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Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

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When you are looking for an easy weekday, kid friendly meal, this delicious 30 minute Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is it! It’s a quick, easy, healthy comfort food with a robust and savory flavor!

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - main image of soup in bowl for recipe.

 

This Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is truly mouthwatering. It smells heavenly while it’s cooking (free air freshener anyone?) and it is so fast and simple. What more could you ask for?!

What do I love about this chicken rice soup recipe? It is a complete meal in a bowl. You don’t need to serve anything with this deliciousness!

It comes together in 30 minutes for your busy schedule. It’s so family friendly. And it is a healthy, scrumptious choice. Score!

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - onion carrots and celery in a pot

 

What Do You Need for Chicken and Rice Soup?

  • Vegetable Oil: Any type of vegetable oil will work here. You’re looking for something to sauté your vegetables in. 
  • Onion and Garlic: You don’t need a lot of onion and you can pick whatever kind of flavor onion you have on hand. Yellow, purple or white are all good options. I love the smell of onion and garlic sautéing on my stove.
  • Carrot and Celery: I love that I almost always have carrot and celery on hand. That makes this the perfect recipe for when you haven’t planned anything for dinner and need to use up what is in your fridge. Not that I ever do that…
  • Chicken Broth: This recipe doesn’t call for any salt because typically the chicken broth has plenty of salt already. If you use a chicken broth with no salt be sure to taste your recipe to see if you need to add some salt at the end.
  • Rice: Your rice is going to be cooking in the recipe so I recommend a white rice like Jasmine. If you opt for brown or wild rice you are going to need to accommodate the cooking time as those both take longer to cook.
  • Basil: The basil packs a delicious punch in this recipe. If you don’t like basil then omit it or add just a pinch. The soup is yummy either way.
  • Pepper: The pepper isn’t enough to make this recipe spicy but it is a perfect amount for creating a deeply robust flavor.
  • Flour: Flour thickens this creamy chicken and rice soup so you don’t end up with a thin, runny soup.
  • Evaporated Milk: If you eventually want to freeze this soup, don’t swap this for any other sort of milk as most others tend to separate upon freezing and thawing. If you aren’t worried about that you can swap for heavy cream and it’ll still turn out great!
  • Pulled or Diced Chicken: Leftover chicken or turkey is my favorite for recipes like this! Or you could always pick up a rotisserie chicken and use that instead. So fast!

Pro Tip: Make this dish even more easy by cutting up your veggies ahead of time and storing in bags in your fridge.

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - broth added to soup pot

 

How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup

There are only three steps to making this chicken and rice soup creamy, flavorful and delicious.

  1. Sautee your veggies.  No one wants crunchy carrots and onions, so make sure to cook those down.
  2. Add your liquids and thicken up your soup.
  3. Serve!  I recommend serving with some nice rolls like these Potato Rolls or my mothers Crescent Rolls.

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - flour and milk added to a 4 cup measuring cup

 

Pro Tip: This is considered a one pot meal!  You’ll only need to clean that one dish when your done!

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - soup is creamy and ready for chicken or turkey to be added.

 

Can You Freeze Chicken and Rice Soup?

Typically the cream part of chicken and rice soup is a milk base. When milk is frozen it tends to separate and the resulting thawed soup turns out not so great.

Because this recipe calls for evaporated milk you should be able to freeze this and not get the separation. So this recipe can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

With that being said, we are also dealing with rice which may turn to mush in your freezer. For best results, if you plan on freezing I recommend making the entire soup ahead of time but omit the rice.

After the soup is thawed add the same amount of cooked rice to your recipe and it’ll taste great!

If instead you just want to eat it a few days later, it will taste great reheated directly from your fridge. 

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - chicken or turkey added to soup pot

 

Can I Add Cooked Rice to Chicken and Rice Soup?

For this recipe you add the rice in uncooked and it cooks with the rest of the veggies. This helps the rice to absorb all the yummy flavor of the soup and taste delicious! However, if you have leftover rice in your fridge you can still use it in this recipe. 

Cook the entire recipe as is, omitting the rice. Then at the end when you are adding your chicken, toss in your leftover rice too. Cook both until heated through.

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - soup is cooked through and in pot. Top view into pot.

 

Is Chicken and Rice Soup Healthy?

Vegetables? Check. 

Protein? Check. 

Grains? Check.

While everyone’s version of what is healthy differs, this counts in my book as a big healthy win.

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - side view of bowl of soup ready to be eaten

 

What Goes Well with Chicken and Rice Soup?

Above, I mentioned some delicious rolls you could use for dipping. If you want a little more I recommend a salad such as this Winter Fruit Salad Recipe, Some Creamy Cucumber Salad, or a Bacon, Lettuce Tomato Salad.

Don’t forget though this recipe will be fine on it’s own too. Let this creamy soup be your star!

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - top view of two bowls of soup and pot of soup with ladle.

 

More Soup Recipes You’ll Love:

 

Chicken and Rice Soup - side view of soup in bowl with spoon holding some up

 

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup reminds me so much of home, winter, and all things delicious. Your entire family is going to gobble it up! Let me know what you love about it.

 

Yield: 4 Servings

Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

Chicken and Rice Soup - zoomed in image of soup bowl ready to be eaten

When you are looking for an easy weekday, meal, this delicious 30 minute Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is it! Use leftover turkey too!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 celery rib, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounce) chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup uncooked Jasmine rice
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked pulled or diced chicken {rotisserie works great!}

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, add oil, onion, carrot and celery.
  2. Sauté until vegetables are soft and tender.
  3. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer.
  4. Add chicken broth, uncooked rice, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is cooked.
  6. In a small bowl combine flour and milk. Stir into the soup.
  7. Bring to a boil and cook while stirring for 2 minutes.
  8. Add chicken and cook 2 more minutes until chicken is cooked through.
  9. Serve Immediately.

Notes

Tip: A reader left a tip that if you don't have evaporated milk, you can use heavy cream. She tried it with heavy cream and it turned out great!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 258Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 220mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 14g
Adapted from Taste of Home

Originally Published: June 15, 2015

Updated Photos & Republished: October 13, 2020

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Jennifer

Monday 19th of February 2024

My husband & I loved this soup! It was so creamy & delicious. It’s like a warm comforting hug on a chilly evening. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! This soup recipe is a keeper. 😃

Cindy

Tuesday 6th of June 2023

I realize this is an old recipe/post but OMGOSH, this stew/soup is the BEST. A local restaurant makes one similar and I tried to find a recipe close to it. This is it! I always double the recipe and deliver dishes to others who may live alone and are elderly. Also, I always use heavy whipping cream instead of evap milk. So stinking good!!!

Janelle

Saturday 30th of September 2023

Thank you for the kind comment Cindy! So glad you love it as much as we do! And I love how sweet you are to share it with others.

Annie

Thursday 31st of March 2022

This is so so so good! My husband and I were basically licking our bowls haha. I’ve already made it twice in a week! Can’t wait to try more recipes

Janelle

Wednesday 31st of August 2022

Awe! Annie you sure know how to make a girl blush! Thank you for the kind comment! Feel free to share the recipe link with all your friends on social media!

Sheri Metschan

Monday 9th of August 2021

This is the 2nd time I've made this for my husband & it's a keeper. Sorry I didn't comment but if he still likes it the 2nd time around that's a good sign. Thanks for the recipe!

Lauren Kleiman

Tuesday 20th of October 2020

I love quick yet delicious meals like this one. It makes the week so much more enjoyable!

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