Chicken and Rice Soup

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This chicken and rice soup is creamy, yet light, perfectly savory. I found myself with loads and loads of homemade chicken stock and needed some way to use it up so I didn’t have to continue chipping away at my precious freezer real estate. I came up with this recipe as the answer to that tremendously terrible problem, and I’m so glad I did.

I scoped another recipe that called for at least double the butter, flour, and cream, but I wanted a better blend between the creaminess and refreshing lightness of a chicken noodle soup. It’s surprisingly rich, but not heavy.

How To Make It

For the wild rice, you can use a boxed mix and include the seasoning, or just go with an individually portioned 6 ounces of uncooked wild rice from a larger jar or bulk aisle. I used the packet of seasoning, because I have literally no shame when it comes to powdered seasonings, but if you’re trying to be a bit healthier, you can completely leave it out. The soup tasted completely and perfectly rich before the little packet.

If you have more chicken on hand–or white meat–that’s totally fine, too. We just happened to have only two little chicken drumsticks, which I thought wouldn’t be enough, but it really was! I brine pretty much all of my chicken, which makes it extremely tender, but because it’s essentially braised in this soup, it’s not totally necessary.

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Chicken and Rice Soup

Prep:15 minutes

Cook:1 hour

Total:1 hour 15 minutes

A satisfying, creamy chicken soup with tender rice and veggies.

• Pin

Print Save Saved! Click Here to Remove Ads

8 people

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon oil
• ▢ 2 chicken legs , or other portion of chicken (2 breasts would work, or 2 legs/thighs for a meatier soup)
• ▢ 1/2 onion , chopped
• ▢ 1 carrot , chopped
• ▢ 2 stalks celery , bottoms and tops trimmed, sliced
• ▢ 6 – 8 ounces mushrooms , sliced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic
• ▢ 7 cups low-salt chicken stock
• ▢ 6 ounces wild rice blend
• ▢ 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• ▢ 1/2 cup flour
• ▢ 1 cup half-and-half , cream, or milk
• ▢ 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley , if desired, for garnish

Instructions 

• Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and freshly ground pepper (watch the salt if you brined your chicken). When hot, place chicken in pot and brown on each side, about 4 minutes each side.
• Remove the chicken and set aside. Add your mirepoix (celery, onions, and carrots) and mushrooms and cook about 10 minutes, or until quite soft. Add your garlic and cook for about 1 minutes, or until fragrant.
• Add 7 cups chicken stock and replace your chicken thighs back in the pot. Bring the a bare boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make your rice per package directions. Set aside. About 10 minutes before the soup is done simmering, make your roux. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and whisk well. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, to cook out the flour taste. Add in half-and-half, cream, or milk and whisk until very smooth. Raise the heat a tad, to allow the mixture to come to a boil, whisking constantly. Immediately lower the heat to medium and cook for about 1 minute, or until thickened.
• Remove the chicken legs and allow to cool for just a few minutes. Add the flour and cream mixture to the pot of soup and whisk well to blend. When the chicken is cool enough, remove meat from the bone and shred or chop. Add back to the soup.
• Add in the rice and taste for seasonings. Add the seasoning package if you like, or more salt or freshly ground pepper.

Notes

Spoon into individual bowls and serve with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 8g, Calories: 305kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 374mg, Potassium: 556mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1605IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 32g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik