Hearty, nutritious, and flavor-packed Chicken and Rice Soup is loaded with veggies and can be prepared in one pot!
Serve this soup with some dinner rolls and this Italian Salad.
Chicken And Rice Soup
While I adore a good chicken noodle soup (with Creamy Chicken Tortellini being a personal favorite), swapping out the pasta for rice is fun. Chicken and Rice Soup is thick and hearty, featuring crisp, tender veggies, firm, chewy rice, and juicy, shredded chicken.
It’s seasoned lightly with dried Italian herbs and flavored with robust chicken broth. Plus, this soup is quick to make, relatively hands-off, and prepared all in one pot.
Few things are better than dunking a crusty slice of bread into this soup and topping your bowl with some finely grated Parmesan cheese — yum!
Ingredients In Chicken and Rice Soup
- Unsalted Butter and Olive Oil: Used for sautéing vegetables; butter adds flavor, olive oil prevents burning.
- Diced Vegetables (Onion, Carrot, Celery) and Minced Garlic: Form the flavorful base; garlic enhances depth.
- Italian Seasoning, Chicken Bouillon Powder: Enhance overall flavor; bouillon adds chicken flavor.
- Dried Herbs (Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Parsley): Add complexity and varied herbal notes.
- Salt, Freshly Cracked Pepper: Essential seasonings to enhance flavor.
- Chicken Stock/Broth: Forms the rich, chicken-flavored liquid base.
- Bay Leaf: Adds subtle flavor and aroma.
- Rice (Basmati): Provides texture and makes the soup filling.
- Rotisserie Chicken: Adds protein, making the dish hearty.
- Frozen Peas: Contribute color, texture, and sweetness.
How To Make Chicken And Rice Soup
- Sauté Veggies: Melt butter with olive oil in a pot. Sauté onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until crisp-tender.
- Prepare Chicken: Shred or chop rotisserie chicken.
- Add Seasonings: Mix in Italian seasoning, chicken bouillon, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Cook Rice: Add chicken broth and a bay leaf, bring to a boil. Add rice, simmer on low until tender.
- Finish Soup: Stir in chicken and peas, cook briefly.
- Serve: Optionally top with fresh parsley, thyme, and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy immediately for best taste.
Storage
Storing Tips
- Best Same Day: Soup is best consumed on the day it’s made, as the rice absorbs liquid and softens, thickening the soup.
- Freezing: The soup, with rice, is not suitable for freezing due to further absorption and texture changes. If you want to freeze I recommend cooking the rice separately, here’s how: To cook rice separately for Chicken and Rice Soup, start by reducing the broth to one carton of chicken broth. Rinse basmati rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then soak the rinsed rice in water for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the drained rice to the boiling water, cook it for 5 minutes, then drain and fluff the rice. Finally, add the cooked rice to individual servings of soup as needed.
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
![Bowl of the finished recipe, topped with fresh herbs, warm and inviting for enjoyment.](https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Chicken-and-Rice-Soup-1-300x300.jpg)
Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup EACH: diced yellow onion, diced carrot, diced celery (1 onion, 3 celery stalks, 2-3 large carrots)
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (~2-3 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon EACH: Italian seasoning, chicken bouillon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH: dried thyme, dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH: fine sea salt, freshly cracked pepper
- 2 containers (32 oz. EACH) chicken stock (or chicken broth)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup rice (I use basmati rice)
- 2 and 1/2 cups prepared rotisserie chicken, chopped or shredded
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Optional: 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley, 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- VEGGIES: In a large pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add 1 tablespoon 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.
- CHICKEN: Meanwhile, pull the chicken from the bones and shred or chop into bite-sized pieces.
- SEASONINGS: Add the seasonings to the veggies: Italian seasoning, chicken bouillon powder, dried thyme, dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, salt and pepper. (Season to taste with salt and pepper; I add ¼ teaspoon each but adjust depending on saltiness of broth and bouillon powder). Stir seasonings for 30 seconds.
- RICE: Pour in the two containers of chicken broth and add in the bay leaf. Bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the rice and return to a boil. Cover pan, reduce the heat to low (soup should be simmering), and cook for 10-15 minutes or until rice is tender.
- FINISHING: Once rice is tender, stir in chicken and peas to warm through, 2-3 more minutes. Season to taste with any additional salt and pepper if needed. Top with minced, fresh parsley (I add 3 tablespoons) fresh thyme and Parmesan cheese to individual bowls, if desired.
- STORAGE: Best enjoyed the same day it is made or the rice tends to bloat. (See Note 1.)
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 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!!