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A piping hot bowl of this creamy chicken and rice soup recipe is such a comfort on a cold day! It’s simple to make with no fancy ingredients, and the rich broth is irresistible.
If you’re craving a non-creamy version of this recipe, try my Easy Chicken and Rice Soup.
Why you’ll love it
Hello comfort food! This cozy chicken and rice soup is straightforward to make and basically a hug in a bowl. The chicken and rice cook right in the soup, making it super convenient and so that cleanup is pretty minimal. That’s an important factor for feeding hungry mouths after work.
I’m a big fan of jazzing up chicken soup while still using everyday ingredients you’ve probably already got in your pantry and fridge, so that’s what we’ve got going on in this soup. While a classic Chicken Noodle Soup is always appreciated, sometimes changing it up with rice and a creamy broth just hits the spot. It makes a filling and easy meal.
What you’ll need
- Celery, onion, carrots, and garlic – the base for many soups. I like using sweet (Vidalia) onions best.
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Flour – it’s a thickener
- Chicken broth – for another layer of flavor
- Italian seasoning – it’s a delicious dried herb blend that comes in a single jar. I use it in tons of my recipes, so it’s a staple in my pantry.
- Rice – for this one I like jasmine rice. It’s a flavorful long grain white rice.
- Heavy cream – it adds a rich, luxurious touch to the broth
- Chicken – we’re using uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is the ladle I use for my soups. It doesn’t spill all over the place when serving.
- For all my soups I like to use a Dutch oven. It’s sturdy and conducts heat great.
- I mince the garlic cloves with this garlic press. One squeeze and no sticky fingers!
How to make creamy chicken and rice soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the carrots, celery, and onion in a Dutch oven or soup pot with the olive oil until softened, followed by adding in the garlic and flour.
Slowly pour in the chicken broth and stir until the flour dissolves, and then scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the Italian seasoning, rice, and cream.
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the chicken, and cook until both it and the rice are cooked through. Season generously with salt & pepper.
Pro tip
If you do need to make this soup ahead of time, I suggest cooking the rice separately and adding it to each bowl just prior to serving so that it doesn’t soak up a lot of broth before it’s time to serve it. It absorbs it pretty fast!
Substitutions and variations
- You can use rotisserie or leftover Baked Chicken. Just be sure to add it in towards the end of the cooking time, around the last 5 minutes, so it doesn’t overcook.
- Swap for chicken thighs if you prefer. I would leave them intact and add them in at the same time as the rice. They’re a lot harder to overcook than chicken breasts and become more tender the longer you cook them. Just shred them with two forks, and add the meat back to the soup once it’s done cooking.
- I wouldn’t sub the heavy cream for something lower fat. It could lead to curdling since we’re cooking at a fairly high heat, and the soup won’t taste as good.
- I don’t recommend swapping the white rice for brown rice or wild rice directly because it takes much longer to cook and wouldn’t work as written. However, you can cook a different variety of rice separately and add it into the soup at the end if you wish.
What to serve with chicken and rice soup
- This soup is a hearty meal as-is, but you can definitely serve it with a slice of crusty French bread, sourdough, or Garlic Bread.
- I also enjoy pairing it with a side salad. Try mixed greens with my Classic Homemade Ranch Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftover chicken and rice soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Keep in mind that the longer it is, the more the rice will absorb the broth.
- Reheat this chicken soup in a saucepan over a low heat, giving it a splash of broth to thin it out if needed.
- This is not one of those soups that freezes well due to the cream and rice.
Questions about this creamy chicken soup, or want to write a review a star rating? Talk to me in the comments below! You can also find me on Instagram.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 stick celery chopped finely
- 2 medium carrots peeled & chopped finely
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup uncooked white jasmine rice
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1 pound uncooked chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces/strips
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, celery, carrots, and onion to a soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic and flour and cook for about a minute.
- Slowly pour in the broth and stir/scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot until the flour has dissolved.
- Stir in the Italian seasoning, rice, and cream. Increase the heat to high, and once the soup comes to a gentle boil, give it a good stir, then reduce the heat so it's simmering and cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes. I stir it every now and then to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Add in the chicken and cook for another 7-10 minutes or until the chicken and rice are both cooked. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I am generous with both). This soup will soak up the broth FAST. You may need to add more chicken broth if you prefer a less thick soup, and you'll definitely have to add broth to leftovers. Cook the rice separately if you don't plan on eating it right away (add rice to individual portions just before serving).
Notes
- Recipes serves 4-6 depending how much people eat/what it’s served with.
- 1 pound of chicken breasts usually works out to 2 medium chicken breasts (a bit less or more than a pound is fine).
- This recipe is best enjoyed right after it’s made. Soups with rice and cream typically don’t freeze too well.
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for something lower fat in case it curdles (the cream is cooked over a fairly high heat).
- This recipe is also in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Yummmm! We made this last night. I used rotisserie chicken so I just added it to the end to warm it. Very tasty. We ended up adding a bunch of dried thyme to it for extra flavor. Overall, super great recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent! So happy it was a hit!! 🙂 Thanks for your review, Christy!
Do you throw in the 3/4 cup of rice already cooked or uncooked?
“3/4 cup uncooked white jasmine rice”
This was so good! I subbed the veggies for broccoli and onion and used diced chicken thighs. I also used basmati rice. But it was so yummy and flavorful!
Awesome!! Glad it was a hit!
Hi, I am planning to make this tomorrow and I wanted to know if the chicken needed to be precooked or thrown in raw? Sorry, I am a rookie chef! Thanks!
It cooks right in the soup. 🙂 And no need to apologize! Everyone starts cooking as a novice. I do recommend reading through the entire blog post for more tips you might find useful. Enjoy the soup!
I used wild rice & added some spinach & mushrooms. SO good! Even my 4 year old loved it.
Fantastic!! 🙂
Can I use ready to boil rice? It’s the only white rice I have! If so, would I mix it in at the end or cook it with everything else?
I think that should be fine… yes, I would give it less time so add it in later on in the cooking process (not sure exactly how long so you may want to check what the rice package says for cooking time).
Loved this recipe! For those of you who want to do it in a crock pot like I did, here’s what I tried and it turned out great:
Note: personally I tried cooking my rice in a rice cooker with chicken broth instead of together and liked it better.
-put veggies and broth/flour (I mixed with a whisk) in crock pot then lay whole chicken on top cook on high for 4 hours
-add cream and rice (if you want to cook together); cook on high for 1 hour. Then shred the chicken.
You can also adjust 4 hours on high to 7 hours on low!
Hope this helps!
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for your tips! 🙂
I made this tonight, it was yummy. I doubled everything and added some other seasonings and it came out perfect. Not bland at all.
I’m so glad it was a hit, Brandy!
What other seasonings did you add ?
Wow- this was delicious! Followed the complete recipe, wouldn’t change a thing. We ate it about 30 minutes after it was done and the broth really got soaked up by the rice so it was more like a stew than soup but still delicious!
I’m thrilled to hear that you liked it, Lora!! 🙂
To make this vegetarian, would taking out the chicken make it less flavorful? If so, what else should I add?
Hi Sarah! Yes, I mean chicken isn’t super flavorful to begin with tbh, but it does add flavor to the soup. You could probably add some more veggies instead. Perhaps mushrooms? I’ve only tested it as written, though, so you’d have to do some experimenting.