Chicken and Rice Soup

Our chicken and rice soup is one of our favorite ways to warm up on a chilly day. This cozy soup takes about an hour from start to finish, and every bite is loaded with tender bites of chicken thighs, carrots and celery, soft rice, and the most delicious herb-infused broth. While we love a good chicken noodle soup or chicken and dumplings, there’s something about the savory flavors and soft texture of the rice that has us licking our bowls clean every time we make it.

While there are quicker chicken and rice soup recipes out there, taking just a little extra time and using fresh kitchen herbs keeps the rice tender (not mushy) and gives the broth a fresh, savory flavor that’s incomparable to any canned or quick version you may have tried.

How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients

Process

1. Fill a pot with 2 cups stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add rice and bring back to a boil. Once the rice is boiling, lower heat to medium-low to simmer. Cover and continue to cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft and fluffy, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and uncover. Fluff with a fork (cover) and set aside.

3. Place a large pot over medium-high heat. Add butter.
4. Once butter has melted add onion, celery, and carrot and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Lower heat to medium and add garlic and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Add stock and thighs and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken has cooked through.
8. Remove chicken thighs from pot and transfer to a bowl. Once cool enough to handle, shred with two forks (or your hands).

9. Add chicken and rice into soup and season with salt and pepper. 
10. Stir together.

11. Simmer for 5 minutes and ladle into bowls. Top with more fresh herbs. Serve with crusty bread.

Tips for the BEST Chicken and Rice Soup

• Make sure you cook the rice separately. While it might seem like a time or dish-saving move to cook the rice in the pot with the chicken, doing so will overcook the rice, making the rice grains bloated and mushy.
• Using fresh herbs will give this soup the most flavor, but you can swap any of them for dried if that’s all you have. Just remember the conversion of 3 to 1 when substituting fresh herbs for dried herbs. This means that if the recipe uses one tablespoon of fresh herb, you’ll swap it with one teaspoon of the dried herb.
• We use unsalted broth and unsalted butter, so you can control the amount of salt you add to this recipe by adding quality salt. If you use salted broth and salted butter, it may end up too salty.
• To shred the chicken, you can use two forks or your hands. You can also use a mixer with a paddle attachment. While this method works, it also increases the amount of dishes you’ll be doing!

Variations

Try some of these variations to make it your own, or use what you have on hand!

• Swap the rice: We use jasmine rice because its stickier texture naturally helps it keep its shape in soup better than most other rice varieties, but you can swap the jasmine rice for wild rice, basmati, or even orzo, barley, or quinoa to add a different texture. Just be sure to cook your rice or grain separately to avoid it becoming too soft.
• Add greens: Stir a couple of handfuls of tender leafy greens like spinach, baby kale, or Swiss chard to add extra nutrition and color to your chicken and rice soup.
• Make it creamy: Add half a cup of heavy cream to the soup. You could also make it creamier by blending two cups of the soup (after you’ve removed the chicken and before you add the rice) and adding it back into the pot once it’s been blended. Or do both for an extra creamy version.
• Swap the chicken thighs: Use rotisserie chicken or swap the chicken thighs for chicken breast or turkey breast.
• Include more veggies: While this soup does feature carrots, celery, and onions, you can increase the amount of vegetables or add additional ones like frozen peas, green beans, corn, or zucchini. For any of these softer veggies, add them to the pot towards the end when the chicken is simmering in the broth.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

This soup is best when served right away since the longer the rice sits in the broth, the less tender and more mushy it will become.

If you know that you’ll be eating this soup as leftovers, store the rice and the rest of the soup separately and combine them right before you reheat it and serve.

If you do end up with leftovers, let the soup cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat leftover chicken and rice soup, pour the soup into a small pot on the stove and warm over low-medium heat until warmed through. Or, add it to a microwave-safe container, cover it with a paper towel, and microwave in 30-second increments until warm.

What to Serve with Chicken and Rice Soup

For the ultimate comfort meal at home, serve this soup with:

• Grilled Cheese
• Garlic Bread
• Everyday Simple Side Salad
• Sour Cream and Chive Drop Biscuits
• Sweet Potato and Rosemary Biscuits
• Parmesan Crusted Crostini

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