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 used 2 quarts of stock which is a little more than the recipe, and 1/2 cup of brown rice instead of 1 cup. This is a perfect recipe as is, but also a super base recipe if you want to mod for your needs! Reasoning: I am a single and wanted to have some for me, a bit to freeze, and some to take to my Mom. I always make fresh rice thru the week so I let it have more liquid so I can add my own extra rice later. I also wanted to add spinach after the fact for myself so I portioned Mom’s out with extra veg and rice, then reheated to wilt spinach. Thank you for posting this, it’s a keeper. :)
I should’ve listened to the other commenters and cooked the rice separately. By the time I was finished shredding the chicken, the rice had soaked up all the broth, and I had used 3 extra cups to begin with. I also agree with other commenters about the chicken being tough, and I used pretty thick breasts.
My hubby just made this for dinner and we thought it was delicious! I thought it needed more salt, but I like things salty. It’s definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Could you add the weight of the chicken portion? Chicken breast size can vary so much.
I have a pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs I’d like to use but it’s 4.5 lbs. Is that too much chicken for 1x or is it okay to have some extra chicken? I don’t know if it would change cook time or if I would need to add more of anything or maybe make the 2x portion with that much chicken?
I’d like to use the whole portion in the package (it’s one of the large ones from Costco). Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
Chicken breasts are estimated to be 6 to 7oz each (however if they’re a little smaller/larger, they’ll still work in this recipe). You could certainly increase it to 1 ½ lbs in a single recipe or double the recipe and use the whole package.
This soup is delicious. I threw in potatoes on top of the rice. I needed more liquid for the potatoes and had ran out of chicken broth, so I threw in two more cups of water and two chicken bouillon cubes. It was one of the most delicious chicken soups I’ve had. I did find the chicken to be tough though, so the second time I made it I threw the chicken in at about 25 minutes left of the 30-minute simmer time, and the chicken was still tough (my breasts were thin though), so next time I think I will back that up another 5 minutes unless I get thicker breasts. Thanks for the recipe; my boyfriend and I loved it!
Made this soup. Had to use 8 cups of chicken broth. I also increased the amount of seasoning. I used cooked chicken that I already had and added when the rice was tender. It worked very well. Next time I think that I would decrease the amount of rice to make a thinner soup. Original recipe made the soup too thick for my liking.
I will keep the recipe and make it again with my tweaks.
this soup looks delicious, must try it out
Could this be done in the crock pot and if so how would you do it? Thanks.
I have only made this recipe as listed but other readers have made it in the crockpot with great results. You can try following the cooking instructions for our crockpot chicken noodle soup for an idea on how to convert it! Hope that helps.
Made this tonight. Memories in a bowl!!! So good!
I didn’t have any brown rice but did have jasmine. Took advice and adjusted the cook time. Also, the rice soaked up all the juice so I added 8 cups broth and adjusted spices to reflect. Will keep this in rotation as I freeze single serve containers for the family. Thank you!
Delicious! I added dill and it was incredible, thank you
This soup is a hit with everyone! I add kale or spinach. Just delicious!
quick question, Which Chicken broth/stock do you prefer? I’ve always used College Inn, but I’m thinking of switching to Swanson. Just looking for another opinion..
Thanks!
Either of those brands would work well in this recipe.
I’ve fallen in love with Bonafide chicken broth. It’s ‘pricey’ but well worth it. My second go-to is Swanson. And I’ve tried ALL of broths. :-)
Thank you for this delicious recipe. My husband and I enjoyed it very much! I will certainly be making this again.
will this soup freeze well?
Hi Angela, it should freeze well.
Came out delicious! Made some alterations of course: added 1 extra cup of broth, skipped the evaporated milk, seasoned my veggies/chicken with paprika, garlic/onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Used jasmine white rice, and allowed that to simmer on low for 25 mins— then set it out for 3 minutes; there was still a soupy consistency afterwards and the rice was thoroughly cooked & soft!
Can you use regular chicken broth instead of low sodium?
You sure can. You might like to reduce the salt in the recipe and salt to taste when serving.
I would love to make this but as a new to cooking mom I need advice on when to add long grain rice. My kids hate brown and your recipe said I’d need to adjust the cooking time if I change rice. What do you instruct if I use uncooked long grain rice! I’m sorry for my stupidity!!
Great question Amy! If you look at the back of the package, it will often tell you how long the rice needs to cook – usually about 20 minutes (I sometimes add a couple of extra minutes). Enjoy the recipe!
This isn’t my recipe but it’s so easy to use the “Success” boil in the bag rice and then add it after it’s cooked. Just an idea!
Do I have to use brown rice. I have basmati rice.
You can use basmati rice, you will need to adjust the cooking time slightly.
this soup is outstanding. I am on a low fiber diet so skipped the celery and added a sprig of Rosemary.
Perfect. Delicious. Just what I wanted it to be!