This Chicken Rice Soup is a hearty, healthy soup recipe that’s perfect for fall! Loaded with vegetables, lean chicken and brown rice it can be made stove top or slow cooker.
Recipe first posted on Spend with Pennies.
Table of Contents
Soup season continues here on The Recipe Rebel and I’m back with this easy Chicken Rice Soup! It’s hearty, healthy, and creamy so it ticks pretty much all of my boxes 😉
Soup is pretty much my favorite way to get loaded up an all kinds of healthy stuff, and this one is no exception (this Chicken Pot Pie Soup and this Cabbage Soup are more favorites!).
I’ve used onions, garlic, carrots and celery but you could add all kinds of vegetables here. Mushrooms would be great (if you’re into that sort of thing), peppers, spinach, kale, or even frozen peas stirred in at the end. I often do this to cool down the soup for my kids and it works like a charm (plus, extra veggies!).
I know that a lot of Chicken Rice Soup recipes use wild rice, but with the long cook time I just didn’t think I wanted to go that route. You can, if you like, but keep in mind that it requires an even longer cook time that brown rice.
We use brown rice because it packs more fiber and protein, but still cooks in a reasonable amount of time. And we always have a giant bag around!
Variations of this Chicken Rice Soup:
- As mentioned above, feel free to swap out the vegetables or add more in! You do need to keep cook time in mind though and may want to add them at the end if they are quick cooking (like broccoli for example, unless you like it very tender).
- I use brown rice, but you could also use wild rice (a much longer cook time) or white rice (a lesser cook time). Again, keep in mind for the swaps you make you may need to adjust the liquid and cook time.
- If you really want this to be quick, you can use instant rice, but you may want to leave it out of the soup until the carrots are cooked because they can take a while to become tender and you don’t want mushy rice!
- This soup is naturally gluten-free, but double check all of your packages to be sure.
- This soup can easily be made dairy-free, by omitting the milk or cream.
How to make ahead Chicken and Rice Soup ahead:
This soup is great refrigerated and reheated, so feel free to make a large batch on the weekend for quick, easy meals during the week.
How to freeze soup:
Low fat milk does not freeze well and will separate. If you know you plan to freeze, I recommend using whole milk or even cream as the higher fat content does better when frozen and thawed.
Cool to room temperature, then place in a large freezer bag, seal completely, and lay flat to freeze in a thin layer. This will help the soup to thaw quickly when you need it for dinner!
To thaw, you can submerge the bag in lukewarm water until thawed, then reheat to desired temperature in the microwave or on the stovetop.
To make Slow Cooker Chicken Rice Soup:
You will follow many of the same steps, but the cook time will be considerably longer:
- Add the veggies, broth, chicken and rice to the slow cooker and cook on low for 3-6 hours or until the rice is tender — brown rice will cook considerably longer than white rice.
- Remove chicken and shred. Add back to the slow cooker with the evaporated milk.
Find the web story for this recipe here.
Chicken Rice Soup
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion minced
- 3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts raw
- 1 cup long grain brown rice rinsed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk (more or less as you prefer)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook and stir for 3-4 minutes, until onion begins to turn golden.
- Add garlic, parsley and thyme and cook 1 minute.
- Rinse rice under cold water. Add broth, chicken, rice, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low (a simmer), cover, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables and rice are tender.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred. Add back to the pot with evaporated milk. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Julie says
Can you use long white rice instead of brown?
Ashley Fehr says
Definitely! It does cook much quicker though
Jennifer says
Do you need to cook the veggies before they go in the slow cooker?
Ashley Fehr says
No you don’t
Debbie Bass says
Made this recipe and when I added the evaporated milk the broth turn a white color. The soup was good but was hard to get by the color of the broth. I believe I will leave the milk off the next time I make this. Thanks for the great recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
You can definitely leave the milk out! If you like the creamier taste but want a richer colored broth, you can always add a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of turmeric — it has a ton of added nutritional benefits!
Connie says
I added lemon juice to mine! Yummy, love this recipe and not using the milk.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Connie!
Shaylen says
With Christmas turkey coming up, could cooked turkey be used in this recipe, or would the turkey make it taste different?
Ashley Fehr says
Leftover turkey would be great in here!
Natasha says
I’ve made this recipe several times. It’s my favorite soup! Have you ever tried it in the instant pot?
Ashley Fehr says
I haven’t, but I’m sure it would work great! I just don’t know exactly how long the cook time would be
natasha Lynn hale says
Just wanted to give a follow up on using this recipe in the instant pot. I sauteed the veggies prior and then added everything into the pot except the milk. put it on pressure cook for 15 minutes. added the milk after and it came out AMAZING!! i figured i would give an update if anyone else comes across the recipe and wants to use the instant pot
Sheryl says
Thank you! I wanted to make this in the instant pot. Can’t wIt to try it!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Natasha!
Lea says
Thanks. Rice does well in the insta pot. After the vegetables saute for a minute or two, I also saute the rice than add the liquid. Yummy. Going to make thus week.
Angela says
I just added the evaporated milk and now I’m scared! Haha. It doesn’t look anything like your photo, looks more like pot pie filling.
Ashley Fehr says
It may look creamier than the photo and that’s okay. The broth I used that day may have been more orange than most, which would account for the different color.
Alison says
This soup sounds delicious…could cauliflower rice be substituted for the brown rice
Thank you…
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, absolutely!
Oats Hoye says
LOVED this recipe for an autumn evening with girlfriends. Served it with cheeses and crusty bread. The ladies loved it too — of 12 that I served (I doubled the recipe), 7 asked for the recipe the next day … a very good sign.
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Melanie says
Does the evaporated milk affect the recipe significantly or is it just for a creamier soup and could be left out? And you would use cooked chicken, correct?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, you can definitely leave it out and it will be thicker and less creamy! The recipe calls for raw chicken.
paula says
Can u use semi skimmed milk
Ashley Fehr says
You can, the only risk with using lower fat milk is that it curdles more easily
Heather Sampson says
Awesome soup especially if you are not feeling well!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Heather!
Sandi says
The whole family devoured this soup!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad!
Anna says
My family loves this soup! It’s so easy to make. Pure comfort food in a bowl!
Ashley Fehr says
Yes! One of our favorites too!
Stephanie says
This soup was fantastic! The flavor was perfect and was really easy to make!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Stephanie!
Liz says
I usually make chicken noodle soup, but when I saw your recipe, I had to try it! The whole family loved it and now it will be part of my meal rotation!!! Thanks for the yummy recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Liz! We love them both here!
Eden says
I have been using my slow cooker so much right now and we tried this delicious recipe. It was perfect and my entire family loved it. Can’t wait to make it again.
Yashica says
I made this recipe today and it was absolutely delicious. I was concerned at first, because my end result did not look like this picture above. It looked very white and creamy. I cannot see the evaporated milk in the picture here. Nonetheless, it was very creamy and very delicious. I used a bag of mixed vegetables with carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, since I didn’t have plain carrots and it was great. I cut the chicken in cubes before cooking. I also added the rice a little later, since I only had Jasmine rice. I was afraid it would cook too long if I added it at the recommended time, according to the recipe. I used just a little less than the recommended cup of evaporated milk. It was very creamy! I would have never guessed that the creaminess came from something as simple as a cup of evaporated milk! I loved it and will definitely do this again. Thank you for sharing.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Yashica! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Nadia says
Hearty and delicious! Loved this soup. I added green bell pepper instead of celery and whole milk instead of evaporated milk because that’s what I had and it turned out so good. I also added some fresh chopped parlsey for garnish and a squeeze of lemon. Yum. Will definitely make this recipe again. Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Nadia!
Heather Laughlin says
I really want to try this but I have white rice, chicken thighs, and half and half not evaporated milk. Would it still work?
Ashley Fehr says
White rice cooks in less time than brown rice, so you will want to check it a little sooner. Everything else will work fine!
April says
When I added the evaporated milk to the soup it turned completely white. It doesn’t look like the picture anymore. Was that supposed to happen?
Ashley Fehr says
The color will vary depending on the color of your chicken broth — some are more yellow (often have more tumeric for color), and some are more clear. It won’t affect the flavor!
Danielle says
Amy,
Did you cook on the stovetop or crockpot?
Thanx!
Danielle
Barbara Haskell says
When do you add the chicken? When you cook the carrots and celery in oil? I plan to make this tomorrow.
Ashley Fehr says
See step 3 and step 5
Carina says
Thank you for this recipe! I modified it by cooking the veggies in a tablespoon of butter for a few minutes, then added 5 chicken legs to the pot and seared them a minute or two per side on 3 sides. I added 5 cups of bullion broth, 2 bay leaves, brought to a boil and simmered for about 40 minutes, but it was likely ready to eat at the 35 minute mark. I made white rice separately to avoid a thick consistency that I knew my kids wouldn’t like, and added it to the bowls at serving time. My kids loved it and ate seconds. One added a splash of lemon juice and salsa for heat, he loves spice, and it was great! Thanks so much, I’m definitely bookmarking your recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Carina! And thanks for sharing your tips and swaps!