There’s nothing better than a big bowl of this homemade chicken and rice soup. You won’t believe how a few simple ingredients turn into this flavorful soup. The recipe uses a ton of kitchen staples and only requires one pot to make, so cleaning up is a breeze. Who doesn’t love a one-pot meal?
This recipe also comes together in less than an hour, so your family can enjoy big bowl of this satisfying soup with chicken and rice in no time. It’s perfect for whipping up on a busy weeknight or when you’re feeling a little under the weather. Want another cozy soup recipe? Try my chicken stew recipe, chicken noodle soup recipe, or chicken tortilla soup recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Mirepoix — a mirepoix is a key component in many stews and soups. It’s composed of a mix of aromatics, such as onions, carrots, and celery. While onions, carrots, and celery seem like simple ingredients, they add a significant amount of flavor as the base flavor of the soup.
Chicken stock — you can use homemade or store-bought chicken stock for this soup. It adds much more flavor than using water for the soup. You can also use low-sodium chicken stock if you prefer.
Chicken — I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you can also use chicken thighs instead.
Rice — you can use any long-grain rice. I’m using basmati rice. If you want to use brown rice, keep in mind it takes longer to cook than white rice.
Fresh herbs — I use fresh thyme and parsley.
How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrots, and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent before stirring in the garlic, and cook until fragrant.
2. Stir in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Once boiling, add the chicken breasts.
4. Add the rice, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and a thermometer inserted into the chicken registers 165°F. Remove from heat.
5. Remove the chicken from the soup and place it on a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken.
6. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup along with the parsley and thyme. Serve garnished with additional parsley and thyme.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- For a touch of bright, fresh flavor, you can add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the pot of soup before serving.
- Feel free to add additional vegetables to the soup, such as zucchini, spinach, and kale.
- If you do not have fresh thyme, you can substitute it for dried thyme. Use one-third the amount of dried herbs when replacing fresh herbs.
- Make sure you do not use minute or parboiled rice for the soup. If you use the wrong rice, it’ll become mushy as it cooks in the soup.
- You can easily shred the chicken breasts with two forks. However, you can add the cooked chicken breasts to a mixer with a paddle attachment and let the stand mixer shred the meat on low speed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cool the chicken soup with rice to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container in the fridge. The soup will keep for up to 5 days. When you reheat the soup, you may need to add additional broth as the rice will continue to absorb the liquid in the fridge.
You can freeze the soup in individual airtight freezer-safe containers, so you can thaw exactly how much you need for a quick lunch or freeze the entire batch of soup for an easy dinner for later. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight before reheating. Again, you may need to add additional broth as the rice will continue to absorb the liquid in the fridge.
If you have leftover cooked rice in your fridge, you can add it to the soup while it is simmering to heat the rice through. Avoid adding it near the beginning with the chicken, or the rice may fall apart.
If you have leftover chicken, you can shred it for the soup instead of cooking chicken in the soup. You can add leftover shredded chicken to the soup near the end while it’s simmering.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Chicken and Rice Soup recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Chicken and Rice Soup
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or pot
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 large celery ribs chopped
- 2 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 5 cups chicken stock (1.2L)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (450g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup long-grain white rice (96g)
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley plus more to garnish
- 2 teaspoons chopped thyme plus more to garnish
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrots, and onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chicken stock.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, add the chicken breasts, rice, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and a thermometer inserted into the chicken registers 165°F, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Remove the chicken from the soup, and place on a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup along with the parsley and thyme. Serve garnished with additional parsley and thyme. Soup can be cooled to room temperature and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. You may need to add additional broth when reheating.
Notes
- For a touch of bright, fresh flavor, you can add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the pot of soup before serving.
- Feel free to add additional vegetables to the soup, such as zucchini, spinach, and kale.
- If you do not have fresh thyme, you can substitute it for dried thyme. Use one-third the amount of dried herbs when replacing fresh herbs.
- Make sure you do not use minute or parboiled rice for the soup. If you use the wrong rice, it’ll become mushy as it cooks in the soup.
- You can easily shred the chicken breasts with two forks. However, you can add the cooked chicken breasts to a mixer with a paddle attachment and let the stand mixer shred the meat on low speed.
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