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A creamy, comforting and filling dinner. This chicken and rice soup, finished with lemon and parmesan, is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken. A small amount of rice goes a long way!
“I made this soup last weekend & it was phenomenal! I was a little worried about adding the citrus but it paired really well. I wish I had taken a picture of it to post. definitely recommend”
Nicky’s Notes
Probably the most Wintery-warming soup going. This soup is lovely and thick and leaves you feeling totally satisfied!
Yes you can serve it with bread if you like, but it even without, it still feels like a full meal. I love this soup on a cold evening. I also love:
- That it uses rotisserie chicken (or leftover chicken pieces) – no raw chicken chopping required!
- The small amount of rice (half a cup) goes a long way – thickening the soup and making it so hearty and filling.
- The rice absorbs the flavour of the broth – no blandness here!
- The lemon juice and parmesan makes it next level flavourful!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for creamy chicken & rice soup
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
- Cooked, shredded chicken – you can use breast or thigh meat for this (leftover shredded turkey works equally well)
- Rice – I use long grain rice for this, but basmati or basmati-wild-rice-mix also work well. If you wanted to use brown rice or pure wild rice, this takes longer to cook (usually 15-20 minutes more) and will require an extra cup (240ml) of stock.
- Stock – Water plus stock cubes is fine, or you could use homemade stock if you have some to hand.
- Cream and milk – use full fat for the best taste, ESPECIALLY if you’re intending to freeze any leftovers (low fat dairy has a tendency to split when freezing/reheating).
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Saute the vegetables, then stir in flour to coat. Stir in milk, then stock, thyme and rice and let it simmer until the rice is tender. Add shredded cooked chicken, lemon juice, cream, parmesan and seasoning and stir. Heat for a further couple of minutes and serve.
Recipe Tips
- This is a thick, hearty soup. If you wanted it a little thinner, add in more stock or milk towards the end of cooking, to get it to the consistency of your liking.
- Don’t let the rice sit too long in the soup before serving. Rice will keep absorbing liquid and can make the soup too thick.
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- Crusty bread (try my homemade crusty bread)
- Garlic Bread
- If you want to make it extra special, top with some crispy bacon
📺 Watch how to make it
Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 sticks of celery sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped into 1cm chunks
- 2 tbsp plain all-purpose flour
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk full-fat or semi-skimmed
- 1.2 litres (5 cups) hot chicken stock water plus 4 stock cubes is fine
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 105 g (1/2 cup) uncooked long grain rice
- 250 g (2 cups) leftover cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 tbsp lemon juice juice from approx. half a lemon
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) double (heavy) cream
- 50 g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.2 tbsp olive oil
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes, until just starting to soften.1 onion, 2 sticks of celery, 2 medium carrots
- Add the flour to the pan and stir together using a whisk to coat the vegetables in the flour.2 tbsp plain
- Pour in the milk, slowly, whilst stirring with the whisk, until the milk is completely mixed in.120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
- Add the stock and dried thyme and stir again.1.2 litres (5 cups) hot chicken stock, 1 tsp dried thyme
- Add the rice, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 25 minutes – stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender.105 g (1/2 cup) uncooked long grain rice
- Add in the chicken, lemon juice, cream, parmesan, salt, and pepper.250 g (2 cups) leftover cooked, shredded chicken, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 80 ml (1/3 cup) double (heavy) cream, 50 g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
- Stir together and heat for 2-3 minutes until the chicken is warmed through.
- Serve topped with fresh parsley.2 tbsp fresh parsley
Video
Notes
- Make the soup, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Reheat in a pan, over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until piping hot throughout.
- If you wanted to loosen up the soup, add a splash of stock or water while you’re reheating the soup.
- Make the soup, then cool, cover and freeze in portions. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat as per the reheating instructions above.
- Swap out the chicken for turkey
- Swap out the carrots and celery for other vegetables that can take a long ish (25 minute+) cooking time, without going mushy. Mushrooms, butternut squash, broad beans, brussel sprouts and fresh corn are good options.
- For more tender veg – add them in closer to the end of the cooking time:
- Smallish pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, sweet potato chunks – add them in about 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Spinach, kale, frozen peas – add them in about 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
If doubling, it may take a few minutes longer for everything to come to the boil, but simmering time is the same. Slow Cooker I’ve found that the rice becomes too mushy and claggy when making this in the slow cooker. So if I do make it in the slow cooker, I reduce the amount of stock i’m using to approx 950ml/4 cups), and I add in cooked rice at the end, to just heat it through. So, for the slow cooker:
- Make the recipe up to (and including) the point you add the stock (using 950ml/4 cups stock instead of the amount stated in the recipe) and thyme.
- Then add the shredded chicken (OR you can replace the cooked chicken with raw chicken – using either 2 chicken breasts, 3-4 chicken thighs or 4-6 chicken drumsticks).
- Cook for 4-5 hours on low.
- If you used raw chicken, then at this point remove the chicken and shred the meat, then add the meat back in (discarding the bones/skin).
- Add in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, cream and parmesan PLUS 300g/10.50z/1.75 cups of COOKED long grain rice and heat through for another 10 minutes or so, until piping hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This chicken & rice soup was first posted in January 2023. Updated since with recipe improvements and for housekeeping reasons.
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Make the soup, then cool, cover and freeze in portions. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat as per the reheating instructions above.
You can make it ahead, but the soup will thicken as it cools, and the rice will absorb more liquid, so it will become softer.
Make the soup, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheat in a pan, over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until piping hot throughout.
If you wanted to loosen up the soup, add a splash of stock or water while you’re reheating the soup.
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Absolutely amazing!! Great recipe! Thanks!
I want to make this on Sunday for lunch for the first few days of the week. Do you think it would be better to cook the rice separately and add it to the soup each day so it doesn’t absorb too much broth? Thanks!
I made this soup last weekend & it was phenomenal! I was a little worried about adding the citrus but it paired really well. I wish i had taken a picture of it to post. definitely recommend
My family has been feeling under the weather, and this soup was just what we needed tonight! Easy to make and good to eat.