Easy Chicken and Rice Soup

5 from 28 votes

This chicken and rice soup recipe is incredibly cozy! Whip up a big batch in just 35 minutes for the best family meal to warm up with on a chilly day.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken and rice soup

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion chopped small
3 sticks celery chopped small
3 medium carrots peeled & sliced thin
3 cloves garlic minced
6 uncooked chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)
8 cups chicken broth (two 32 oz. cartons)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup long grain white rice e.g. jasmine
Salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (optional)

Instructions

Prep your onion, celery, and carrots.
Add the oil, onion, and celery to a soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add the chicken thighs, carrots, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and rice to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat so the soup's simmering. Give it a good stir to ensure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom.
Continue simmering for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, the carrots have softened, and the rice has cooked. Keep in mind the longer you cook the soup, the mushier the rice will get.
Take the chicken out of the pot and shred it or cut it up prior to serving. Add it back in and then season the soup with salt & pepper as needed and add in the parsley if using.

Notes

Leftovers will absorb the broth, so you may need to add more chicken broth when reheating. If you plan on having lots of leftovers or you're not a fan of very soft rice, you may want to cook the rice separately and add to individual portions when reheating.
I used about 1.5 pounds of chicken in this recipe. Anywhere from 1-2 pounds should work fine (you don't have to use 6 chicken thighs, but I just buy them in packs of 6). You can use chicken breasts if you prefer (you may need to adjust timing to ensure it's safely cooked to 165F).
Be sure to cut the celery and carrots small/thin so that they cook fast (no large chunks).
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition