Chicken and Rice Soup is a cozy, homemade meal that’s easy to make and always hits the spot. Tender chicken, hearty brown rice, and vegetables simmer together in one pot for a flavorful, comforting soup. Keep it brothy or stir in a little cream for a rich finish.
Serve it with crusty no-knead bread or fluffy dinner rolls and a simple green salad.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Chicken and Rice Soup
- Flavor: Savory, comforting flavor with tender chicken, brown rice, sweet carrots, and subtle notes of garlic, parsley, and thyme.
- Why Make It: Cooking the chicken and rice directly in the broth builds rich flavor while keeping cleanup easy.
- Budget Friendly: Rice and vegetables help stretch two chicken breasts into six hearty servings.
Total Time: 45 Mins Servings: 6 Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Total Time:
- 45 mins
- Serves:
- 6 servings
- Rating:
- 4.9/5
Ingredient Notes
- Vegetables: Cut the carrots and celery into small, even pieces so they cook evenly and you get tender vegetables in every spoonful. Use prechopped vegetables to save prep time, or stir in frozen mixed vegetables towards the end.
- Chicken Broth: Reduced-sodium broth or homemade chicken stock gives you more control over the salt level. Keep extra on hand at the end to add if the soup is too thick.
- Chicken Breasts: Use raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts so they can cook directly in the broth and shred easily. Boneless chicken thighs are another option; just check that they are cooked through before shredding.
- For an easy shortcut, add shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover baked chicken breasts once the rice is tender.
- Brown Rice: Use uncooked long-grain brown rice. Different varieties can have different cooking times. Instant rice is not a direct substitute.
- Evaporated Milk or Cream (Optional): Add evaporated milk for a lighter soup, or heavy cream for a richer, creamier soup. Be sure to use evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed milk.
How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
- Sauté the vegetables and add the seasonings.
- Add broth, chicken, and rice (full recipe below). Simmer.
- Shred the chicken and return it to the pot.
Prefer to use your slow cooker? Try my Crockpot chicken and rice soup.
Save It for Later
- Refrigerate: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 months. Leave out the dairy when possible and add it after reheating.
- Thaw: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: Warm on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring and adding broth as needed.
More Chicken Soup Favorites
Did you enjoy this Chicken and Rice Soup? Leave a comment and rating below.
Chicken and Rice Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts uncooked
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup evaporated milk or cream, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
- Add garlic, parsley, and thyme, and cook 1 minute.
- Add broth, chicken, rice, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender and chicken has reached 165℉.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred. Add back to the pot with evaporated milk or cream if using.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I am looking forward to making this.. I do have a question can half and half be substituted for the the evaporated milk.. It is not something I keep stocked in my pantry.
Thanks
Lee
That should work just fine Lee. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
The picture clearly doesn’t have any evaporated milk. It looked great until I added the milk.
Remove the milk from the instructions or fix the photo.
Hi Marco, this recipe was made exactly as written including the milk. If you prefer you can leave it out and it will be delicious either way!
Hi Marco,
Holly’s recipes always are perfect for a simple cook like me. First I make according to instructions & then afterwards make any personal adjustments per taste. In this case evaporated milk was great, but so is half & half or even cream (I did just a little less.) Her instructions are easy for someone like me & her creativity in the kitchen really helps me!
Yum Yum YUM!!! I made this recipe for my sick toddler and I for dinner and it is DELICIOUS!! I did everything as directed but I added leak, peas, and corn. I also didn’t have parsley, so I substituted it for tarragon and evaporated my own whole milk I got from the local farm and it turned out great. Also added more garlic because duh, garlic is great! I will definitely pass this recipe along and make it again and again. Thank you!
Great, easy recipe that makes a bunch! Cheap and affordable too. Will definitely be making this again.
I’ve made this soup twice and it’s a favorite on a cold and rainy day. It’s so easy, warm, and filing. I appreciate all your recipes. So does my husband. We also love the Hungarian Goulash, which I use as a base for my recipe. Thank you!
Can I make this with rotisserie chicken?
Absolutely! I would add the cooked chicken at the end until heated through. Enjoy Desiree!
I have made this several times but I never add the milk. Delicious recipe for the cold weather . Thank you!
absolutely delicious!
did not have enough carrots, only had 1. So, diced it & added a bag of peas & carrots.
was delightful soup!
The thyme ruined it for me. I cooked the rice (used white rice) separate. I don’t waste food so I’m going to eat it My husband won’t touch it.
I did not have evaporated milk so I substituted with 1 cup of mashed potatoes that I had in the refrigerator. The soup was delicious!
Quick easy and delicious. I used your homemade chicken broth and forgot the onion and still turned out great! SWP Employee
Out of the blue, my husband asked me to make chicken rice soup. This recipe had really good reviews so I ran to the store to get what I needed and then I got to chopping the veggies. I made used kosher salt, celery seed and a little extra broth. My husband said that it was the best soup that he ever had! I wanted to send Holly a huge THANK YOU! This recipe will be cooked up in my house for many years to come. Happy New Year!
Looks good
Can I make this soup in a slow cooker?
I don’t have a slow cooker version at this time but it’s on my list and I hope to have one soon!
So, so yummy! Made a few modifications to use up some chicken thighs I already cooked the other day. Also didn’t have brown rice, so used white basmati. Cooked it by itself to use in another dish too, so just added the cooked rice in at the end along with the cooked chicken to warm it up in the soup. No evaporated milk either, so used a splash of heavy whipping cream. It was GREAT! Kid approved too!! Thanks for the tasty recipe!
This is delicious. I didn’t use any milk. It is helping me get through Covid. Added cooked rice separately in each serving. Thank you!
I agree about cooking rice separately, added at the end, skip the milk.
I also added some microwaved sweet corn at the end.
Was very comforting food for my daughter, after her surgery. Thank you
1 cup of evaporated milk is way to much. After adding several cups of broth, salt and pepper, still all you taste is milk
Hi! I want to make this perfectly. Can you tell me exactly how much broth in mls and how many grams of rice please
I don’t have these available in those measurements and I would suggest using an online converter for accurate conversion amounts. I can’t wait for you to try this recipe Nicole!
Overall I think this definitely started out really well. However, in my opinion the milk ruined it. I would recommend trying it without. I tried to add more chicken broth after to help. Also cook longer than 30 mins because the rice was still pretty hard
Could I use oat milk as a replacement for dairy?
While I haven’t tried using oat milk in this soup, I should think it would be a fine substitution Diane. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I made this tonight following the recipe and ingredients and it was delicious. However, I mistakenly left it on low heat while I did a quick workout and most of the broth was soaked up by the rice and honestly I think I like it that way better. I ate it with a squeeze of lime juice like a true Mexican and, let me tell you, Chef’s kiss!
Excellent meal! follow the recipe to the T…cut rice to 1/2cup. Make dumplings. makes complete meal to be enjoyed.