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Chicken Rice Soup (Stove Top or Slow Cooker)

written by Ashley Fehr

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4.90 from 89 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 servings

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Last updated on April 8, 2024

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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.

scoop of chicken rice soup coming out of pot.

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!

overhead image of two bowls of chicken rice soup with spoons on the side.

If you like this one, you might also enjoy this Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup, this Chicken Wild Rice Soup or this {Quick} Chicken Bacon Rice Soup!

How to make Chicken Rice Soup:

Here’s a quick overview with some step by step photos! See the full recipe down in the recipe card.

Carrots onion and celery sauteed in pot and spices added.
Saute vegetables and add garlic and spices to toast.
Broth added to vegetables in pot.
Broth added to vegetables.
  • Saute carrots, onion and celery before adding garlic and spices to toast.
  • Add the broth and deglaze the pot if necessary (scraping any stuck on bits off the bottom)
Chicken added to broth in pot.
Add uncooked chicken to broth in pot.
Uncooked rice added to chicken rice soup.
Add uncooked rice to the soup.
  • Add uncooked chicken and uncooked, rinsed rice to the soup pot — both will cook directly in the broth!
Shredded chicken added back into pot.
Shred the chicken and add back into the soup.
Milk added to chicken rice soup to finish.
Stir in the milk if desired.
  • When the chicken is cooked, shred it and add it back into the pot.
  • Stir in the evaporated milk if using — you can omit for a dairy free soup. Additionally, you can whisk in some corn starch before adding to the soup if you prefer a thicker soup!
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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.

close up image of scoop of chicken and rice soup.

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.
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Chicken Rice Soup

written by Ashley Fehr

4.90 from 89 votes
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.
square image of chicken rice soup coming out of pot.
Review
Print
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Soup
Servings 6 servings
Calories 332cal

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)
US Customary – Metric

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

*NOTE: carrots will be very tender by the time the rice is cooked. If you prefer your carrots with more bite to them, add them after the first 10 minutes when stirring the soup.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 332cal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 803mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5250IU | Vitamin C: 5.4mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 1.6mg
Keywords chicken and rice soup, chicken soup, slow cooker soup

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. Marissa Deveux says

    If I were to swap out the evaporated milk with a non dairy liquid, would it be milk or creamer? I’m excited to try this tonight!

    Reply

  2. Shannon says

    I made this last night and it was delicious! Only thing I did differently was to sprinkle a tad a cayenne pepper in for a little kick and I only used 1/2 c evaporated milk. Thank you!

    Reply

  4. Trish says

    So yummy!! My 3 year old LOVED it! I used whole milk and added a bit more parsley and thyme. Will be freezing the leftovers for camp meal.

    Reply

  14. KAtie says

    Hello! I made this recipe, but I basically tripled it. I used canola oil and fried the chicken on both sides (4 mins each side on medium high heat. I used boneless chicken theighs and breasts. Then I removed the chicken on a plate. Then I added 4 stalks celery and 8 smaller carrots chopped small in the same oil on medium high heat for 10 mins add 1 ex large onion for another few minutes then Add 2 small garlic cloves minced. Cook another two minutes. Add 5 cans of chicken stock and 1 tsp thyme. Add one cup of white rice and add chicken not cut; bring to boil stirring often reduce heat to Simmer for 25 minutes. Remove chicken and left cool a bit. Chop in small pieces. Do NOT shred. Add chopped chicken and 1 can of evaporated milk.! Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if you have on hand. Sooooooo sooooo yummy! I didn’t use low sodium chick broth, added 1 tsp of salt. No pepper and no parsley.

    Reply

  15. Kayla C. says

    This was very good! Mine didn’t turn out to be that pretty yellow broth color though. Any idea why? I cooked it in a slow cooker and I’m wondering if that was it?

    Reply

  16. JJ kelley says

    OMG!! This is outstanding. Seasonings ratios are perfect!!! I added a pinch of Rosemary for a twang, Thanks for sharing your gift!!!

    Reply

  18. Toni Hager says

    Does the whole milk or cream take the place of the evaporated milk? And you don’t indicate how much corn starch to use in the crock pot variation. Can you advise?

    Reply

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