Chicken and Rice Soup is a comforting dish loaded with tender chicken, veggies, and fluffy rice. Best of all, it can be prepared in just one pot, making cleanup simple!
Serve this soup with some dinner rolls and this Italian Salad.
Chicken And Rice Soup
I love a good chicken noodle soup, especially Creamy Chicken Tortellini , but swapping pasta for rice is a fun twist.
Chicken and Rice Soup is thick and hearty, featuring crisp veggies, chewy rice, and juicy shredded chicken, all seasoned with Italian herbs and robust chicken broth. It’s quick to make, hands-off, and all prepared in one pot.
Few things beat dunking a crusty slice of bread into this soup and topping it with finely grated Parmesan cheese—yum!
Ingredients In Chicken and Rice Soup
- Butter and Olive Oil: Used for sautéing vegetables.
- Diced Vegetables: Cut veggies uniformly for even cooking.
- Seasonings: Adjust to personal preferences. Add fresh herbs instead of dry if you have on hand.
- Chicken Stock/Broth: Forms the rich, chicken-flavored liquid base.
- Bay Leaf: Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving
- Rice (Basmati): Rinse the rice before cooking to remove excess starch and prevent stickiness.
- Rotisserie Chicken: Use rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken.
- Frozen Peas: No need to defrost, add them in frozen.
How To Make Chicken And Rice Soup
- Sauté Veggies: Melt butter and olive oil in a pot. Cook veggies until tender.
- Prepare Chicken: Shred or chop the rotisserie chicken.
- Add Seasonings: Mix in seasonings.
- Cook Rice: Add broth and a bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and simmer.
- Finish Soup: Stir in chicken and peas; cook for a few minutes.
- Serve: Top with fresh parsley, thyme, and Parmesan cheese if you like. Enjoy.
Storage
Leftovers?
Best Same Day: Enjoy soup on the day it’s made; the rice absorbs liquid and thickens the soup.
Freezing: Soup with rice isn’t great for freezing. To freeze, cook rice separately:
- To cook rice: Reduce broth to one carton, rinse basmati rice until clear, soak for 5-10 minutes, boil in water for 5 minutes, then drain. Add cooked rice to individual soup servings.
Quick Tip
A good chicken broth adds so much flavor to this chicken and rice soup; homemade is the best, and as far as store-bought goes, I love Swanson’s® broth (not sponsored).
Serve This Soup Alongside
- A good crusty baguette, homemade honey whole wheat bread, or soup crackers/saltines
- Some kind of salad, like this roasted veggie salad or this kale couscous salad
- For additional veggies, try roasted broccoli or roasted asparagus on the side
Chicken and Rice Soup
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 (32-ounce) containers chicken stock or chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup rice
- 2-1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley optional
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme optional
- Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and add olive oil. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, 7–9 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender. Veggies shouldn't be browning; reduce the heat if they are.
- Meanwhile, pull the chicken from the bones and shred or chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Add Italian seasoning, chicken bouillon powder, dried thyme, dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, salt, and pepper to the vegetables. Stir seasonings for 30 seconds.
- Pour in chicken broth and add bay leaf. Bring soup to a boil. Stir in rice and return to a boil (see note 1). Cover pan, reduce the heat to low so the soup is simmering, and cook for 10–15 minutes or until rice is tender.
- Once rice is tender, stir in chicken and peas to warm through, 2–3 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top individual bowls with minced fresh parsley, fresh thyme, and Parmesan cheese, if desired. I recommend adding about 3 tablespoons of parsley.
Recipe Notes
- Measure the rice and rinse it in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
- Place that rice in a bowl and cover it with water to soak for about 5–10 minutes.
- While the rice is soaking, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Once the water is at a rolling boil, drain the rice and add it to the pot.
- Cook without reducing the heat, for 5 minutes (taste and test to make sure it is tender) and then drain and fluff with a fork.
- Simply add a few spoonfuls of cooked rice into individual soup bowls.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best Chicken and Rice Soup I have ever had. The only changes I did, were to use the rack of a roasted chicken to make some of the broth, and used a Texmati rice blend of white, red, brown and wild rice.
Delish! So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Reijo!
This soup looks so delicious, I would love a bowl of this right now as it’s almost below zero again! 🙁 Thanks for sharing
Haha exactly! 🙁 It snowed where I am at today! Thanks for the pin Jenn!
Yum! This is just what I need right now!
Thank you!
I love soup especially during the cold winter months and this one looks delicious Chelsea! Loving all the bright veggies packed in here and a big hot steaming bowl of this is just perfect for a snowy day like today 🙂 Hope you are all staying warm in this weather:)
Nothing better than soup when it’s snowing outside haha! Thanks Kelly! Hope you are staying warm as well 🙂
Love how jam-packed that soup is! I’m not a fan when a soup is too brothy, but this looks perfect!
Same here! And my husband hates brothy soups! Thanks Alyssa 🙂
We love chicken rice soup! It’s one of our favs around here. Beautiful photos!
We love it too! Thanks Melanie 🙂
This soup looks beautiful, Chelsea! I just love the colors of all those veggies. It looks so cozy! Thankfully, I think winter is done where I am, but I would still totally curl up with some blankets and a bowl of this soup. 🙂
Thanks so much Beth!
Brain twins! Definitely posted a chicken soup today as well! This looks so warm and comfy…love the rice addition! 🙂
Haha LOVE it! Lots of chicken soup 🙂
Now that the cold is rearing its ugly head again, this will sure hit the spot! Looks great girl.
Thanks Nicole! 🙂
I love the step by step photos for this recipe; it looks delicious! Yes there are a lot of thing I love about winter but I’m going to admit, soup is top on the list!!