Chicken with Rice Soup – Perfect any time of year, this Chicken with Rice Soup is loaded with comfort food flavor, rice, chicken and lots of vegetables.
How to Make the Perfect Chicken with Rice Soup
There are four main features to make the perfect chicken with rice soup. They include: loads of vegetables, using brown rice, choosing the right kind of chicken and the perfect blend of seasonings.
Because we are plant forward and believe in adding as many vegetables as possible to our recipes, this chicken with rice soup is no different. Obviously, we are not vegan or vegetarian. We just want to encourage more plants, less animal. So, while this recipe is for chicken with rice soup, it’s loaded with nutrients. Let me explain.
Lots and Lots of Vegetables Are Needed!
So, first we’re going to talk vegetables. The recipe card below for Chicken with Rice Soup makes a 5.5 quart pot; which means at least 8-10 servings. This means you’ll have a delicious meal for dinner and leftovers the next day.
One of our favorite motto’s: Cook once, eat twice.
Back to the vegetables. In this 5.5 quart pot, expect to load up on 2 cups of carrots, 2 cups of celery, 1 cup of onion, 1 cup of leeks, lots of garlic and fresh parsley.
Then, serve this soup with one of our favorite vegetable side dishes and you’ll be halfway through your 7-13 servings a day.
How to Cook Brown Rice in a Rice Cooker
You almost always need to make brown rice before you can assemble a recipe. As you know, preparing rice is often the most time-consuming component of making any recipe too.
So, if you’re wondering how we do it — then consider how to cook brown rice in a rice cooker.
If you are pressed for time or the mere thought of standing over a pot of rice cooking is discouraging you, I have a perfect solution. Having a rice cooker is a game changer! We LOVE VitaClay multi-cooker/rice-cooker for slow cooking, for quinoa, lentil dishes and brown rice!
And it’s the perfect way to cook brown rice in a rice cooker — fast, easy, guaranteed successful.
In the VitaClay multi-cooker/rice-cooker you only need 1 hour. You can easily toss in 1 cup of brown rice along with 1 1/2 cups of water into the VitaClay. Then, about halfway through the rice cooking, begin chopping the vegetables for this recipe for Chicken with Rice Soup.
Choose the Perfect Chicken for this Chicken with Rice Soup
I absolutely love leftover chicken. My favorite chicken to make this chicken with rice soup with is grilled chicken thighs. Up-level your chicken by choosing pastured, skinless boneless chicken thighs and grilling with a little sea salt and pepper. Next day, chop up the leftover chicken and set aside while making this soup.
Not sure how to choose healthy chicken? Don’t worry – we have an ENTIRE guide to help you choose. But if you’d rather not ready it — pastured chicken is the best.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of selecting and buying chickens that are pastured and fed the natural diet chickens are supposed to eat.
The quality and nutritional value of the chicken you eat varies widely depending on what the chicken ate.
The Perfect Seasoning Blend for Chicken with Rice Soup
Now, I know a lot of women that cook with just sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Or worse, iodized table salt and pepper pre-ground. Let’s take a moment and jot down on your grocery list to please toss the later two… and find yourself some pink himilayan sea salt and a pepper grinder.
It makes the difference. Trust me.
Next, I want you to use parsley and thyme — if you love fresh, go for it. In the soup base, I prefer to use dried so I don’t have to ultra-chop the fresh herbs.
A trick is releasing the dried herbs of flavor by pinching them in between your fingers and gently rolling them as you drop them into the big cooking pot. You can also add the herbs to your palm and use your finger to squish them up. Either way, it brings out the flavor more richly. Plus, it makes for the perfectly savory and best ever chicken with rice soup.
Love this Chicken with Rice Recipe? Here’s Some More Favorites.
It’s true — if you love this chicken with rice soup, you are likely going to enjoy my Ham and Potato Soup too. Loaded with leftover ham, potatoes and plenty of vegetables, it’s become a fan favorite.
Have more leftover chicken? Try this White Chicken Chili with white beans, vegetables a little Mexican-seasoning flare. So delicious and satisfying.
On a whim, you must try my Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese with truffle oil. I serve ours with boneless, skinless chicken thighs grilled with a little cajun rub paired with a few dabs of hot sauce. For a local to Buffalo, NY kinda girl, this reminds me of home.
Kitchen Favorites
Chicken with Rice Soup
Chicken with Rice Soup is not only full of comfort food flavor, but it’s also loaded with lots of healthy vegetables and pastured chicken.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8–10 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups carrots, diced
- 2 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup leeks, chopped
- 1/2 cup Spanish onion, diced
- 4–8 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Sea salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 1–2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
- 3 cups of brown rice, cooked
- 1 cup water, as needed
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the brown rice first — follow the package instructions or add 1 cup of brown rice and 1 1/2 cups of water to a rice cooker and cook according to the directions.
- In a large 5.5 quart stockpot placed over medium heat, add the extra virgin olive oil.
- Immediately dd in all of the celery, carrots, leeks and onions. Saute for about 3-5 minutes stirring every 20-30 seconds until the vegetables begin to cook and the onion and leeks become transparent.
- Next, add the minced garlic, dried parsley, dried thyme, sea salt and black pepper. Stir to combine and saute on medium heat for an additional 2 minutes to release the aroma of the dried herbs.
- To the vegetables, add the 6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Once the broth begins to boil, reduce to low heat and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are softened.
- To the stockpot, add the 3 cups of brown rice and the chopped chicken. Use more or less based on your preference. Depending on how much liquid you like in your Chicken with Rice Soup, you can opt to add a little bit of water to thin. If you prefer a thicker soup, you may not need to add any additional liquid.
- Serve warm with fresh parsley.
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