Easy Chicken and Rice Soup has simple ingredients, but it’s so comforting and hearty. It is quick and easy, loaded with fresh vegetables and rice, making it a great weeknight meal.
Ingredients
8cupscold water
3medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1/2” pieces
2medium carrots,peeled and sliced into thin slices
In a large pot or dutch oven (4-6 qt), over medium-high heat, bring 8 cups cold water to a boil. Then add cubed potatoes, sliced carrots, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon chicken base and whole onion. Bring back to a boil and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Rinse 1/4 cup uncooked arborio rice. Add rice and 1/4 tsp ground coriander to the pot with soup. Keep cooking for 10-15 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium/high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil and rinsed in cold water canned chicken. Season with salt and ground pepper (pinch-two of each). Brown chicken for few minutes.
Remove and dispose whole onion from soup, add chicken and season with salt (1-1 1/2 tsp or to taste).
Bring soup back to a boil. Remove the pot from heat and add the chopped greens. Give a gentle stir and serve. Keeping soup on hot wire or prolonged cooking once greens are added, will turn the greens into light green-yellowish color.
Notes
Rice: I usually use arborio rice for this recipe because it gets mushy and fluffs up nicely. You can also use basmati rice, jasmine rice, brown rice or wild rice if you prefer. Just be aware that brown rice and wild rice need more time to cook, so plan accordingly. Feel free to use leftover rice and stir it into soup couple minutes before serving so that rice has a chance to warm up.
Chicken: I typically use canned chicken breast in water, but you can also use rotisserie chicken from store, leftover chicken or even chicken thighs. Rinse canned chicken under cold water to remove that extra chicken odor.
Fresh herbs: If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand, you can substitute for frozen if you have on hand or use dried dill, dried parsley and dried onions or chives. Use smaller amounts of dried herbs. Keep in mind that fresh herbs give so much more flavor than any dried herbs.
Chicken base: I like to use chicken bouillon for chicken soup, but you can replace it for chicken broth and reduce the amount of water and salt. Use 1 cup chicken broth to replace 1 tsp of chicken base and 1 cup water.
Add veggies: For even more veggie-friendly meal, add more vegetables such as pepper, spinach and kale.
Enjoy with bread: This soup is hearty enough to be a complete meal, but we always enjoy it with homemade bread on a side, like No-Knead Bread or our all-time favorite White Bread Machine Bread.
Freezing soup: I would not recommend freezing this soup. Potatoes tend to have an odd texture when defrosted and the soup really won’t be the same anymore.