Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
The best easy chicken and rice soup! It is packed full of vegetables and protein and is a family favorite. It is very easy to make and is filled with healthy ingredients. Enjoy this allergen friendly dinner recipe that is gluten free and dairy free. It makes the perfect dinner and makes a large batch for leftovers.
Easy chicken and rice soup
When I say easy, I truly mean easy! Most of the ingredients are prepared in one pot. I love that this soup is healthy and hearty. It is made with wholesome ingredients and even picky eaters will love it.
Ingredients in easy chicken and rice soup
- Chicken Breasts: Uncooked
- Rice: I used jasmine rice in this recipe. Any type will work: long grain, brown rice, minute rice
- Carrots: I used baby carrots in this recipe that I chopped into 1/2 inch slices. I wanted to avoid one more step of peeling the full sized carrots.
- Celery
- Chicken broth
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Bay leaves
- Salt
What I love about easy chicken and rice soup
The ingredients in this soup are very simple. It can please the pickier eaters in your life as the rice can be served separately and even the chicken and vegetables can be easily separated on a plate. Sometimes my kids are weird about all their food mixed together so this is an easy solution for them to enjoy the meal more. I have prepared this meal for my family, friends who just had a baby and larger dinner parties. It is so versatile and quick to prepare.
Preparing this dish
I like to start out with chopping the onion, celery, and carrots and get those cooking in the Dutch oven. While they are cooking I trim the chicken breasts and get water boiling in a second pot. After 5 minutes of sautéing the vegetables in the Dutch oven, I then add the spices, chicken broth and chicken and bring to a boil. You want to cook the chicken low and slow so it doesn’t dry out. To help with this, reduce the heat to low and simmer. While the soup is simmering I can tend to the finishing the rice.
I have prepared this soup many times and I now prefer to prepare the rice separately. Each type of rice has a slightly different cooking length making it hard to exactly time it correctly to be cooked, but not complete mush. The rice also continues to absorb liquid and become more mushy, so saving it for leftovers is not a great option if the rice is left in. When it is time to serve the soup, place a serving of rice in the bowl and pour the soup over top.
FAQ and substitutions
Can I use chicken thighs? Yes, I would recommend boneless and skinless for ease when shredding!
Can I use a rotisserie chicken? Yes, I have done this multiple times and I just add the chicken at the very end as the chicken is already cooked and I don’t want to dry it out. When the vegetables are almost soft is a great time to add in the rotisserie chicken
What type of rice is best? Truly any type of rice you prefer! Since you are cooking it separately, just follow the package instructions
What to serve chicken and rice soup with
Bread, rolls or a salad are an easy pairing!
Yummy toppings for the soup: Shredded cheese, avocado, hot sauce, or sour cream
Storing the leftovers
I store the soup and rice in separate containers. I typically reheat the soup on the stovetop and reheat the rice in the microwave.
Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, uncooked
- 2 cups jasmine rice (or your rice of choice)
- 2 cups carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 8 cups chicken broth (2, 32 oz. containers)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large pot
- Add onions, carrots, and celery to the Dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning
- Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant
- In a separate pot, prepare the 2 cups of rice according to package instructions
- To the Dutch oven, pour in chicken broth and add chicken breasts
- In the same Dutch oven, add in Italian seasoning and bay leaves
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, uncovered
- You want to simmer the soup until chicken breasts are fully cooked through (165 degrees F)
- Remove the chicken breasts and shred. I prefer to place them into a stand mixer to shred, but it can also be done with 2 forks
- Add shredded chicken back to the soup
- Spoon cooked rice into bowls and then ladle soup over top
