A bowl of this easy Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is perfect for chilly days!
This soup is loaded with chicken, vegetables and brown rice, simmered in broth and finished with a touch of creaminess.
Homemade Chicken Rice Soup has great flavor and is easy to meal prep for a busy week!
Chicken and Rice Soup Ingredients
This easy chicken and rice soup is packed with goodness, fresh, and flavorful. It’s a meal that the entire family will agree on. Made in just one pot,it’s as easy as it is delicious!
- Veggies: Onion, carrot, and celery are the base of this soup and add lots of flavor.
- Seasonings: This is a simple soup recipe with parsley, thyme, salt & pepper. Add other dried or fresh herbs or bay left to taste.
- Chicken Broth: Low-sodium chicken broth is the base of this soup.
- Chicken: This recipe uses chicken breasts – no need to cook ahead; they’ll simmer to perfection in the soup. Bone-in or boneless chicken thighs also work well in this recipe. If using cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken, add the chicken once the rice is cooked.
- Rice: We love brown rice in this soup recipe, it adds great texture and a boost of fiber. You can swap it with other varieties of rice like white rice, basmati, or jasmine rice; adjust the cooking time as needed. If using cooked rice, it can be added about 5 minutes before serving.
- Evaporated Milk: While it’s optional, a little bit of evaporated milk adds a creamy element without being too heavy. A bit of heavy cream can be added in place.
How To Make Chicken and Rice Soup
This creamy chicken and rice soup is so easy to make – no need to pre-cook the chicken.
- In a pot or Dutch oven, sauté the carrot, onion, and celery until tender per 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 evaporated milk for creaminess.
Serve with 30 Minute Dinner Rolls or a chunk of crusty bread for dipping.
Leftover Chicken Rice Soup
This homemade Chicken Rice Soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food and it’s perfect for meal prep as it freezes well.
To freeze leftovers, cool the soup to room temperature, then place it in a large freezer bag. 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!
To thaw, you can submerge the bag of chicken soup in lukewarm water until thawed, then reheat to the desired temperature in the microwave or on the stovetop.
More Soup Recipes You'll Love
- Easy Roasted Tomato Soup
- Split Pea Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
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 stalk 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
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 (a simmer), cover, and cook 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.
-
Serve.
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.
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!
I followed this recipe also use brown rice that was not expired my rice did not get done it tasted terrible I threw it away
Thank you for trying our recipe, Janice .I am sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out! That is definitely disappointing.