Nothing says comfort food like a bowl of delicious Chicken and Rice Soup full of carrots, celery, sweet onion, roasted chicken, and tender white rice. This simple yet filling soup is full of wholesome ingredients that make you feel great about feeding your family.
Many of these ingredients are everyday household staples; you may already have them in your refrigerator or pantry. I love to serve this soup with Dutch oven bread or corn muffins.
Who Doesn’t Love Chicken and Rice Soup, Right?
This soup is quick and easy to make, using already-cooked rotisserie chicken and minute rice. It is ideal for busy families and weeknights. For a more slow-paced weekend soup, try my chicken and wild rice soup, lasagna alfredo soup, or lemon chicken orzo soup.
We are a soup-loving family. In fact, we eat it year-round. After all, isn’t that one of the main reasons they created air conditioning? Just kidding. For seasonal soup eaters, fall and winter will be here before you know it, and with it comes all things soup.
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: salted or unsalted
- Vegetables: sweet yellow onion, celery, carrots, and garlic
- Seasonings and herbs: dried parsley and thyme, bay leaves, black pepper, fresh thyme and parsley
- Chicken broth: Low sodium
- Rice: long grain rice like jasmine rice or basmati rice
- Chicken: any cooked chicken. I like to use rotisserie chicken.
How To Make Chicken And Rice Soup
This is just the nutshell version of the recipe. See the recipe card below for ingredients and full directions.
- Cook the vegetables over medium heat on the stovetop.
- Reduce the heat to low, and cook the garlic, herbs, and spices for 1 minute.
- Add the bay leaves and chicken broth. Bring it to a boil.
- Add the rice, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.
- Stir in the chicken and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Preparation Tips
- I love to use already-cooked rotisserie chicken. They are delicious and available at almost all grocery retailers and warehouse stores like Sam’s and Costco. Or you can poach boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- If you want to kick the seasonings up a notch, consider adding 1/8 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper or 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. You can also try adding dried herbs like oregano and bail.
- Remove your bay leaves before serving; they are stiff and have sharp edges.
- Keep in mind that rice absorbs liquid. If you know you will save some soup for leftovers, remove that amount before adding the rice. Reheat on the stovetop, adding the uncooked minute rice.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice such as jamine or basmati
- 2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
- fresh parsley or thyme garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onion and the celery are soft. Stir several times.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add garlic, parsley, thyme, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.
- Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the cooked chicken. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste, and garnish with fresh parsley or thyme.
Notes
- I love to use already-cooked rotisserie chicken. They are delicious and available at almost all grocery retailers and warehouse stores like Sam’s and Costco. Or you can poach boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- If you want to kick the seasonings up a notch, consider adding 1/8 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper or 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. You can also try adding dried herbs like oregano and bail.
- Remove your bay leaves before serving; they are stiff and have sharp edges.
- Keep in mind that rice absorbs liquid. If you know you will save some soup for leftovers, remove that amount before adding the rice. Reheat on the stovetop, adding the uncooked minute rice.
Nutrition
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Tara
Yum! Such a comforting soup! I bet my whole family will love this and it comes together so easily.
Kristina Tipps
So cozy and delicious! My kids and husband devoured it, and that’s when I know it’s a winner!
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain
A great recipe for using up tose carrot and celery bits and bobs! I will make this using orzo – I have some left from last nights dinner!
Julia
This is such a delicious and comforting recipe. My family loved it!
Julie Blanner
This is such a great comfort soup! I made a large batch of this and froze the rest for a later date. It was so flavorful and easy to make!
Heather
We love this soup!! Perfect for a cold night!
Sandra
Such a really comforting meal!! I loved it!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Such a comforting and delicious meal! Nothing beats a bowl of this – it’s so good!
Anjali
What a comforting and easy recipe! Even though it’s summer I still enjoy a good soup for dinner and this turned out great!
Emily Liao
This soup was so warm and comforting – perfect for a cold day! Enjoyed the leftovers as well.
Marlynn
This is such a yummy bowl of happiness right here. Good all year round!
Beti | easyweeknightrecipes
Such an incredibly delicious soup!! My family would love this!
katerina @ diethood.com
I love chicken and rice soup! I am so excited to try this!
Vikki
Tasty soup!
Erin
This Chicken and Rice Soup couldn’t look any more perfect!
Jen
Our family is soup obsessed as well. I love making a big batch on Monday and everyone just gets to eat it throughout the week though it doesn’t seem to last too long. This one is so good!