Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

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.

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

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.

Recipe Notes
*Cook time can depend on the thickness of your chicken breast. Cook until chicken is just cooked through and reaches 165˚F on an instant-read thermometer)