This easy and healthy chicken and rice soup with vegetables, shredded chicken and brown rice is perfect for a satiating family dinner.
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Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to succeed with this recipe:
- Chicken thighs (with skin and bones)
- Rice (white or brown)
- Carrots
- Celery
- Mushrooms
- Chicken stock, or water and stock cubes
How to make the BEST chicken and rice soup
First, add the chicken thighs and stock to a large pot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it down to a simmer and leave it to cook covered with a lid for about 30 minutes.
Slice the carrot, mushroom and celery in bite sized pieces, and add them to the pot along with the brown rice. Cover with the lid and cook for another 20-25 minutes, or until the rice has cooked through.
Remove the chicken thighs from the pot. Discard the bones and skins, and shred the chicken meat. Add the shredded chicken back to the soup, and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve the soup while it’s still hot.
Choose the right cut of chicken
Chicken thighs with bones and skin is definitely the best choice for this soup. This cut of chicken has a lot of meat, but the skin and bones will also give the broth a lovely flavour. We will remove the skins and bones before serving anyway, so you won’t have to worry about eating them anyway.
You can also use shredded leftover chicken from a whole roasted chicken. Shredded chicken breast can be used as a last resort. I do not recommend using chicken breast as its so low in fat, it barely adds any flavour to the soup at all. Alternatively, use chicken drumsticks or wings, although you might need to use more chicken as these don’t contain as much meat as the chicken thighs.
Keep in mind that you might have to adjust the cooking time if you use a different cut of chicken than bone in skin on chicken thighs.
Storing leftover chicken soup with rice
This soup is unfortunately not very well suited to be stored. As rice tends to absorb liquid even after it has finished cooking, you will find that your leftovers will consist of mushy rice, chicken and veg with no liquid to be found.
If you want to make this soup ahead, or you know you will have leftovers, I suggest cooking the rice separate from the rest of the soup. This way you can add rice to each portion of soup as needed, and store leftover rice and soup separately in your fridge. If you choose to use this cooking method, I suggest also reducing the amount of chicken stock added to the soup.
The soup can safely be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Tips & substitutions
My best advice to get this chicken and rice soup perfect:
- You can omit or replace any of the vegetables with your family’s favourites, or whatever you have in your fridge.
- We use brown rice, as it’s more filling and has more fiber than white rice. Feel free to use whichever rice you prefer. Keep in mind that white rice typically cooks faster.
- If you don’t have chicken stock available, you can use a stock cube and water instead.
- Chicken with bones and skin gives the broth the best flavour. Trust me!
Dietary requirements
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, nut free, soy free and egg free. Make sure to check that the chicken stock you use is suitable for your dietary needs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use different vegetables? – Absolutely! Use the vegetables you like. I think broccoli, peas, sweetcorn, onion and peppers would be excellent additions to the soup.
Can I make chicken and rice soup without chicken? – Of course, but the soup might be a bit boring. If you’re looking for a hearty vegetarian soup, check out this sweet potato soup instead, or browse all our chicken soup recipes.
More hearty chicken soups:
- Slow cooker chicken taco soup – with amazing flavours, this recipe hits the spot every time.
- Chinese chicken and sweetcorn soup – simple but delicious; a classic family favourite!
- Thai chicken noodle soup – chicken and noodles in a coconut based Thai sauce – YUM!
📖 Recipe
Chicken and rice soup
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken thighs with bones and skin (4 small thighs)
- 1500 ml chicken stock
- 150 g brown rice 250
- 250 g carrots
- 150 g mushroom
- 2 celery sticks
Instructions
- Add the chicken thighs and stock to a large pot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it down to a simmer and leave it to cook covered with a lid for about 30 minutes.
- Slice carrot, mushroom and celery in bite sized pieces, and add them to the pot along with the brown rice. Cover with the lid and cook for another 20-25 minutes, or until the rice has cooked through.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pot. Discard the bones and skins, and shred the chicken meat. Add the shredded chicken back to the soup, and stir to combine.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve the soup while still hot.
Notes
Tips & Substitutions
- You can omit or replace any of the vegetables with your family’s favourites, or whatever you have in your fridge.
- We use brown rice, as it’s more filling and has more fiber than white rice. Feel free to use whichever rice you prefer. Keep in mind that white rice typically cooks faster.
- If you don’t have chicken stock available, you can use a stock cube and water instead.
- Chicken with bones and skin gives the broth the best flavour. Trust me!
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