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Chicken Soup and Rice is a classic staple when it comes to making soup. It’s hearty and delicious and the perfect thing to eat when you’re feeling under the weather or just want something comforting to eat!
When my kids are feeling under the weather and don’t feel like eating much of anything, one thing they will eat that I can always count on to help them feel better quick is this homemade Chicken Soup and Rice. It’s soothing and downright comforting and has them feeling better in no time.
I often make a huge batch of this Chicken Soup and Rice and freeze it in individual containers so that whenever anyone’s feeling under the weather, I just defrost some to make them feel warm and nourished. This healthy soup is perfect any time of year, but when it’s a chilly night and you or your little one has a runny nose, it’s even better!
This Chicken Soup and Rice is the best soup to have on hand because it’s super simple to make and everyone loves it! It’s full of veggies and chicken and while it is simple like I mentioned, it’s still full of flavor. Chloe ate so many bowls of this soup when I was making recently that I lost track!
While I think this recipe is perfect as is, feel free to spice it up by adding different types of veggies like chopped zucchini or even stir in some spinach or kale. If you’re looking for more soup recipes to fight a nasty cold try out Carrot Ginger Soup, Asian Chicken Soup, or classic Chicken Noodle Soup. You can also keep some Homemade Electrolyte Popsicles in the freezer for a soothing treat that will keep you hydrated!
While this recipe is made from scratch Chicken Soup, it doesn’t feel like it requires THAT much more effort, and the flavor you get from the whole chicken is unmatched. Most of the time is spent letting the soup simmer so it requires very little active time cooking, which is great. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Chicken Soup & Rice
Ingredients
- 1 5 pound whole chicken
- 3/4 cup long grain brown rice
- 4 quarts cold water (enough to cover the chicken)
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into a small dice
- 3 stalks celery, chopped into small dice
- 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients except the parsley in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Skim the scum and fat off surface of the soup as necessary as it’s coming to a boil.
- Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
- Turn off the heat, remove the chicken from the pot and let cool.
- Discard the skin and bones from the chicken and cut or shred meat into a small dice.
- Add the chicken and parsley to the soup, reheat and serve. Feel free to add salt to taste.
Love this simple, adaptable recipe for chicken soup and make it often at my daughter’s request. In our version, I add the carrots and celery at the half way mark so they don’t end up mushy. Also enjoy it with a good noodle that I let cook in the broth after removing the chicken. Whatever way you enjoy it, it’s perfect any time the weather is cool.
So happy you’ve enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind comment 🙂
Hi Catherine,
This soup was very tasty and very easy to make. Thanks for sharing it!
My daughter in law, Sarah, makes this soup and it is the best chicken soup ever.
Awesome recipe!! Love it!!!!
Let it cool before freezing!
Made another batch of this would like to freeze some, is it ok to freeze hot or should I cool down in fridge first?
About 5 days!
How long can this stay in the fridge?
Love this recipe…!
Wasn’t sure, but I think y’all got it lol
Made this today, tastes delightful. I want sure how the rice would come out since its not instant but I trusted Catherine & it turned out delicious!
Thank you! I need to try this again because I used white rice that ended up mushy & I didn’t get much white meat out of my chicken. 🙁 My daughter STILL loved it though. I had a lot of extra “broth” so I froze it in ice cubes and will use it for other dishes. Totally experimenting here. 😉
Oh my… this is my new favorite chicken soup. It is so delicious and easy to make!!! I really like using the brown rice as opposed to egg noodles in a chicken noodle soup. So much more nutritional value in brown rice. Wonderful recipe. Thank you!
Yes, remove them! Although, if you like to eat the giblets you can go ahead and leave them in. Just know that they will slightly affect the flavor of the soup.
Hi! Silly question: the chicken that I bought has the giblets. Should I remove them before putting in the pot?