Chicken and Rice Soup

5 from 3 votes

Tender bites of chicken in a savory herb-infused broth, our chicken and rice soup is always delicious and never mushy with our fool-proof method. Make a big batch to warm up and stay cozy on chilly days!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 455kcal

Author: Teri & Jenny

Ingredients

rice

1 1/3 cups unsalted chicken stock
2/3 cup uncooked jasmine rice

soup

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion diced
1 celery stalk thinly sliced on a bias
1 large, peeled carrot cut into 1/4" thick half circles
3 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon minced thyme
1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
2 teaspoons minced oregano
6 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs)
salt and pepper to taste

garnish

1 tbsp thinly sliced chives
2 tsp thyme leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

rice

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.
Remove from heat and uncover. Fluff with a fork (cover) and set aside.
Place a large pot over medium-high heat. Add butter. Once butter has melted add onion, celery, and carrot and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
Lower heat to medium and add garlic and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add stock and thighs and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
Lower heat to medium and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken has cooked through.
Remove chicken thighs from pot and transfer to a bowl. Once cool enough to handle, shred with two forks (or your hands).
Stir chicken and rice into soup and season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 5 minutes and ladle into bowls. Top with more fresh herbs. Serve with crusty bread.

Notes

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!

Nutrition