Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is the ultimate comfort food: creamy, simple and easy to prepare with just a few ingredients. Using rotisserie chicken is an easy shortcut that ensures flavorful chicken (and you don’t have to worry about raw chicken!). Enriched rice, which contains less starch than other types, helps ensure that leftover Creamy Chicken Rice Soup tastes great without the rice becoming mushy. You’ll love this simple and comforting soup recipe!
This creamy chicken and rice soup recipe is pretty much based on my chicken and dumplings recipe, which is one of the most popular recipes on Bowl of Delicious. That recipe adds fresh thyme to the gnocchi, and this chicken and rice soup uses fresh thyme in the soup itself. But we don’t mess around with gnocchi here! You get a lot of the same flavor with less work.
And why we use enriched rice here (also known as converted or parboiled rice), leftovers hold up really well. This type of rice is less starchy than others, which keeps it from becoming too mushy in the soup. This means you can make a big pot of this soup and enjoy it all week, or freeze some for later!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Shredded cooked chicken – anything goes, I like to use rotisserie chicken.
- Rice – I recommend converted/enriched/parboiled rice, such as Ben’s original. It holds up best in soups due to its low starch content. You can use other types of rice, more on that later.
- Flour – to thicken the soup (if you prefer you can use corn starch, more on that later).
- Onions, carrots and celery – feel free to add garlic, leeks, or other aromatic vegetables if you like.
- Fresh thyme – or dried, or other condiments and spices (oregano, Italian seasoning, or even Cajun or other seasoning blends would work well here – make it your own!).
- Chicken broth – I always like to use homemade broth when I can, but any kind will do. I’m a fan of Better than low sodium Bouillon if I don’t have homemade chicken broth on hand.
- Half and half – this is for the creaminess. If you prefer you can use whole milk. The cream might be a little excessive in this case – if you use it, I would limit you to half the amount. For a dairy-free option, try full-fat canned coconut milk.
- Butter, salt and pepper
How to make creamy chicken and rice soup
Onions, carrots, celery and thyme are sautéed in butter, then flour is added (to thicken the soup). Next, you add the chicken broth and rice and, once the rice is cooked, you shred the rotisserie (or other cooked) chicken is added, along with half-and-half for creaminess and salt and pepper to taste. It couldn’t be easier to make!
What types of rice can I use for chicken rice soup?
I almost always prefer to use enriched rice (also labeled as parboiled or converted rice) for soups. Ben’s Original is the most common and well-known brand. It has a low starch content, which means it holds up well in soups – even leftovers – and doesn’t get mushy like other rices.
That said, feel free to use another type of rice in your Creamy Chicken Rice Soup! You’ll need to pay attention to cooking times and liquid needs if you use a different type.
For example, white basmati will be the fastest to cook (it only takes 10-15 minutes) and it will absorb less liquid (so you may want to add a little more rice to the soup). Short-grain brown and wild rice often take longer to cook and require more liquid. So adjust accordingly, but don’t worry too much. Soups are forgiving and this is no exception.
You can also cook the rice separately and add portions to each bowl when serving, making sure it doesn’t get soggy. In this case, reduce the chicken broth in the soup by half.
How to Thicken Chicken Rice Soup
Flour is a common thickener for soups and is what I used in this chicken rice soup recipe. Add the flour to the vegetables after sautéing them, then stir to coat the vegetables and cook for about a minute to get rid of the “raw” flour flavor, then add the chicken stock. Once heated, the soup should be thick.
There are other alternatives for thickening soups. You can use corn starch (a great gluten-free option). Make a cornstarch slurry (corn starch mixed with water) and add it to the soup at the end. Then heat it until it thickens.
More creamy soup recipes
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Creamy chicken and rice soup
This creamy chicken and rice soup is the ultimate comfort food: simple, flavorful, and hearty, packed with buttery thyme flavor. Using rotisserie chicken is a perfect shortcut, and the enriched rice ensures that the leftovers hold up perfectly without the rice becoming too mushy.
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Portions: 6 portions
Calories: 330kcal
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ingredients
- 2 spoons butter
- 1 medium onion cut into cubes
- 2 ribs celery cut into cubes
- 2 medium carrots cut into cubes
- 1 table spoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- ⅓ cup All purpose flour (see notes for alternatives to densification)
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth (store-bought or homemade)
- ¾ cup enriched/converted rice (like Ben’s Original, see notes for using other types of rice)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (more or less depending on your preferences)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup half and half (or whole milk or cream)
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken (like the rotisserie)
- extra fresh thyme leaves and fresh cracked black pepper to serve (optional)
Instructions
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In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the cubes 1 medium oniondiced 2 celery ribsdiced 2 medium carrotsAND 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme. Saute until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
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Add the ⅓ cup all-purpose flour and stir to coat the vegetables, cooking while stirring for about 1 minute. Pour the 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth and bring to the boil. Add the ¾ cup enriched/converted rice, ½ teaspoon kosher saltAND ½ teaspoon black pepper. Reduce to low, cover and simmer until the rice is fully cooked (about 20 minutes, see notes).
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Once the rice is completely cooked, pour it in 1 cup half-and-half and incorporate the 2 cups cooked shredded chicken. Cook for a few more minutes until everything is heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
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Serve the soup seasoned extra fresh thyme leaves and fresh cracked black pepperif desired.
Notes
- Enriched rice it’s my favorite to use in soups because it tends to hold its shape well in leftovers without becoming mushy or disintegrating in the soup.
- If you use another type of rice, keep in mind that even leftovers may not hold up, and that cooking time and liquid requirements may vary. For example, white basmati rice cooks very quickly and absorbs less liquid (so you may want to use 1 cup instead of ¾ cup). Wild or brown rice may take longer to cook and absorb more liquid.
- Other spices and herbs can be used – I used fresh thyme because that’s what I had and I love this recipe simple in flavor, but instead or in addition you can use Italian seasoning, oregano, a little crushed red pepper for spice, or other favorite spice blends. Make it yours!
- For a gluten-free option/alternative to flour thickener, skip adding flour to the recipe altogether. Once the soup is fully cooked, make a cornstarch slurry using 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir into the soup and continue heating until thickened. You can add more if you want to make it thicker.
Nutrition
Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 33G | Protein: 21G | Fat: 13G | Saturated fats: 7G | Polyunsaturated fats: 1G | Monounsaturated fat: 4G | Trans fats: 0.2G | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 528mg | Fiber: 2G | Sugar: 4G | Vitamin A: 3744UI | C vitamin: 4mg | Soccer: 85mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information disclaimer
The nutritional information provided is my best estimate and does not include added sodium from flavoring seasoning, any optional ingredients, and does not take into account brands. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
