Chicken and Rice Soup
This healthy chicken and rice soup is quick and easy to prepare and loaded with veggies, juicy chicken, and tender rice, making it a delicious, nutritious, and well-balanced meal. Not only does it work well as a healthy weeknight dinner, but it keeps incredibly well in the fridge or freezer so it’s a great make-ahead meal for healthy lunches.
Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
In the past few weeks, I’ve been talking a lot about the importance of eating well-balanced meals. There are lots of complex and crazy formulas that you can find online to help design a well-balanced meal, however, as with everything I teach, I like to keep things as simple as possible. In order to create a well-balanced meal, all you need to do is ensure that your meal includes some carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and this chicken and rice soup does just that. By simply combining some veggies, some chicken, some rice, and some olive oil in this soup, you can ensure that you are creating a filling and balanced meal. I made this chicken and rice soup with chicken breasts, however, if you want to up the fat content a little you could use chicken thighs, and if you’d rather use wild or brown rice, you can certainly do that too.
Chicken and Rice Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: American
Description
This chicken and rice soup recipe is made with chicken breasts, however, you could make it with chicken thighs just as easily. You could also swap the white rice for wild or brown rice, but you will need to increase the cooking time a little.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 chicken breasts or 4 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 1 cup long-grain white rice (basmati or jasmine)
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Fresh parsley, to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot on medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent and vegetables are tender.
- Add salt, pepper, and thyme, and stir to coat the vegetables. Pour in broth and water, add rice and bay leaf, and stir to combine.
- Submerge raw chicken breasts/thighs in the broth, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Skim off any excess foam that produces on the top of the soup once cooked.
- After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken into small bite-size pieces.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot and simmer the soup, covered, for an additional 10 minutes. If you find the soup too thick, simply add some extra broth or water until it reaches the consistency of your choice.
- Once cooked, season the chicken and rice soup with additional salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 253 calories
- Sugar: 6 grams
- Fat: 4 grams
- Carbohydrates: 38 grams
- Fiber: 3 grams
- Protein: 16 grams
Keywords: chicken breast, chicken thighs, chicken broth, white rice, vegetables, easy, homemade, healthy
I love one pot meals! Thanks for this one!
My pleasure, hope you enjoy it!
Do you simmer the chicken uncovered? Thanks for the recipe!
I tend to cover it, but it honestly won’t make a huge difference in the end. And my pleasure, hope you enjoy it!
I’ve never made a soup before (novice cook) but had some thighs I needed to cook. I found this recipe and so happy I did. It’s so easy and si delicious. Im so happy the ingredients used are ones almost everyone will have. Thank you so much!
Ah, thank YOU so much! I’m so happy that you enjoyed it Melanie and thank you so much for sharing!
Yes!! Finally an easy peasy chicken soup 🙂 Instead of rice I did quinoa and I added silverbeet and turmeric. YUM! Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
can this be converted for the Instant pot?
That is a great question! I’ve never done so myself, but I don’t see why not.
Do you use chicken broth or vegetable broth when making yours? I can’t decide which to try.
I use chicken, I find it gives more flavour!
Is rice added cooked or uncooked?
The rice is to be added raw / uncooked!
Would brown rice do?
Yes, but you would need to extend the cooking time. Likely to 40 minutes until the rice is tender, but refer to the package direction for exact cooking instructions.
Absolutely excellent recipe. Saves me time and dishes! Perfect for Fall/Winter.
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So simple to make but delicious
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I really appreciate your recipes and advice… this soup recipe is perfect for the weather and a soothing addition for the “times” we are immersed in , in 2020 and beyond. Sharing this with granddaughters will be a good thing.?
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I like all Stephanie’s soup recipes and try them all. Excellent.
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Great soup easy to make and delicious
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Delicious. The best time of year for a new soup recipe. I made mine will leftover cooked chicken breast, that worked too
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Simple to make and tastes great. I love to make this on Sunday’s for my lunches during the week.
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There are many Chicken Soup recipes out there, but I always come back to yours. It’s easy and also looks the best of any I’ve tried. Great taste with all the right ingredients in the right proportions.
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Hi, if adding precooked chicken, like rotisserie, when would you add the chicken? At step 5, for the 10 minutes or would you still add it at the beginning?
Absolutely! Yes, just add the cooked chicken at step 5 to reheat it gently.
Delicious
★★★★★
Simply delicious and freezes well!
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Solid, easy to prepare recipe. The liquid was just the right amount to not make it too watery. Tasty!
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Such a simple recipe but so delicious. Tastes so comforting and healthy. I added wild rice and it was lovely.
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It was delicious because we are sick I added more garlic ?
Thank you
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