Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

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Easy Chicken and Rice Soup-this easy chicken and rice soup is perfect for a cold day and makes a great weeknight meal. 

Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

This Easy Chicken and Rice Soup has been on our blog from the very beginning, it is a family favorite recipe and a perfect weeknight meal.

I have learned a lot in eight years and decided it was time to update these soup photos because I keep seeing my chicken soup recipe come up in Google and on Pinterest and I cringe at the old photos. It is time for a refresher because the soup is a winner and deserves to look like soup. I will leave one of the old photos at the bottom of this post so you can see what I am talking about. Go ahead and laugh:)

Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

The soup is full of vegetables, chicken, and rice. The fresh thyme adds great flavor too.

This Easy Chicken and Rice Soup is the soup you make when you are sick or when someone else is sick and in need of a warm bowl of comfort. It is the soup you make when you are feeling lazy, but want a hearty, homemade meal. It is the soup you make when your picky kids say they won’t eat dinner, so you make this soup and they eat a big bowl. It is the soup you make when it is cold outside and you need to warm up. It is the BEST soup recipe to have on hand because it is so easy and everyone loves it.

Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

To keep it easy, we like to use rotisserie chicken from the store or leftover chicken. If you have leftover turkey from the holidays or a big family meal, you can use turkey instead. It works just as well. You can use wild rice or brown rice, it will just take a little longer to cook. This soup also freezes well, another reason to love it!

Easy Chicken and Rice Soup, it doesn’t get any easier than this folks! Warm up with a bowl today!


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Easy Chicken and Rice Soup

The perfect soup for a cold day or if you have a cold! It also makes a great weeknight meal.
4.56 from 314 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 4 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 quarts chicken stock or broth, we use low sodium
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, can use rotisserie chicken
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned.
  • Pour in the chicken broth and water and bring the liquid to a boil. Add in the rice and chicken; season with salt and pepper.
  • Cook on medium-low until the rice is tender, about 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

*Note-for the shredded chicken you can use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken and shred it. To cook the chicken for the soup, bring a pot of water on the stove and add two chicken breast, that have been cut into large pieces. Boil the chicken until it is cooked all the way through and there is no pink left. This will take about 7 minutes or so. Drain the water and shred the chicken once it is cooled. I use 2 forks to shred the chicken. You can also use leftover turkey in this soup recipe. You can use wild rice or brown rice, it will just take a little longer to cook!
If the soup gets too thick, add more chicken broth. 

Nutrition

Calories: 366kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 1022mg, Potassium: 729mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 5125IU, Vitamin C: 37.5mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 2.3mg
Keywords chicken and rice soup, chicken soup

Have you tried this recipe?

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Easy Chicken and Rice Soup is a great quick and easy dinner recipe! A great way to use rotisserie chicken for an easy weeknight meal! #chicken #soup #dinner
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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. 5 stars
    My kids love this recipe! I started making it when my son got sick and now he and my daughter take it for lunch regularly in their thermos. It’s so easy to make and so delicious!

  2. 5 stars
    Have made this recipe frequently and just love how it turns out! It’s easy and delicious!

  3. I assume the chicken is cooked ands you are just heating it up or is this if you have chicken breast not cooked

  4. 5 stars
    Best chicken and rice soup recipe we have tried. So fast and easy to make too. I like lots of broth so I added 32 ounces of chicken bone broth to the recipe! I also subbed fresh oregano for the thyme (cuz I didn’t have any) and it was perfect.

    1. TO CAROLE, NOWHERE IN THIS POST OR RECIPE CARD DOES IT MENTION A CROCK POT!! THE SOUP IS MADE IN A LARGE POT AND SIMMERED ON THE STOVE TOP. IT’S FUNNY, NOW I’M LOL

  5. 5 stars
    I’ve made this more times than I can count. It always comes out great!
    I do add fresh herbs such as oregano and spices from my cabinet.
    Also I add cooked rice not raw.
    Also a bit of Better Than Bouillon (Chicken Flavor)
    Such a yummy soup!

    1. 5 stars
      I have made this soup more times than I can count.
      So good!
      I add lemon juice and oregano.
      I also cook the rice first and add extra broth. Sometimes with Better Than Bouillon in place of the water as I like extra broth and the rice soaks it up if uncooked.

  6. 3 stars
    Good flavor. There was way too much rice. It made the soup like a stew. Next time, I would only add 1/2 a cup of rice. I would also add more spice to it.

    1. If the chicken is already cooked I add it five minutes before serving and it usually shreds itself due to reheating. If cooking chicken from raw, there’s no need to cook it separately! I cut it into bite size pieces, saute for a couple of minutes in a mix of butter and olive oil, then add veg, cover and allow to sweat/cook very low for five mins. Next add stock bring to boil, add rice, simmer until cooked. The diced hicken will be cooked thoroughly when rice is done. Add a handful of petit pois for more colour. Give them a minute or two to soften. Then serve. The chicken will be chunky and delicious. A true one pot meal.

  7. This is delicious. My question is I used shredded chicken and it’s a little too thick. What can I do to make it thinner

  8. Can you use raw chicken and cook the chicken alongside everything else in this recipe? Then take out, shred it and put it back in to serve?

  9. 4 stars
    This was really yummy. Perfect soup for a chilly day, or for a sick day… I would likely lower the rice count or up the broth next time I make it as the rice sucked up every last bit of broth and it would have been nice to have a little extra brothiness to the soup, but in spite of that, it was delicious!

  10. 2 stars
    Easy to make but my husband and I agreed it’s missing something. Kind of bland. Actually double checked to make sure I didn’t leave anything out. I have a similar recipe that uses lemon as I think I will go back to that one.

  11. 5 stars
    I made the delicious soup a few days back and have been enjoying it so very much. I followed most of the directions but did add more water and chicken broth. I threw in a couple of small chicken bouillon cubes to make sure it had plenty of taste.
    It is truly a healthy soup to make and a joy to eat. I thank you for a great new soup for me to make again.

  12. Is the older photo the one in the green speckled mug? I prefer that one over the new ones! It looks more approachable and less like you’d need a food stylist to accomplish it.

  13. 5 stars
    I did not have fresh thyme, so had to use dried. I should have used more.

    Great use of leftover chicken. A very easy recipe. I also did not have quite enough chicken stock, so added some mushroom stock. Very good.

  14. 5 stars
    My family loves this soup! It’s my go to for when my kiddos are feeling a little under the weather or just a nice hearty dinner. I use Sprouts rotisserie chicken just because after work it’s easier. Thank you!

  15. 3 stars
    Nice, simple recipe. However, way too much rice/not enough broth? Also needs more flavor. I used a rotisserie chicken and added more chicken than the 2 cups it called for. The rice soaked up almost all of the broth so if I make this again I will either cut the rice by 1/2 or add another 32oz of the chicken broth.

  16. 5 stars
    Love this recipe! I used short/medium grain rice instead of long grain, just my preference, and it turned out amazing!

  17. 5 stars
    I have made this a few times, changed the recipe a tiny bit.

    I used seasoned boneless skinless chicken thighs that I baked in the oven, and used the drippings to cook the veggies in the pot.

    I also cook the rice separate from the soup, and store it separate as well, so it doesn’t absorb all of the broth! I use a bit less broth in the recipe because of this.

    Absolutely delicious, my fave comfort food every time I’m sick 🙂

  18. Just made this soup as I was looking for an easy, warm meal to make while I’m sick and this one is soooo good! TIP: For people that have a thick soup because of the rice, make sure to wash your rice about 3 times to get the starch off of it, then throw it in the soup 🙂 Mine came out brothy and delicious!

  19. Hi Maria, If you’re using fresh raw chicken instead of rotisserie, it doesn’t make sense to cook the chicken separately because you lose all the good chicken flavor and juices in the water instead of having them go into the soup. I recommend cooking the rice separately and adding it at the end when the chicken is done. The whole breasts only take about 15 minutes and then you take them out an shred them and put the chicken back in the soup with the cooked rice. MUCH more flavorful soup and only a teeny bit more work

  20. 5 stars
    Made this soup tonight and it was so good! Just perfect for this cold, snowy evening. I’ll definitely be making this again!

  21. I have made this soup more times than I can count.
    So good!
    I add lemon juice and oregano.
    I also cook the rice first and add extra broth. Sometimes with Better Than Bouillon in place of the water as I like extra broth and the rice soaks it up if uncooked.

  22. This is one of my family’s favorites! I know it serves 4, but abut how much is a serving size? 1 cup?

    Thank you!!

  23. 5 stars
    Gracias!! Deliciosa sopa. Nos encanta a todos en casa. Hoy la hice para mi esposo que tuvo que ir al dentista y no puede comer cosas duras y quedó muy satisfecho.

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