This Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is the perfect recipe for a chilly day!
Chicken, vegetables and brown rice are simmered in a flavorful broth and finished with a touch of creaminess.
Serve it with a salad and some crusty bread for a perfect meal.
Why You’ll Make Chicken Rice Soup On Repeat
- This soup is packed with fresh and flavorful goodness.
- Made in just one pot, it’s easy to prep and cleanup is a breeze.
- It’s versatile, feel free to add in your own favorite veggies or even leftovers.
- It’s budget friendly, feel free to stretch it even further with extra veggies, rice, or broth.
What You’ll Need For Chicken and Rice Soup
The ingredients for this chicken and rice soup recipe are staples I always have on hand.
- Chicken Broth: I prefer low-sodium chicken broth as the base of this soup, so it isn’t too salty. While it’s optional, heavy cream or evaporated milk adds a touch of creaminess.
- Seasoning: The seasonings are simple with parsley and thyme but feel free to add other dried or fresh herbs or bay leaves
- Vegetables: Celery, onion, and carrot add both flavor and nutrition to this soup.
- Chicken: Use raw boneless skinless chicken breasts—simmering them in the soup adds flavor to the broth and is easy. Bone-in or boneless chicken thighs can be used.
- Rice: Brown rice is a hearty boost of fiber and holds its texture well. You can replace it with long grain white rice, wild rice or basmati. Adjust the cooking time as needed.
Shortcuts
- Use leftover cooked rice; it can be added about 5 minutes before serving.
- Use rotisserie chicken, leftovers, or cooked chicken in place of chicken breasts—add it once the rice is cooked.
How To Make Chicken and Rice Soup
This chicken and rice soup is so easy to make – no need to pre-cook the chicken.
- In a pot or Dutch oven, soften the vegetables according to the recipe below.
- Add broth, uncooked chicken breasts, and rice, then simmer until the rice is tender.
- Shred cooked chicken, stir back into the pot, and finish with cream or evaporated milk if desired.
Serve with dinner rolls or a chunk of crusty bread for dipping.
Storing Leftovers
Chicken Rice Soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food, and it’s perfect for meal prep because it freezes well. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze leftovers, cool the soup to room temperature, then place it in freezer bags. Seal completely and lay flat to freeze in a thin layer. This will help the soup to thaw quickly when you need it for dinner.
Quick Tip
The rice can absorb liquid as the soup sits; if needed, add additional broth or water to reach the desired consistency.
More Cozy Chicken Soup Recipes
- Chicken Bacon Rice Soup – quick and easy
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup – quick and creamy
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup – reader favorite
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup – restaurant quality at home
Did you enjoy this Chicken Rice Soup? Leave a comment and rating below!
Chicken Rice Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion minced
- 3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts uncooked
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup evaporated milk optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook and stir for 3-4 minutes, until onion begins to turn golden.
- Add garlic, parsley and thyme and cook 1 minute.
- Add salt and pepper, broth, chicken. Add rice. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables and rice are tender.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred. Add back to the pot with evaporated milk or cream if using.
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.
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!