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This Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is super creamy, full of veggies and chicken, easy to make, and super filling. Serve it as a side dish or light dinner for a nutritious and satisfying meal option.
Soups are so comforting and perfect all year round but are even more welcoming during the fall and winter seasons. This chicken and rice soup is creamy, loaded with chicken, and packed with nutrients. Have any leftover turkey? This creamy chicken soup is perfect to make and just swap out the chicken and use shredded turkey leftovers. Made with shredded chicken, cream cheese, veggies like carrots and celery, seasonings, and rice. Making this simple and quick chicken soup recipe is quite easy and perfect to serve as a side dish or main dish.
Why you will love this chicken soup recipe
- Creamy and delicious: made with cream cheese instead of heavy cream, this chicken rice soup is so comfirting and delcious. Hard to be happy with just one bowl.
- Easy to make: It is very easy to make this easy chicken soup. It will need just about 10 minutes of prepping and ready in 30 minutes.
- Healthy and filling: Soups are perfectly filling and a healthy meal to add to your menu. They hardly ever need much oil and typically loaded with protein and veggies.
Ingredients, recipe notes, and substitutes
- Olive oil: feel free to use any oyther oil
- Veggies: carrots and celery. You may add any other vegetable liek broccoli, peas, zucchini, and so on.
- Onion: we used white onions, but you may use any other onion.
- Garlic Cloves: use fresh garlic because that will bring out the flavors more
- Dried oregano: if you dont have this herb, use italian seasoning
- Shredded cooked Chicken: Use leftover roasted chicken, Rotisserie chicken, or leftover turkey
- Rice: wild rice or long grain prefered. Use any other kind if you must.
- Chicken Stock: if you happen to have vegetable stock, you may use that instead of chicken broth.
- Bay leaves: used for added flavor
- Cream cheese: use light instead of full-fat
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Minced parsley: used to serve as a garnish so its optional.
How to make this creamy chicken and rice soup from scratch
Heat the oil in a large dutch oven pot over medium heat.
Saute the celery, carrots, and onion until soft, 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and oregano, and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the chicken, rice, stock, and bay leaf. Stir well to combine, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or just until the rice is tender.
In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water or stock. Add it to the soup together with the cream cheese.
Continue to simmer, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, until the soup is thick and creamy.
Season to taste and garnish with parsley.
Frequently asked questions
No. You technically don’t have to cook the rice before you add it to your soup. Some may say the rice will absorb a lot of the fluids in the soup, which is expected, but that’s ok. The soup should have enough liquid to accommodate this when it does happen.
Save time and don’t cook the rice before you add it to your soup. If you do prefer to add cooked rice to the soup, do so when the soup is almost done and ready to serve. This will prevent the rice from getting too mushy.
The quick answer is yes you can. Use boneless chicken breasts or smaller chunks of chicken. Toss into the soup and let it cook with everything else. We have found that most times, it is better to add cooked and shredded chicken into soups. Save time and use either rotisserie chicken or shredded leftover turkey.
Most rice like brown rice and wild rice will need 30-40 minutes to cook through so it is best to add the rice early on with the veggies or right when you add the broth.
Yes. Flour is oftentimes added to the soup to thicken them up. Corn starch is the most common flour used but you may also use regular flour. If using cornflour or cornstarch use about 1-2 tablespoons. For normal flour-like all-purpose, use 2-3 tablespoons. Make a flurry by mixing the flour with equal amounts of water before adding to the soup. This will prevent it from clumping.
other soup recipes you may like
- Morrocan Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Zucchini Broccoli Soup
- Mexican Sweet Corn Soup
- White Bean and Kale Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Homemade Tomato Rice Soup
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Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2-3 clove garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup wild rice or long grain rice
- 5 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 8 oz package cream cheese
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large dutch oven pot over medium heat.
- Saute the celery, carrots, and onion until soft, 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and oregano, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken, rice, stock, and bay leaf. Stir well to combine, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or just until the rice is tender.
- In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water or stock. Add it to the soup together with the cream cheese.
- Continue to simmer, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, until the soup is thick and creamy.
- Season to taste and garnish with parsley.
Notes
- use rotisserie chicken, or leftover turkey and chicken.
- add any other veggies like broccoli or zucchini
- use vegetable broth if you don’t have any chicken broth.
- use light or fat-free cheese. you may skip the cheese and use whole milk
- any other oil of choice works
- fresh garlic cloves recommended
- serving size: one bowl, or two cups
- instead of cornstarch use any flour of choice
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
