspoon oregano and ¼ teaspoon marjoram.
- Want it more yellow like Panera's? Use a pinch or two more turmeric near the end of cooking time.
- Want it to taste the creamiest? Use heavy cream. We used evaporated milk for lower fat.
Expert Tips
- Use freshly cooked chicken breast (roasted or poached) for the best taste.
- Bloom the spices, toast the rice, and deglaze the pot for more flavor.
- For a low fat option, use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream.
- Check expiration dates on dried spices, especially the tarragon. Make sure they're fresh!
- This soup thickens up within an hour of cooking because of the rice.
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Recipe
Panera Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 ½ cup carrots, coins
- 1 ½ cup celery, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¾ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1/16 teaspoon turmeric, for color (at the end)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten free flour
- 1 ½ cups wild blend rice
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 3 ¾ cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
- 3 cups evaporated milk, 2 cans
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until foamy, then saute the onion, carrots, and celery until soft and the onion has a bit of color, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and the 7 dried spices. Stir constantly until the garlic is fragrant, roughly 1 minute.
- Sprinkle in the flour and whisk for 2 minutes to cook it.
- Add the wild rice blend, then stir with a wooden spoon for one minute to toast it.
- Pour in ½ cup of stock. Using a wooden turner, scrape off the brown fond off the bottom of the pot.
- Pour in the rest of the stock, water, sugar, and the fresh parsley. Stir, then cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes to cook the wild rice.
- Dump in the meat, evaporated milk and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. For the cornstarch slurry, whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water, then stir it into the soup. Add the 1/16 teaspoon of turmeric, for color. Stir then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Taste again to adjust seasonings.
- Serve this Panera soup hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. This soup thickens up after an hour of cooking because of the rice.
Notes
- Use freshly cooked chicken breast (roasted or poached) for the best taste.
- Bloom the spices, toast the rice, and deglaze the pot as instructed in the recipe for more flavor.
- If you used reduced sodium chicken broth, increase the coarse sea salt by 1 ¼ teaspoons during the last 15 minutes.
- For a low fat option, use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream.
- Use fresh spices, especially for the tarragon.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Al
Yoooo sick recipe, only needed one can of milk tho
Emma
We're glad you enjoyed it, AI! Thanks for making our recipe.
Mom to 9
This recipe is simply delicious! The spices are a perfect blend, and even though we didn't have celery, it still came out great. The dinner made a warm and hearty ending to a cold day. 5 stars, for sure!!
Emma
Thank you so much! We are thrilled that you and your family enjoyed the soup so much!
Beth
Tarragon, one of my favorite herbs, goes so well with the wild rice and chicken in this soup. Absolutely delicious. 👍
Emma
Thank you, Beth! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!
Alex
This soup is creamy, and the carrots add color. The chicken is soft and juicy. Yum!
Emma
Great! Thank you for your kind comment, Alex!