Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
I’ve always been more of a tomato-based soup girl… but this soup has changed me. It’s so perfectly creamy… not too milky (or watery) but not too thick. The recipe comes from Spend With Pennies and it’s a keeper - it’s one of my husbands favorite soups.
This recipe is perfect as written - a meal with lots of veggies, chicken and whole grains in one pot. Ashley, the author, says that you can even use leftover rice by just adding it at the end of the cooking process to warm through. I’m pretty sure you could use leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken as well.
My middle son loves this soup… gobbles it up. I had high hopes of my oldest at least trying it. He loves all these foods - rice, chicken, celery, carrots, milk - not in a soup, though. Regardless of his many refusals, I put a little bowl of it on his plate (like a tablespoon!) and then sides that we are all eating… bread, fruit, and raw celery and carrots with hummus. I try and serve the much loved, raw, form of the veggies that are in the soup. It’s a good way to open exploration between cooked versus raw veggies. We might have conversations about how they look, smell, feel and taste different.
Eventually, baby Kate will eat this soup with us too. Everything is very tender so I’ll probably just give it to her as is. If I think she won’t be able to manage it, I’ll mash some up with a fork and serve it to her like a chunky puree.
Just like any meal that’s served in our house, some people are going to love it and others won’t be so thrilled. I hope if you make this Chicken and Rice Soup, all or most of your family enjoys it as much as we do!
Cheers!
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup evaporated milk
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the garlic, parsley and thyme and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the salt, pepper, broth, chicken and rice to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes (or until the rice is tender). Open the lid and give it a stir every 10 minutes or so.
- Once the rice is tender, remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with two forks. Return the chicken back to the pot and add the evaporated milk.
Notes
This soup tends to soak up liquid as it sits. You might find that you need to add extra chicken broth when you reheat the leftovers.