This chicken and rice soup is filled with tender chicken, rice and vegetables in a flavorful broth. Make it with brown rice, white rice or wild rice. It’s such a delicious, comforting meal for a cold day!

I just love chicken soup recipes this time of year! Try my Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Stew or Chicken Enchilada Soup next.

Chicken and rice soup in pot with a ladle.

Chicken and Rice Soup is like a hug in a bowl

I can’t think of anything more comforting than chicken and rice, especially when they’re combined into a cozy soup! I love this recipe because it’s easy to make and perfect for anytime you’re craving a little extra comfort. I usually serve it with my family’s favorite Dinner Rolls and everyone at my table happily gobbles it up!

This recipe uses simple ingredients and comes together easily. I used to cook the rice for this soup in the soup pot with the chicken and vegetables, but found that this produced inconsistent results. Now I cook the rice in a separate pot and then stir it into the soup at the end. This way, no matter what kind of rice I use it is always perfectly cooked. Cooking the rice separately also allows for more flexibility: you can make this soup with white, brown or wild rice!

My go to chicken rice soup now! Easy and delicious!

Mary

Ingredient Notes

  • Rice: You can make this soup with long grain brown rice or white rice. You can even use wild rice in this recipe. I’ve included cooking instructions for all three types of rice in the recipe card below.
  • Onion, Celery and Carrots: This trio of vegetables is often called a mirepoix and is the flavor base for the soup. To bring out their flavor, we first sauté the onion, celery and carrots in olive oil before simmering them in the soup.
  • Garlic: Fresh garlic adds delicious flavor.
  • Seasonings: You’ll need dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, pepper and 2 bay leaves. Using dried herbs is easy and economical. I always err on the side of using less salt in the beginning. When your soup is done, taste it and adjust the seasonings as needed.
  • Chicken Broth: I recommend using a reduced sodium chicken broth so that you can control the amount of salt in the soup.
  • Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: You will add the chicken breasts to the soup whole. The chicken will gently poach in the broth as the soup simmers.
Ingredients for chicken and rice soup recipe with labels: onion, carrots, celery, chicken breast, chicken broth, rice, oregano, salt, thyme, pepper, bay leaves, garlic and olive oil.

How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup

Cook the rice. Rinse the rice well before cooking. For this recipe, I cook the rice in an excess of water, the same way you would cook pasta. Boil white rice for 15 minutes, brown rice for 30 minutes or wild rice for 40-45 minutes. Then drain well and return to the empty pot; let rice rest with a lid on the pot for 10 minutes.

To make the soup, start by sautéing the onion, carrots and celery until they start to soften. Then stir in the garlic, followed by the dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, pepper, bay leaves and chicken broth. Nestle the chicken down into the broth.

Chopped onion, celery and carrots in Dutch oven pot.
Seasonings and bay leaves added to sautéed onion, carrots, celery and garlic in pot.

Simmer the soup with a lid on the pot for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Kristine’s Tip:

Cook the soup at a low simmer, without it boiling too vigorously. Just like when making poached chicken, you want to gently and slowly cook the chicken in the broth so that it stays tender.

Two raw boneless skinless chicken breasts added to soup pot.
Cooked rice and shredded chicken added to soup pot.

Remove the chicken and let it rest for a few minutes so that the juices can redistribute throughout the meat. Then shred it (see how to shred chicken). Stir the shredded chicken and cooked rice into the soup. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed, then serve and enjoy!

I like to serve this soup with Yeast Rolls and this Lemon Parmesan Kale Salad on the side. It’s such a delicious meal!

Bowl of chicken and rice soup.

Recipe Variations

  • Use leftover chicken or turkey: To make this chicken rice soup with leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, stir your cooked, shredded chicken into the soup after the rice is done cooking. Simmer for a few minutes to warm the chicken. This is also a great way to use leftover roast turkey after Thanksgiving!
  • Use leftover rice: To make this soup with leftover rice, stir the cooked rice into the finished soup. Simmer for a few minutes to warm the rice.
  • Add other vegetables: Try peas, zucchini, cabbage, cubes of butternut squash or chunks of potato. You would want to sauté cabbage with the onion, carrots and celery. Stir frozen peas in at the end and simmer for a few minutes to warm them through. Add other veggies that need to cook and soften when you add the broth.
  • Vegetarian: For vegetarian rice soup, substitute white beans for the chicken.
  • Slow Cooker: I haven’t tried this recipe in my slow cooker yet, but it is similar enough to my Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup that I think it will work well. Combine all of the ingredients in your slow cooker. Cook until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through. This will take about 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high. You could also stir cooked rice into the soup after slow cooking.
Soup served in a bowl with a spoon.

More Easy Soup Recipes

Chicken and rice soup in pot with a ladle.
4.60 from 5 ratings

Best Chicken and Rice Soup

Servings: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
This chicken and rice soup is one of my favorite meals for a cold day! Cooking the rice separately and then stirring it into the finished soup ensures that the rice will be perfectly cooked every time. Serve this comforting soup with dinner rolls and a simple green salad on the side.
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup long grain brown rice, long grain white rice or wild rice, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 medium carrots, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds or half rounds if large
  • 3 ribs celery, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • fresh chopped parsley, for serving, if desired

Instructions
 

Cook the Rice

  • Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a 3 quart or larger saucepan or pot. (Make sure to use a pot that has a tight-fitting lid, since you'll need to cover the rice after cooking.) Once the water is boiling, stir in the rinsed rice and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil. If using white rice, boil for 15 minutes (uncovered). If using brown rice, boil for 30 minutes (uncovered). (See note below for wild rice cook time.)
  • Pour the rice into a strainer and drain it very well. Immediately return the rice to the hot empty pot and cover with the lid. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes, or until it is time to add it to the soup.

Make the Soup

  • Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
  • Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
  • Add the dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, pepper, bay leaves and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Place the chicken in the pot and nestle it down into the broth.
  • Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low so that the soup is simmering but not boiling vigorously. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. (The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165°F when measured with an instant read thermometer.)
  • Remove the chicken to a clean plate and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then shred it into bite-size pieces.
  • Stir the shredded chicken and cooked rice into the soup. Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve soup with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.

Notes

  • Wild Rice: To make this soup with wild rice, follow the same rice cooking method and boil the rice for 40-45 minutes, until the rice is tender but still has a bit of a bite to it.
  • To use leftover chicken or turkey: To make this chicken rice soup with leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, stir your cooked, shredded chicken into the soup after the rice is done cooking. Simmer for a few minutes to warm the chicken. This is also a great way to use leftover roast turkey after Thanksgiving!
  • Use leftover rice: To make this soup with leftover rice, stir the cooked rice into the finished soup. Simmer for a few minutes to warm the rice.
  • Make ahead: If you’d like to make this soup ahead, I recommend stirring the rice in when you reheat the soup right before serving. Reheat it in a covered pot on the stove until simmering. Leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The rice will soak up some of the broth and become softer. You can stir in additional broth when you warm the soup on the stove.
  • Nutrition estimate is for soup made with brown rice.
Calories: 289kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 400mg, Potassium: 770mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 6915IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 54mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Cuisine: American
Course: Main Course, Soup
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I first shared this recipe in December 2018. Post updated in November 2024 with a retested and improved recipe (including cooking the rice separately which is a more reliable method), new photos and a step-by-step recipe video.

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