Easy Chicken and Rice Soup is a quick and simple soup recipe that the entire family will love. This brothy and nourishing soup recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight supper, or feeding someone under the weather.
“This is a new staple in my house. I’m not sure how the small amount of ingredients end up so flavorful but it’s pretty amazing. Great weeknight meal!”
Soup season is 12 months a year at my house, and the recipe that makes the most appearances – even during the dog days of summer – is my Chicken and Rice Soup recipe.
This brothy and nourishing soup features everyday ingredients like vegetables, chicken, rice, and chicken stock, but I’m not exaggerating when I tell you my children lick their bowls clean of it.
Whether you’re craving something ultra-comforting, feeding a sick friend or family member, or simply only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table — Chicken and Rice Soup is the answer!
Watch How to Make It
Main Ingredients Needed
Browse the comments section of this post and you’ll see that readers have added everything from celery to spinach, dried and fresh herbs, plus peas to this soup over the years. It’s a fabulous recipe to customize with extra veggies in particular, though here’s what you’ll need for the base recipe:
- Aromatics: onions, carrots, and garlic build the base of this cozy soup.
- Homemade Seasoned Salt: adds tons of flavor to each bowl.
- Chicken breasts: this recipe calls for diced raw chicken breast, though you could stir in pre-cooked shredded or diced chicken from a roast chicken at the end to warm through. If I have time, I’ll occasionally use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs cooked using this method.
- Long grain white rice: like jasmine rice or basmati rice, vs a short grain rice like arborio rice or sushi rice. Lundberg Jasmine Rice is my go-to. Whatever brand you go with, be sure it’s high quality to avoid mushy rice.
- Chicken stock: I like to use chicken stock (homemade is great) for max flavor, though chicken broth is fine too. Feel free to use low-sodium chicken broth or stock if needed.
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Pin ItHow to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
Step 1: Saute the vegetables.
Start by heating a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add chopped carrots and onion, season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper, then place a lid on top and cook until the vegetables are very tender, 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Can I Make this in the Crock Pot?
I don’t advise cooking white rice in the crock pot, as it’s very tricky to control the texture and timing with the chicken and vegetables.
Step 2: Add chicken stock, rice, and chicken.
Add chicken stock or broth to the pot then turn the heat up to bring to a boil. Add long grain white rice then stir to combine. Next add diced chicken breasts that have been seasoned with more seasoned salt and pepper then stir to combine.
Do I Cook the Rice Before Adding it to the Soup?
No, the rice will cook in the soup. If you have cold, leftover rice you’d like to use instead, stir that in at the end to warm through. Note: you will need less broth since the pre-cooked rice will not soak up much of the broth.
How do You Keep the Rice from Getting Mushy?
Be sure to use high quality rice in this soup recipe. If you use minute rice, or any other type of par-boiled rice, it will turn out mushy.
I’m brand loyal to Lundberg rice and like their White Jasmine Rice in this recipe. Trust me, rice quality makes a huge difference!
Do I Cook the Chicken Before Adding it Into the Soup?
No. Diced raw chicken breasts are seasoned with seasoned salt and pepper then added to the soup raw, where they poach in the hot broth.
Step 3: Simmer the soup.
Turn the heat down to medium then simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is tender, stirring every so often.
Serve with Gluten Free Focaccia, Gluten Free Flatbread, or Gluten Free Biscuits and you’re set!
How to Store
Scoop leftover chicken and rice soup into individual-sized storage containers then store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave with an extra splash of chicken stock or broth until hot.
Can I Freeze this Soup?
I find even high quality white rice can become mushy once frozen then thawed, so I don’t recommend freezing this soup.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Gluten Free Lasagna Soup
- Pastina Soup
- Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Gluten Free Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped, ~1/2 cup
- 1 large carrot, finely chopped, ~1/2 cup
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper
- 2 chicken breasts, ~1lb, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 cup long grain white rice, Lundberg Jasmine Rice recommended
Directions
- Add the extra virgin olive oil to a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add he onions and carrots, season with seasoned salt and pepper, then stir to combine. Cover the pot with a lid then saute until the vegetables are very tender, 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic then saute without the lid on for 30 seconds.
- Turn the heat up to high then add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice then stir to combine. Season the chicken with seasoning salt and pepper then add to the broth and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to medium then simmer, uncovered, until the rice is tender, 15-20 minutes. Taste then add more seasoned salt and/or pepper to taste, then ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
- The rice will continue to soak up the broth as it cools so keep extra on hand for reheating leftovers.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I still need me some soup. I could honestly eat soup all summer long. It is still cold in New England. We are getting snow as we speak. Soup is good.
I made your soup today and it is so easy and delicious! Thank you! The next time I make it I would love to freeze some to have on hand. Do you think it would freeze well?
I’m so glad you loved it!! I would hesitate to freeze only because I think the rice would turn into mush, unfortunately!
Our house has been sick all week. This soup was a perfect feel better meal :) Our two year old LOVED it!
Oh I’m so glad to hear it – hope you are all feeling better this week!
This soup looks amazing and so much easier than a lot of other soup recipes. Can’t wait to try it!
I am curious do you not feed your son gluten either? I worry about this because he could become intolerant when he actually isn’t allergic. It would be terrible for him to grow up with this if isn’t an actual problem. Can you imagine being 21 again and not being able to enjoy a sip of beer? Just food for thought…
Gluten intolerance isn’t caused by not eating gluten, but he does eat it – just not at home. I kept getting horribly sick from cross contamination so we have to keep a GF home!
I feel you on the meal planning, or lack thereof. I love to eat. But I also love variety. And how can I commit to tacos on Tuesday if I feel like spaghetti instead. But if I don’t use the leftover beef by Thursday it will go and, and so on…
So we usually end up winging it too. But I need to work on the stocked pantry thing. I went to make soup the other day and didn’t have chicken broth. WHAT?! Who doesn’t have chicken broth?? Me, apparently.
Oops. It will go *bad*.
Kristin! Your blog is the first place I stop when I am meal planning. I wrote a blog post about my two-week menu and referenced IGE as a great place to gather recipes. So let’s be real, you may not be a good meal planner, but you inspire others to do it, so I think you can relax and drink a mojito about it. You’ve done enough!
This looks delish. I’ll save it for next winter as we’re officially out of homemade soup season at my house. :-)
Do you cook the chicken or add it to the pot raw?
I am curious about this as well. I’m assuming raw because it’s chopped small and would cook in the broth easily?
Yep, add it raw!
Hi! I absolutely love your blog and your writing! You are awesome!! Quick question on this recipe – is the chicken breast cooked or uncooked when you add it? Thanks so much!
Looks like something my family would love! The chicken is uncooked?
Yep! It cooks in the broth.
This definitely looks like something I would make! I love hearty chicken soup. Pinning this for later!
What a great idea to fool your parents like that: I’m sure if I tried anything like it they would pay me back BIG TIME! Soup is definitely not a joke: I love them in any form.
And I pinned that seasoning, what a smart idea!