This one pot creamy chicken and rice soup is loaded with veggies, shredded chicken, and rice. The chicken breasts and rice cook in the broth, not only making it easy, but giving it extra flavor and thickness. It’s the comforting meal you crave on a cold night!
If you love creamy soups you’ll also want to try my creamy chicken noodle soup and chicken gnocchi soup!
My creamy chicken and rice soup is the kind of meal you crave when it’s cold outside, you’re feeling under the weather, or just had a long day. It’s like a hug in a bowl and it warms you up from the inside out.
What’s unique about this soup is that both the chicken and rice go into the flavorful broth uncooked. I promise it’s safe, as long as the internal temperature of the chicken is 165° F. Since we’re using white rice, 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time for both chicken and rice to cook.
Speaking of the broth, I swapped heavy cream with half and half to cut some of the fat and calories. It still has that rich, creamy flavor and consistency, just a little lighter!
Ingredient Notes
Onion, Carrots, Celery – The vegetables for the soup. This combination is called a mirepoix and is the flavor base for the soup.
Garlic – Fresh grated or minced garlic is best and has much better flavor than jarred garlic (jarlic).
Italian Seasoning – A salt-free blend of herbs including thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, and marjoram.
Flour – All-purpose flour is used to thicken the soup. It helps to give it a creamier consistency.
Chicken Broth – Low sodium chicken broth should be used so you can control how salty the soup is.
Chicken Breasts – Boneless skinless chicken breasts are lean and full of protein. If you like boneless skinless chicken thighs better you can use those.
Thyme and Bay Leaf – Fresh thyme adds a wonderful fresh herb flavor to the soup. The bay leaf is a commonly used dried herb in chicken soup recipes. Don’t forget to pull it out before serving!
Rice – Long grain white rice is best for this recipe. Add it to the soup uncooked. Doing this helps thicken the soup and saves you a step of having to cook it separately.
Half and Half – Half and half is made of half cream and half milk. It’s a great alternative to heavy cream because you still get the rich flavor, but it isn’t over the top.
Tips for Making Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Toast the rice in the veggies for a minutes before pouring in the broth for extra flavor.
- No need to remove the thyme leaves from the stems. Just add the sprigs in and remove them after the chicken and rice are cooked. Most of the leaves will have fallen off.
- Season the soup throughout the cooking process. Doing this builds the flavor. I recommend seasoning when you cook the veggies and when you add in the chicken and rice. Then after the soup is cooked, taste it again and add additional salt as needed.
- Stir the soup occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Have extra chicken broth and/or half and half on hand in case the soup gets too thick for your liking. You’ll also want to have some on hand for reheating leftovers.
- Stir the half in half in at the end off the heat. By doing this you’ll avoid it breaking and getting grainy. Plus it cools the soup just enough that you won’t burn your mouth on that first bite!
Substitutions and Variations
- You can use rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken to save time. Add it into the soup after the rice is cooked and when you stir in the half and half. You can use shredded chicken or cut it into chunks.
- You can use brown rice, but note that the cooking time will be closer to 40 minutes. You’ll want to remove the chicken from the pot before the rice is cooked. If you want to use wild rice, I suggest making my Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.
- For a healthier creamy chicken and rice soup, use whole milk instead of half and half. For a more decadent soup, use heavy cream.
- For a dairy-free version of this soup, make my Chicken and Rice Soup.
Serving Suggestions
This soup can definitely be served on it’s own since it has a nice balance of carbs, protein, and fat. However if you want a little something on the side, serve the soup with this apple and kale salad or roasted butternut squash salad. It also goes great with warm whole wheat dinner rolls for dipping in the broth.
Storage
The leftover soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You’ll notice that the rice absorbs a lot of the broth, so you’ll want to add additional chicken broth and or half and half when reheating the soup.
Reheat the soup in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat until hot. I don’t recommend freezing this soup because of the dairy in it. The texture will change once it’s defrosted.
More Soups with Chicken
I love soups that have chicken added to them. It makes the soup heartier and turns it into a complete meal. Below are some of my favorite chicken soups!
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in the celery, carrots, and onion and sauté them for 5-6 minutes or until they’ve softened. Season with half the salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning then add in the garlic. Sauté for another minute.
Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir until you can no long see any white streaks.
Add the broth, uncooked chicken, uncooked rice, bay leaf, sprigs of thyme, and remaining salt. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once boiling reduce the heat to medium-low (simmer). Cover the pot partially with the lid and cook for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally.
Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it. Remove the bay leaf and stems from the thyme.
Turn off the heat and pour in the half and half and chicken. Stir everything together. If the soup is too thick add additional broth. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if needed. Serve immediately.
The soup will keep for up to 4 days. Add additional broth or half and half when reheating as the rice will soak up a lot of it.
Calories: 340kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 25gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 601mgPotassium: 720mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 3812IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
