Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup features tender bites of shredded chicken breasts, sautéed veggies, white rice and a flavorful creamy broth! It’s an easy one pot soup recipe that comes together easily in under an hour.
Enjoy more easy chicken soup recipes like Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup, Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup and Chicken Dumpling Soup.
Table of Contents
- Why we love this Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup:
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup Ingredients Needed:
- Forgot to Thaw Chicken?
- How to make Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to store Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Can I freeze chicken and rice soup?
- Serving suggestions:
- More easy chicken soup recipes you’ll love!
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is one of those dinners that’s perfect for weeknights at home with the family! When you need something warm, comforting, and kid friendly on the dinner table, this is a great recipe to turn to.
I think my favorite thing about this chicken and rice soup recipe is how easy it is to toss together! It’s a one pot recipe that comes together with minimal effort in about 45 minutes.
Plus, it’s made with kitchen staples! If you’re anything like me, you probably have the majority of these ingredients on hand 90% of the time. If not, no worries – your shopping list will be nice and short.
If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes! (Even my soup-resistant children love this one 😉).
Why we love this Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup:
- Picky eater approved: If you have a hard time getting a certain someone at the table to eat their protein and veggies, this recipe may come in handy! It’s so flavorful they won’t even notice all of the goodness it offers.
- Comforting: Chicken, rice and veggies are served in the best creamy broth. This is truly a comfort food classic.
- Simple: One quick look at the ingredients listed below will show you that this recipe is frills-free! You may already have every simple ingredient needed in your kitchen now.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken – Chicken breasts are my favorite to use in this recipe because I like the way they shred so perfectly. However, you can use boneless, skinless thighs if you’d prefer!
- Rice – Long grain white rice is my go-to in this creamy soup. Brown rice also works just fine, but it requires a longer cook time.
- Cream – Heavy cream creates the best thick and creamy consistency! Any cream will work though, like half and half.
- Chicken Broth – I always use low-sodium chicken broth so I can control the amount of salt in the soup.
- Seasonings – Thyme, parsley, salt and pepper is all you’ll need to create the best savory flavor!
- Garlic – Feel free to add more than what’s called for if you’re a proud garlic lover!
- Onion – A white or yellow onion is what you’ll need.
- Carrots – Try to make sure they’re all cut to about the same size so they cook through evenly.
- Celery – It’ll need a rinse before you start chopping to remove any possible residue.
Forgot to Thaw Chicken?
You can add frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs right from the freezer!
Simply add them with the broth and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F and they are easily shredded. Remove from the soup, shred or chop, and stir right back in.
How to make Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
This one pot chicken soup recipe is so very easy! For more details about ingredients and instructions, just scroll on down to the recipe card.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions, carrots and celery. Cook just until the onions are translucent.
- Mix in the garlic and herbs. Cook for just another minute.
- Add broth, raw chicken, uncooked rice, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir it all together and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook until the veggies and rice are tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and shred with two forks.
- Add the chicken back to the pot and stir in the cream.
Variations and Substitutions
- Add more veggies: I recommend starting this soup recipe with your classic mirepoix. From there, you can really get creative! Add veggies that take a little longer to cook with the mirepoix. Things that cook quicker, like leafy greens and frozen veggies can be added at the end.
- Use bone-in chicken: Yep! This recipe works just fine with bone-in chicken if that’s what you have on hand. Just note that it will take longer to cook and be sure to completely remove any bones when you shred the meat.
- Brown rice works: Just note that it’ll need longer to cook then white rice does.
How to store Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
In an airtight container in the fridge, any leftover chicken and rice soup you have will stay fresh for about 2-3 days. Reheat for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.
Can I freeze chicken and rice soup?
You sure can! Let it fully cool to room temperature first. Then, transfer the soup into a large zip-top bag and lay it flat on a cutting board or baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour until it’s frozen flat. That way you can really optimize your storage space in your freezer!
Freeze for up to 3 months and let defrost in the fridge for a few hours before reheating.
Serving suggestions:
This chicken soup is a meal all on its own! It’s got carbs, protein and veggies. If you’d like to serve it with anything on the side, consider some crusty No Knead Artisan Bread, Homemade Dinner Rolls or my Mom’s Homemade Buns!
More easy chicken soup recipes you’ll love!
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup — come home to dinner ready!
- Chicken Rice Soup — a classic version without the cream (and a reader favorite!)
- Quick Chicken Bacon Rice Soup — you can’t go wrong with bacon!
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup — wild rice adds a pop of color and added nutrients.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 large carrots (peeled and diced, or 3 medium)
- 2 ribs celery (halved and sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (raw, about 1 lb)
- 1 cup long grain rice (white or brown)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup cream (any kind – higher fat will have a richer flavor and thicker consistency)
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 is translucent.
- Add garlic, parsley and thyme and cook 1 minute.
- Add broth, uncooked chicken, uncooked 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(15-20 minutes for white rice, 30-35 minutes for brown rice), stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables and rice are tender.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred. Add back to the pot with the cream. Serve.
Notes
- vegetables: I start this recipe with a classic mirepoix (carrots, onion and celery) to build flavor, but you can add in lots of others if you like! Add the ones that cook longer with the mirepoix, and add the ones that cook quickly at the end (for example, frozen vegetables, leafy greens, broccoli etc.)
- chicken: I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you can use thighs if you prefer. If you want to use bone in meat, that works too! You will just remove the bone when you shred the chicken.
- rice: I usually use long grain white rice in this recipe. Brown rice works great but will need a longer cook time. I prefer not to use minute rice, though you can and it works fine — just add it once the vegetables are nearly tender. Normally, I rinse my rice to remove excess starch before cooking it. But in this recipe, a little starch helps to make this soup thick and creamy.
- cream: I like to use heavy cream in this recipe for the best flavor and consistency. However, any cream will work! You could even substitute with milk plus 1 tablespoon of corn starch or flour if you need to.
Nutrition Information
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Patti W. says
Forgot to rate this recipe. Sorry. Its absolutely 5 stars.
Patti W. says
This is a keeper. Love the cream with the rice, how comforting. Keep up the excellent recipes.
Silke says
Absolutely delicious!
Gets better every day as so often is with warmed-up one pot dishes.
The Recipe Rebel says
Thank you Silke!
Kahla Broussard says
Delicious ! Flavorful and filling.
Easy to make.
The Recipe Rebel says
Thank you Kahla!
Pris says
This soup is so simple and delicious. It was so perfect we loved it even without the cream!
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad you enjoyed it, Pris!