This hearty Chicken and Rice Soup is loaded with healthy ingredients like vegetables, rice, and chicken in a flavorful Chicken Stock. It will be on your regular rotation in no time.
We love homemade chicken soups from classic Chicken Noodle Soup to Chicken Tortilla Soup. If you enjoy comforting chicken soups, this Chicken and Rice Soup recipe checks every box.
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What is Chicken and Rice Soup?
Chicken and rice soup is a healthy soup made with an aromatic vegetable base of onion, carrot, and celery. It’s very similar to chicken noodle soup but uses rice instead of pasta. The chicken breast is added to the broth and cooked until the chicken is tender and easy to shred (see the pro-tip below to ensure juicy chicken in your soup every time). This soup is ready in under an hour with 15 minutes of prep and just over 30 minutes of cook time.
Ingredients
As with most of our recipes, this chicken rice soup uses simple ingredients that are usually in your pantry and refrigerator. There’s no need to run to the store for an extra special ingredient with this recipe. Here’s what you’ll need (scroll down for exact measurements in the print-friendly recipe card below).
- Veggies – Onion, carrot, and celery are the trifecta base ingredients in a good soup. Add any of your favorite vegetables to the soup, making sure to cut them into evenly sized pieces first.
- Oil – Olive oil (or avocado oil) is used to saute the aromatics.
- Chicken – Bone-in or boneless chicken breast or thighs work wonderfully in this recipe. Chicken thighs are actually often said to have more flavor.
- Chicken broth – Use homemade chicken stock for best results, but store-bought chicken broth will work in a pinch. A good broth can make all the difference, so get a good quality one if using store-bought.
- Rice – No need to cook the rice before adding it to the soup. Instead, use uncooked rice. Use brown rice for a more nutritious version, but be aware that brown rice does take longer to cook compared to white rice.
- Spices – Add a few bay leaves, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Herbs – Garnish with fresh dill, parsley, or any of your favorite soup herbs.
Pro Tip: Use up any leftover Roast Chicken or rotisserie chicken in this soup. Simply add the cooked shredded chicken to the broth after the rice is fully cooked.
How to Make Chicken Rice Soup
Chicken rice soup is one of the easiest soups to make because it’s a one-pot meal. Follow these steps, adding the ingredients in the correct order for the best soup.
- Saute the vegetables: Preheat a large soup pot with olive oil and add vegetables. Stir and saute over medium heat until lightly golden.
- Add remaining ingredients: Add chicken breast (or chicken thighs), rice, spices, and chicken broth. Boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- Shred the chicken: Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and shred. Return back to the pot after fully shredded.
- Season to taste: Add herbs and further season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
Pro Tip: The soup cooking time can vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breast. Cook until chicken is just cooked through (165˚F for chicken breast meat or chicken thigh meat). You can check this with an instant-read thermometer.
Tips for the Best Chicken Rice Soup
What is a recipe without a few good hacks from the kitchen? Follow these tips for a consistently tasty bowl of soup each time.
- Add more broth as needed: Rice tends to absorb liquid as it sits, so add broth when needed.
- Season with your favorite spices: Personalize this soup by adding any of your favorite herbs and spices. Bay leaves are a must for a good soup, but thyme, fresh parsley, and dill are also our favorites! Squeezing in a garlic clove at the end is also a great way to flavor soup as we do in our Borscht Recipe.
- Chop veggies evenly: To ensure veggies are evenly cooked and have a great texture, chop them all into equal-sized pieces.
- Use uncooked rice: By using uncooked rice, you allow the rice to absorb the delicious flavors of the broth. Cooked rice can be used instead and added after the chicken is cooked, but it won’t be nearly as tasty.
To Serve
Chicken rice soup is great on its own, but it’s perfect when served with warm Soft Dinner Rolls or for a twist, try Soft Cloverleaf Rolls. If you like crispy and soft bread, serve it with the Best Foccacia Bread.
Alternatively, make your meal a soup-and-salad combo by adding a side of Chickpea Salad or Caesar Salad. Fresh salad and a warm, filling soup? That sounds like the perfect lunch!
Common Questions
Any type of rice you have is great to use for soup. White rice is the most common, but brown rice is more nutritious. Wild rice, basmati, and jasmine rice are all great options. Keep in mind that brown rice can take longer to cook than white rice.
We have tested this with more rice and it gets very thick and mealy. Rice tends to absorb a lot of liquid so if you add more rice, you will have a thicker soup that won’t reheat as nicely.
Once the soup has cooled, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days. Keep in mind that the rice does tend to absorb the broth the longer it sits.
This soup is freezer friendly. Transfer cooled soup to freezer-safe containers or freeze flat in zip bags. Freeze for up to 3 months then thaw and reheat.
The best way to reheat chicken rice is slowly on the stovetop, mixing well to ensure even heating. When fully heated through, add more chicken broth if you prefer to have a thinner broth. Water can be used as well, although it may dilute the flavor of the soup.
More Tasty Soup Recipes
Homemade soups are such an efficient way to meal prep. We know when the soup pot comes out that we’ll be enjoying the same meal for the next few days, but when this Chicken and Rice soup is being served, no one complains. Here are some more top-rated soup recipes:
- Tomato Soup
- Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
- Easy Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup
- Beef Barley Soup
Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, or avocado oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 lb chicken breast (3 small), or chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup long grain rice, (uncooked) such as basmati or jasmine
- 8 cups chicken broth, or stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, adjust to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh herbs, dill, or parsley, or a combination
Instructions
- Preheat a dutch oven or soup pot with oil over medium heat, add in onion, carrots, and celery, and saute until lightly softened and golden, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add chicken, rice, bay leaves, chicken broth, water, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered at a light boil for 25-30 minutes, or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through.*
- Remove chicken from the soup, shred it into small pieces and add it back to the soup then remove from heat.
- Add herbs, season to taste if needed, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natalya Drozhzhin
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Uh oh put waaaaay too much rice in this wonderful chicken soup! Will scoop amount for servings out of pot then add chick broth. Hopefully it will be the remedy! 😬
This soup is so simple that I can’t explain how it is so exceptionally delicious! I didn’t add the extra cup of water, and used 1/2 cup of rice, and store bought (but good quality) chicken stock. I used a bit more carrots and celery, because I always puree a bit of the veggies and stir it back into the broth – used a wee bit of dried basil when adding salt and pepper and fresh parsley at the end. I always make chicken noodle soup but did rice on request of a friend who I’m making soup for, I think I’m a convert to chicken rice! I’m already thinking about my next pot!
Sounds great too! Thanks for sharing, Denise. I’m also glad that you’re trying different varieties of this recipe. Hope you always enjoy it!
Great recipe. With only 1/3 cup of rice, it wasn’t necessary to add an additional cup of water to water down the amazing broth and juices that the chicken infused into the broth. Just was a bit lit handed with the salt to compensate. Wonderful recipe, my family loved it!
Hi Brittney, great to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hello; I want to make this soup but don’t have fresh herbs . What can I use instead? Thanks
Hi Margaret, we love to garnish with fresh dill, parsley, or any of your favorite soup herbs. I bet a dried option may work in its place although I haven’t tried it myself to advise. I hope you love it.
Would it be easier to cut up the chicken before? Rather than whole and shred it. It would just be more chunkier?
Hi Ruth, you can try doing that but it will be a little different outcome with it being cubed. chunks instead of shreding it. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I did cut it up in small cubes and it turned out good. Both ways will work. I cut the raw chicken up, added the rice, etc, and everything cooked together. I will try the other way…taking the chicken out and shredding it. Thanks. Love your cookbook.
Sounds good, thanks a lot for sharing!
Delicious! I would not hesitate to make this for a gift meal to someone with a new baby, post hospitalization, etc. I used low-sodium broth and did not top it with any herbs. I did not have bay leaves so substituted 1/2 tsp thyme. In my opinion, 1/3 cup rice is not enough: there is barely any rice in a serving. I will probably use 1/2 cup in my next batch. I think the 8 cups broth can more than accommodate that extra rice without turning it into a stew. I will recommend this recipe to others.
Thank you for the feedback, Lori!
One last thought I forgot to include originally. It would be wise to check the doneness of the chicken well before 25 minutes. I checked it at 20 minutes and the chicken was well over 165 and was a little tough to chew when I ate the soup.
Unable to print recipe. Shows Air Printer. Don’t have that one.
Can you please help?
Thanks.
Hi Sunny! I just tested it and the printer is working for me. I wonder if the problem is with your printer connection. Are you using the print button from the recipe card? Click on “jump to recipe” at the top of the page and then in the right upper corner of the recipe card there is a print button.
What fresh herbs do you use??? I want to make this soup and the herbs are important for the flavor! Thanks!!!
Hi Marilyn, I like to use either dill or parsley, sometimes the combination of the two.
Hi Natasha! I might have overlooked it but what kind of onion did you use?
Hi Becca! Yellow onions work best for soup. 🙂