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.
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!
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.
- 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)
- Add uncooked chicken and uncooked, rinsed rice to the soup pot — both will cook directly in the broth!
- 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!
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.
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
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts raw
- 1 cup long grain white or rice rinsed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ 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 15-30 minutes (white rice about 15, brown rice about 30), 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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Jonathan says
This recipe has been an excellent addition for us! I made it several times so far, on the stove top. I actually use pre-grilled chicken from the grocery store and I also squeeze all the juice from a small lemon into the pot with step 4 for a lemony twist. We are so happy we found The Recipe Rebel in 2022 as we’ve tried many recipes and they have all been consistently delicious.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much Jonathan! I will have to try that lemon twist!
Eva says
I looove this!! I eat it for breakfast or lunch because am so obsessed with chicken and rice , plus I love it mushy like a congee ❤️
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Eva! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Lola Agard says
good recipe. I used it as stated didn’t try to change it in any way since I wanted to make what the recipe was for. It turned out great! I checked frequently to make sure the rice was not overcooking.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Lola! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Pegg says
I tried this recipe today and felt it should be renamed Chicken and Rice Mush. I used the exact ingredients in the slow cooker verses cooking it on a range. I missed having more broth in my soup, but was hesitant to add more based on other comments. I also made sure that I rinsed my brown rice prior to cooking, as the directions stated. Lastly, there was too much thyme for me. It seemed to drown out all of the other flavors. Perhaps I’d have better results if I’d cooked it in a big pot.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Pegg! I’m sorry you had trouble with this recipe. It’s hard to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, but did you happen to check the rice after 3 hours? It said 3-6 hours or until rice was tender, so just trying to understand at which point your rice was tender. That is point where it was done, so it shouldn’t of been mush.
Pegg says
I checked it at 3 hours, but the rice wasn’t done. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to check on the cooker for another hour and a half. Every slow cooker is different and I think somewhere in between those hours my cooker was probably ready to be turned off. I thought it would be safe to continue cooking since the directions stated 3-6 hours. I still think cooking it in a big pot would have been better and reducing the amount of thyme.
Sue says
I used long grain white rice instead of brown and sadly, it all turned to mush. I added more broth at the end but it was too late. It tasted wonderful but way too thick. Bummed.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sue! Did you see the variations on timing in the blog post if using white rice? Also adding more broth would of made it mushier.
Madeleine Fuchs says
Thank you for this very yummy soup. I used a splash of 1/2 and 1/2 .
It is very comforting.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Madeleine! So glad you enjoyed the soup! Thank you for this review!
Ann Carrera says
I don’t have evaporated milk. If I use regular liquid whole milk will I be okay?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Ann! A suitable substitute for evaporated milk is going to be heavy cream or half and half. Or you can just leave the milk out. Hope you enjoy it!
bridget says
I use 1-2% milk all the time and it works! 🙂
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear! Thanks Bridget!
Chyanne Jones says
This is my go to recipe for chicken and rice soup! I love it and my family loves it! Buuuttt I can’t seem to get the rice cooker completely. It just stays kind of crunchy. HELP! Lol
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Chyanne! Which version are you doing, stove top or slow cooker? So glad you enjoy it!
Julia says
Could I use instant rice instead of long grain?
Ashley Fehr says
You can, you will just want to add it in the last 5 minutes
Rebecca says
I bought a routtsierre chicken. Could I just make the soup without the chicken and add it later?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes absolutely!
Melanie says
I only have Minute Rice in brown rice. Would that cook quicker?
Ashley Fehr says
Brown Minute Rice usually takes 5-10 minutes to cook, so I would plan accordingly
Melissa says
Just made this soup – eating it right now – I skipped the milk and celery and cooked while rice separately – I too don’t like mushy rice – and after the first bite, my husband immediately said, this is really good. I totally agree! Thanks for posting this.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Melissa!
Lisa says
Did you use boneless chicken breast or the ones with skin and bones
Ashley Fehr says
boneless, skinless
Stephanie says
Does this freeze well? Looks delicious!
Ashley Fehr says
Yes it does!
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!
Liz Zali says
Thank used cream of chicken soup instead of milk and it’s wonderful!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m glad!
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.
E says
Recipe looks great. How do I get the same color broth as in your photo? Thanks
Ashley Fehr says
The color will depend a bit on the type of broth you use — you can always add a bit of bouillon or Better than Bouillon for extra flavor and deeper color
Alison says
This soup sounds delicious…could cauliflower rice be substituted for the brown rice
Thank you…
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, absolutely!