Dairy-Free Wild Rice Chicken Soup For Coming Off GAPS

This dairy-free wild rice chicken soup starts with vegetables softened slowly in duck fat, followed by chicken cooked in homemade meat stock. A little arrowroot gives the broth body, and homemade coconut milk finishes it off the heat. Cook the wild rice separately and fold it in last so the grains are tender before they join the soup.

It belongs in later Coming Off GAPS, after wild rice and arrowroot have each been introduced separately. The coconut milk makes it dairy-free, but the rice and arrowroot still put it outside Intro and strict Full GAPS.

As a working, homeschooling mom of six, I want the things that need doing ahead to be easy to find. Our family began GAPS in July 2024. Whether you are choosing a meal for your current stage or saving a recipe for later, knowing about the rice soak and the separate coconut-milk preparation helps you plan the day before the soup pot is on the stove.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry wild rice
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice, for soaking
• Filtered water for soaking and cooking the rice
• 3 tablespoons rendered duck fat
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ teaspoon each dried thyme, rosemary and sage
• 1 teaspoon natural sea salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups finished homemade chicken meat stock
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Zest of 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour and a separate ¼ cup filtered water
• ½ cup finished hot-water homemade coconut milk, stirred before measuring

Measure the wild rice dry. The one teaspoon of acid belongs to its soaking water, which is drained away. The two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice are a separate finishing ingredient for the soup. Keeping those measures separate avoids losing the lemon finish when you drain the rice.

Use the homemade coconut milk with its cream stirred back in. Separation in the refrigerator does not mean you should pour off the richer layer and use only the thinner liquid below. Stir or shake the completed milk, then measure half a cup.

Make that coconut milk ahead using its own recipe. This soup begins with finished milk, not dry coconut and extra water added directly to the pot. The linked preparation produces plain, unsweetened milk that can go into a savory dish without added flavors.

The duck fat is the cooking fat for the vegetable base. Butter and cultured sour cream belong to the separate creamy wild rice chicken soup. This version uses duck fat and coconut milk throughout.

Use finished chicken meat stock for a chicken-centered broth. A prepared beef meat stock can also provide the six-cup measure, with a deeper flavor. Choose a stock whose ingredients you have already introduced, and keep its preparation separate from this soup.

The herb measure is half a teaspoon of each herb: thyme, rosemary and sage. The lemon is measured as the zest of one whole lemon plus two tablespoons of juice. Strain or pick out the seeds before measuring the juice.

Recommended Equipment

Have a large stainless-steel or enameled soup pot with a lid, a separate pot for the rice, and a glass bowl for soaking. The soup pot needs room for four chicken breasts, vegetables and six cups of stock before the cooked rice is folded in.

Use a strainer to drain the rice, a knife and board for the vegetables, and measuring cups and spoons. A glass measuring cup and whisk are useful for combining the arrowroot with its separate quarter cup of water.

Keep a food thermometer, tongs and a clean plate ready for checking and lifting out the chicken. A ladle lets you take a little hot broth for the slurry without pouring from a large, heavy pot.

How To Make Dairy-Free Wild Rice Chicken Soup

1. Put the dry wild rice in a bowl with the teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Cover with filtered water, soak for eight hours, then drain.
2. Cook the drained rice separately in fresh water according to its package directions, until tender. Drain and set it aside.
3. Melt the three tablespoons of duck fat in the large soup pot over low heat. Stir in the celery, carrots, onion and garlic. Cover and cook gently for about thirty minutes, until softened.
4. Uncover and stir in the thyme, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper for about one minute. Add the six cups of finished stock and the chicken breasts.
5. Bring up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about ten minutes as a guide, continuing until each breast reaches 165°F in its thickest part. Lift out the chicken, cut or shred it into bite-size pieces, and return it to the pot.
6. Add the lemon zest and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Whisk the arrowroot with the separate quarter cup of filtered water until smooth.
7. Whisk a ladle of hot broth into that slurry, then pour it gradually into the soup while stirring. Stir until the broth thickens evenly and no pale clumps remain.
8. Turn off the heat. Stir in the half cup of prepared coconut milk, then fold in the drained cooked rice. Taste, adjust the final seasoning if needed, and serve warm.

The vegetable base should soften under its lid, with glossy pieces rather than browned edges. Keep the heat low during that half-hour. If the vegetables are coloring quickly, lower the heat and stir through the bottom of the pot when you check them.

Chicken breasts vary in thickness, so ten minutes is a guide to when you start checking them. Continue until the thickest part of every piece reaches 165°F, as listed in the poultry temperature guide. Cut the cooked meat small enough to fit comfortably on a spoon.

Make a smooth arrowroot slurry before adding it to the hot broth. Dry flour sprinkled over a full pot is harder to distribute. Whisk in the ladle of hot broth, then keep stirring as the loosened mixture goes into the soup.

The coconut milk goes in after the heat is turned off. Stir until the broth is evenly pale and the milk is distributed, then fold in the rice. You may notice a little coconut flavor with the herbs and lemon. The coconut milk gives a different finish from cultured cream.

Where It Fits When Coming Off GAPS

The 2020 GAPS book describes the strict diet as generally lasting at least two years. It also calls for at least six months of normal digestion before introducing foods outside the diet. It also says to consider coming off once health problems have gone and you have been well for at least six months. Readiness comes before the date on a calendar.

New potatoes and fermented gluten-free grains such as buckwheat, millet and quinoa are the first transition foods. They are introduced one at a time, starting with small amounts and allowing time to watch for returning symptoms. Other starchy foods and properly prepared grains come later.

This soup is for that later period, once wild rice and arrowroot have each been introduced separately and tolerated. It is not the first introduction of either ingredient. The eight-hour acid soak prepares the rice for this cooking method; it does not replace the book’s initial fermented-grain step.

The recipe contains no dairy ingredients or eggs. It still contains rice, arrowroot and other plants, so it is not an Intro, Full GAPS or No-Plant GAPS meal. The GAPS food list and stage guide helps you choose meals for the strict diet while keeping later-transition recipes separate.

Storage And Serving

Serve while the soup is warm, stirring before ladling so the rice and chicken are shared through the bowls. The coconut milk and arrowroot add body, but the broth should still be easy to spoon around the vegetables.

Divide leftovers into shallow covered containers and refrigerate promptly. Do not leave the full pot on the counter until it becomes completely cold. Properly handled refrigerated soup keeps for three to four days; follow an earlier limit if one of the prepared components is already older.

Reheat only the portion you need to 165°F, stirring so the center warms evenly. The rice can absorb more broth during storage, so a leftover portion may be thicker than the soup you first served. Preparing a larger batch does not extend its refrigerator time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Time Should I Allow?

Plan for about nine hours and fifty-five minutes from the start, including the soak. The nine-hour preparation estimate includes eight hours of soaking plus rice cooking and ingredient preparation. The soup-pot cooking estimate is fifty-five minutes. The rice package and the chicken’s doneness still determine the actual cooking.

Can I Make It With Butter?

For the butter-and-cultured-cream version, use the separate creamy wild rice chicken soup. Keep this dairy-free preparation at three tablespoons of duck fat and half a cup of homemade coconut milk.

Can I Use Chicken Thighs?

Four boneless, skinless thighs can replace the four breasts. Check each piece for 165°F before cutting or shredding it. Size and thickness change the time needed, so continue cooking as needed rather than relying on the same ten-minute estimate for every cut.

Can I Double It?

The card’s 2× setting doubles each ingredient and gives twelve servings. The rice soak stays eight hours. Choose enough pot space for the larger amount, and allow extra time for the stock and chicken to heat through.

More Soups Like This

The homemade coconut milk and chicken meat stock recipes help you prepare the components ahead. My planned Dinner Cookbook brings family meal ideas together with practical preparation details. Follow the WFLI cookbook catalog for its release.

Dairy-Free Wild Rice Chicken Soup Recipe