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Chicken and Rice Soup

Published on November 25, 2018 by Stephanie Kay

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

Author: Stephanie Kay

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.

Author: Stephanie Kay
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Category: Soup
Cuisine: American

Scale

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

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