A Chicken and Rice Soup that will nourish your soul… A recipe with high returns for minimal effort!
This Chicken Rice Soup is made by cooking chicken pieces in the broth which yields a beautiful savoury, golden, flavour infused broth without having to man handle a whole chicken. Skip the rotisserie chicken – this is better!
Chicken and Rice Soup
I know there are plenty of quick and easy Chicken soups “out there” that will have you using pre cooked chicken or poaching chicken breast quickly then stirring it into the soup. And if that’s what your time constraints require, please see Note 1 in the recipe because I’ve given the shortcut steps for this, and you’ll have this soup on the table in 30 minutes. (And it will still be totally slurp worthy).
But for a smidge of extra effort and 30 minutes of hands off cook time simmering chicken pieces, you can have this Chicken and Rice soup with an incredible savoury, golden soup broth with flavour that money can’t buy.
Best rice for soup
Most types of rice is great for soup. White, brown, wild rice, black rice, sushi rice, basmati and jasmine rice are all great. Even risotto rice and paella rice work!
For brown and wild rice, these take longer to cook than the simmer time for the soup. So they will need to be cooked separately before adding into the soup.
Can you put uncooked rice in soup?
Yes – uncooked rice is best to add into soup because it soaks up the flavour of the broth, making it extra tasty!
How to store Leftover Chicken and Rice Soup
Leave the rice in the soup, and you’ll be horrified by the block of jelly-like sludge that you’re faced with the next morning, caused by the rice absorbing all the liquid.
To avoid this, there’s no option other than to use a slotted spoon or colander to separate the broth from the rice, chicken and vegetables and to refrigerate or freeze them separately.
If you’re making the Chicken and Rice Soup to take elsewhere, please see the recipe notes for the best way to do this (it involves using some of the broth + water to cook the rice separately, after which it’s added into the soup when ready to serve 🙂 ).
Add a soup dunker!
Adaptable recipe – make it your own!
This Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is a terrific base for adding your own touch. It’s slurp-worthy delicious as it is, but can take more veggies, more herbs, a squeeze of fresh lemon, or even other cooked proteins. Here are some ideas:
-
Zest and squeeze of fresh lemon is a beautiful touch of freshness
-
More veggies (chopped zucchini, stir in chopped kale or spinach, bell peppers)
-
Sub chicken with other cooked protein (500g/1lb cooked weight)
-
Add 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs, or a touch of other dried herbs
-
Try adding a can or two of crushed tomato for a light tomato based soup
-
For low carb, skip the rice and load up on more veggies. I like to fill it out with meaty veggies like broccoli and cauliflower.
If you’ve made this recipe your own, share what you did in the comments below. Tell us, tell us! We wanna know! 🙂 – Nagi x
Chicken and Rice Soup recipe
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter (or more oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , chopped
- 3 carrots , halved then cut into 1cm / 2/5" slices (quarter if really thick)
- 3 celery ribs , cut into 1 cm / 2/5" slices
- 3 tsp Vegeta stock powder , or 2 x vegetable or chicken bouillon cube, or 2 tsp powder (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme, optional
- 1/4 tsp black pepper , finely ground
- 4 cups (1 litre) chicken broth , low sodium
- 4 cups (1 litre) water
- 600 g (1.2 lb) bone in , skinless chicken thighs, 4 x 150g/5oz (Note 1)
- 1 cup (180g) long grain white rice , uncooked (Note 3)
- Salt, adjust to taste
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Place oil and butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 5 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add carrots and celery, stir for 1 minute.
- Add stock powder, dried parsley, thyme (if using), pepper, chicken broth, water. Stir, then add chicken.
- Cover with lid, simmer on medium low for 30 minutes. Adjust heat so it's bubbling a nice amount, but not crazy energetically or super slowly. Skim off excess foam build up once or twice (not critical, just makes broth clearer).
- Remove lid, add rice. Stir, cover, simmer 15 minutes.
- Remove soup from stove.
- Remove chicken into large bowl. Shred with 2 forks, discard bones then stir into soup.
- Stir in half the parsley, taste for salt and add if required. Serve, then garnish with extra parsley.
Recipe Notes:
This is just a type of stock powder / bouillon cube in powder form. It's my favourite for clear soups like this for both flavour and also because it gives it that yellowish tinge that I associate with this soup. It's sold at supermarkets here in Australia alongside other stock powders & liquid broth, and here it is on Amazon. It's quite popular in European recipes, from what I've seen. However, any vegetable or chicken bouillon cube (crumbled) or powder is perfectly fine to substitute. 3. RICE: Any ordinary white rice is ideal here - long grain, medium, short grain, sushi rice, jasmine and basmati. Quinoa could also be used. Paella and risotto rice are not suitable. Brown and wild rice needs to be added 5 minutes after the chicken is added (it needs 40 minutes to cook). 4. STORAGE: Use a slotted spoon to separate the rice and all soup contents from the broth. Store in separate containers, otherwise you'll end up with a stodgy mushy rice block! Refrigerate then reheat soup first, then add the rice and stuff. Taking it somewhere? Here is what I do: Cook it all the way to the end but do not add rice. Cook the rice separately as follows: Place 1 cup rice in a saucepan with 1 cup of finished soup liquid plus 1/2 cup of water. Cover with lid then bring to simmer on medium, then cook for 12 - 15 minutes until water is all absorbed (tilt to check). Remove from stove, leave covered and stand for 10 minutes. Remove lid, fluff rice, then put rice in a separate container to the rest of the soup. To assemble, heat the soup, then add the rice. 5. Add Ins: See in post for ideas. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings (it's a generous bowl). Reduces to 380 calories if made using 500g/1lb breast.
Nutrition Information:
More soul warming clear broth soups
-
Quick and easy Chicken Noodle Soup
-
Made from scratch Chicken Noodle Soup (whole chicken)
-
Hot and Sour Soup – best Chinese soup for colds!
-
Browse all Soup recipes
Life of Dozer
Nowhere in sight while I was chopping carrots and sautéing onion, then he thunders inside the minute chicken makes an appearance.
Thunders. Not loping or trotting. Thunders. 🙄
This soup was amazing! I did a smaller batch and it came out soooo good. We like to add hot sauce for a little zing. I would make this recipe 100x. Thank you!!
Amazing soup. I may try replacing the rice with stelline or ditalini pasta next time. I couldn’t bother with removing the skin from my chicken, but I didn’t mind the extra flavor and texture in the broth, though I was careful to skim as much as I could off the top while it was cooking. It satisfied all the picky ones in our house. I added oregano and I think Zucchini would also be a nice addition for some extra veg.
Nagi, can I make this in the slow cooker? Besides sautéing ghe vegetables, should I sear the chicken?
Thank you for the recipe Nagi! I have made it multiple times since discovering this “best chicken soup” recipe.
Hey Nagi,
This soup has become my go-to whenever my husband or I are not feeling well.
It’s super hearty and has us immediately on the mend 🙂 x
I should rate more of your recipes but here at go 😊
This soup is a bit of heaven…
Perfect seasoning and I added the lemon juice and some fresh spinach. Very tasty ‼️
When I am searching for recipes if your website comes up I always go for your recipes. Not sure but I think we love the same seasonings. I’m in Canada and the weather getting colder so a pot of savoury soup fits the bill.
Give a scritch to Dozer and a big hug for you. You’re the best 😊😊
The best chicken soup recipe I have tried. The stock powder made such a difference. Going to be a family favourite.
I made this when my husband was not feeling well. Great hearty soup! Served with crusty sour dough bread.
So good. My family request this all the time.
Another amazing dish that has become a regular in our household, especially if one or both of us is feeling under the weather. 🙂
Wow….easy and good…….I added a little to much rice….but dude…..the flavor…:)
Fantastic soup. Easy to make and delish!
Easy, cheap and delicious.
My whole house smelt wonderful.
so so so tastyyyy! i didn’t have carrots in the fridge, so i subbed it with butternut squash (it gave about the same sweetness to the dish.) Will definitely make again!
My brother is picky as hell. I made this recently and he has asked for it several times since! I use 2 cups of Rotisserie chicken and egg noodles in place of rice (cooked separately), finished off with a tablespoon of lemon juice!
This is my go to recipe when it gets a little cold. Thanks Nagi!
I keep the cooked rice separately because i dont want to have left over mushy rice and its still great!
Made this today as I’m feeling a bit under the weather.. added Ginger with the Carrots and Celery. Added Pearl Barley instead of rice.. just before the Chicken .Added Lemon and Chilli at the end with the Parsley.. Omg! This is a winner!
Thankyou Nagi!
Step one: made your chicken broth recipe, except I used the carcass of my Thanksgiving turkey. Step two:. Used this recipe, except replaced chicken with leftover diced turkey following your instructions for a store bought rotisserie chicken. Best broth I ever made and the soup was delicious. Rave reviews from everyone who had a serving. Plan on making again, with chicken, very soon. But beef broth is next.
I followed to the T ! We keep Vegeta on hand ALWAYS! We love the flavor ! I just added a little more ! I added 1 acorn squash, cleaned ,cored ,& diced , and 1 turnip peeled n diced & fresh parsley instead of diced ! It was delicious…. But all
I’ve cooked by you is ! Ty Nagi ! When will us in the U.S be able to buy/order/ preorder your cookbook ? I’m sooo wanting to buy !
I made this soup for my ailing Dad. He said I should be a chef, and all I did was follow your recipe. He is 85 and had an upset tummy. I give a rating of 5. Thank you