I hope you love this Easy Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup as much as my family does!
This is one of the first recipes I shared with you here, and it’s still a family favorite! I have been making this chicken rice soup for years, long before I had a blog. If anyone is sick at my house, this chicken soup is always the perfect remedy. Even if I’m the sick one, I still have enough energy to make this recipe because it’s so easy!
While this recipe is easy to make, it isn’t exactly a quick dinner. It only takes about 15 minutes of active prep/cooking, but then it has to simmer a while to give the rice and carrots time to cook. If you’re in a hurry, you could use shredded carrots and instant rice to speed up the process, but I usually don’t mind making a recipe that takes a while to cook as long as I don’t have to be standing over the stove the whole time. This soup also reheats VERY well, so you can make it ahead of time and then just heat it up when you’re ready to eat.
The way I know this soup is good is it’s on the (very) short list of non-cheeseburger dinners that both my kids like. My youngest tells me all the time that he doesn’t like soup (weirdo), but he somewhat regularly asks me to make “that soup with the carrots.” This soup is hearty, creamy, mild, and just plain comforting. Everyone loves it!
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
This satisfying chicken soup with brown and wild rice is perfect for dipping crusty bread.
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 4 celery stalks diced
- 1 small onion finely diced (to hide its existence from picky children)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup wild rice or wild/brown rice blend uncooked
- 2 cup milk
Instructions
- Melt butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add diced carrots, celery, and onion. Stir to coat with butter, and allow to cook while cutting chicken.
- Add chicken, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir fry 3-5 minutes until outside of chicken is mostly cooked. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat.
- Slowly pour in chicken broth while stirring to keep mixture smooth. Bring to boil, and stir in rice.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook the recommended cooking time for your choice of rice (usually 30-40 minutes).
- Remove cover, and taste rice to be sure it is cooked completely (if not, continue cooking a few more minutes). When rice is done, stir in milk, and return heat to medium. Bring to a low boil, and simmer soup a few more minutes until heated through. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Adapted from allrecipes.com.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Soup
More chicken soup recipes you’ll want to see:
Lynne says
Oh.My.Goodness! I made the soup tonight, and it was just terrific. I was a little afraid that it would be rather bland, but it wasn’t at all. My husband and I both loved it! I didn’t really understand how the flour would work, until I realized it was a thickening agent, and it gave the soup a creamy look. This was an easy recipe and oh so good. The only change I made was to use vanilla almond milk, as that’s all I use. It was wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe; I will make it often.
Anne Florence says
Made this for dinner last night and after more than 25 years of making my own version of Chicken Soup both my husband and I agreed this was much more flavorful. Definitely a keeper. Served with frozen french bread loaf and salad. Thank you for sharing
Andi Gleeson says
Wow! That’s about the best compliment I could receive! Thanks so much, Anne. I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe :)
Ashley says
Could u do this minus the milk n Inna crock pot?? Hope u answer before tmrw lol.
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Ashley! I can’t say for sure how this would turn out in a crock pot since I haven’t made it that way. I think if I wanted to do it in a slow cooker, I would skip the flour and add a can of cream of chicken soup. That would give the same creaminess, and then you could add in milk or half and half at the end before serving. Hope that helps!!
Ashley says
Hmmm good idea on cream of chicken!!! I’ll let ya know how it turns out !!!
Jenny Scheldberg says
This looks like something everyone in the family would like.
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Jenny. Everyone in my family actually does like this, which I can’t say for that many recipes!! :)
Sherri Roberts says
Awesome soup `
Andi Gleeson says
Thanks, Sherri! :)
Kris says
I made this soup several times about three years ago then summer came and I forgot how darn good it is (l have too many pins LOL). Since the weather has cooled here in Michigan and you reminded me, I made it again last night and it was every bit as good as I remember. Thank you for bringing this awesome recipe back to my attention.
Andi Gleeson says
I’m so glad to hear it, Kris! Thank you! I’m happy that I reminded you about it :)
Joanne says
A really yummy looking soup! I had to chuckle about the onion — I have to do the same thing. :-)
Andi Gleeson says
I’m glad it’s not just me! Thanks, Joanne :)
Don Lefort says
Andi, your the best!!
Andi Gleeson says
No YOU are, Don ;) Thank you!!
Cheryl Gafner says
This sounds AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO
Andi Gleeson says
I love anyone who uses even more xoxoxo than I do. Thank you, Cheryl!!!!!!!!!!!
Emily says
great recipe!! do you think i could use almond milk instead of dairy? i love that it has wild rice in it :D
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Emily. Yes, I think that should work great! You could use shortening or vegetable oil or coconut oil if you need to sub out the butter as well. Thank you :)
Anita says
Really great recipe– I added fresh dill, mushrooms, fresh coriander, and a little dry chicken bullion–“Souper” delicious!
Andi says
Thanks, Anita! I love dill AND mushrooms, so your version sounds delicious to me :)
Liz says
making this tonight–finally! Will take a pix tomorrow and include it in my blog post on Wed. My girls are loving how the house smells.
Andi says
Yay! How did you like it? Is it your oldest who loves creamy chicken soup? I hope it was up to her standards!
Liz says
Ah. May. Zing. Had two large bowls. Girls enjoyed, though seem more interested in their Halloween candy as of late. Cooked up a chicken from scratch for the broth, so it was a good project :-)
Oh, and Clare asked for your hazelnut cinnamon chocolate dip with apples for her after-school snack!
Andi says
So glad you liked it! Soup can’t compete with candy, at least as far as kids are concerned. Now you made me want to make that dip again tomorrow!
Jennifer Gaubert says
This recipe is a keeper – the whole family liked it! Ended up adding an extra 2 cups of water as the rice absorbed a lot.
The Weary Chef says
Hi, Jennifer. I’m so glad you guys liked it! Good to know about needing to add more water. Did you use wild rice? I usually find that it doesn’t absorb much water, but if you used brown or white rice it would need more liquid. Thanks so much for taking the time to tell me how it turned out!