This mouthwatering chicken and rice soup is filled with lots of warm spices, veggies, cilantro, and even a bit of tang from fresh lime juice. It's the perfect companion on a cold day, or any time you're craving a feel-good meal!
Chicken and Rice Soup, a Whole Lot of Flavor in One Bowl
I find a lot of comfort in a hot, brothy homemade soup that's a bit on the tangy side, has a nice little “kick” to it, and is filled to the brim with vegetables, spices, and fresh herbs. Throw in some tender chicken and some rice, and I've got a full, happy belly.
So chicken and rice soup is one of the most prepared, favorite soups in my personal repertoire, one that I make every few weeks when I circle back to craving some south-of-the-border flair—it's so good!
For me, it has so many of my favorite flavors in one bowl, those wonderfully zesty and rich flavors you find in spices such as cumin, cayenne, coriander, and chili powder. And because I adore the fresh, zippy flavor of fresh lime juice, I like to give my own bowl an extra squeeze from a juicy wedge for an additional burst of tangy freshness! 😉
Filled with shredded chicken, rice, veggies, and then finished with a hearty garnish of tortilla strips and perhaps some diced avocado (and definitely lots of fresh cilantro!), this easy chicken and rice soup recipe offers up some love in a bowl, in a wonderfully flavorful way.
Keeping Chicken and Rice Soup Brothy
If you've been a reader of The Cozy Apron for a while, or have tried a number of my soup recipes, you may have noticed that I like to keep any starches that are a part of the recipe separate from my pot of soup as a whole.
In other words, I don't typically add rice, barley, quinoa, etc. to my entire pot of soup. The reason? Those wonderful starches will suck that delicious broth right up!
So, I like to keep things separate, and add my starches (rice in the case of this particular soup) to individual servings before ladling hot soup over top.
I simply cook my rice separately, keep it in a covered container next to my pot of soup in the fridge, and add as much as I'd like per bowl when I heat some up. It's super easy, and let me tell you, it keeps those scrumptious soup left-overs nice and brothy!
How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
I cannot underscore enough how easy and convenient this soup is to prepare, and this makes it one of my faves.
For starters, it only takes about 20 minutes to simmer up, which means din-din is on the table lickity-split. 😉
The other convenience is that you can do what I like to do, and use a good quality rotisserie chicken. Simply shred or cube the meat, and add it directly into the soup at the very end as to not overcook it—so easy!
Here's my chicken and rice soup recipe at a glance:
- I sweat my veggies in a medium-large soup pot.
- Next, I add in my spices, followed by my garlic.
- Then, I add in my warm chicken broth (or stock), and allow things to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.
- At the very end, I stir in some green peas, corn kernels, the cooked, shredded chicken, some lime juice and cilantro.
- To serve, I add warm rice to my bowl, ladle some soup over, and garnish with tortilla strips, extra lime, and extra cilantro!
(The full recipe is below...)
Tips & Tidbits for Chicken and Rice Soup:
- Rotisserie chicken for ease: While you absolutely can cook up your own chicken to use in the soup, I like to take a short cut and use an organic rotisserie chicken which I shred or cube, and add that in at the very end of the cooking process. It's delicious, and super convenient!
- Very veggie-ful: For this recipe, I like to keep things pretty basic by using onion, carrots and celery along with the peas and corn kernels; but you can substitute (or even add in) some diced tomatoes, half of a sweet potato diced small, or even red bell pepper—whatever you'd like!
- Make it spicy according to your taste: For the sake of the recipe, I've kept things fairly mild for all to enjoy; but when I'm preparing this soup for myself, I like to add more cayenne or red pepper flakes for extra heat. Hot sauce is great too, or even sliced jalapeños!
- Cook and keep your rice separate: I like to use either jasmine or basmati rice for this recipe, as it has more flavor. I also cook it up separately (and keep it in a separate container), and then add it to individual bowls of this soup. This keeps the soup nice and brothy, rather than too thick due to starches sucking the liquid up.
- Tasty toppings: Extra cilantro, lime, tortilla strips or chips, diced avocado, and sliced jalapeño are all delicious add-ins or toppings!
Feast your eyes on these, or just jump to the recipe:
Recipe
Chicken and Rice Soup
by Ingrid Beer
Category: Soup
Cuisine: American
Yield: Serves 6
Nutrition Info: 281 calories (with ½ cup rice)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
• Olive or avocado oil
• 1 onion, diced small
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced small
• 3 celery ribs, diced small
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 5 cups warm chicken broth (or stock)
• 3 to 3 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie is great for this)
• ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
• ½ corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus extra for serving
• 3 cups cooked rice (I like to use jasmine or basmati for the additional flavor)
• Jalapeno slices, tortilla strips, and lime wedges, for garnish
-Place a medium-large soup pot over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 4 tablespoons of oil; once the oil gets hot, add in the onion, carrots, and celery, and saute for a 1-2 minutes.
-Add in a couple of good pinches of salt and black pepper, plus the cumin, coriander, chili powder, and pinch of cayenne pepper, and saute for a few more minutes until the veggies begin to become tender.
-Stir in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the chicken stock/broth.
-Bring the soup to a rolling simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
-Turn off the heat and finish the soup by stirring in the shredded chicken, peas, corn kernels, lime zest, lime juice, and chopped cilantro; check to see if any additional salt or pepper is needed.
-To serve, add some of the rice (about ½ cup or so) to the bottom of your bowl, and ladle over the hot soup; garnish with additional lime, some sliced jalapenos, or some crispy tortilla strips.
Hungry for more hot and cozy soup recipes? Check out this Potato Leek Soup, this Albondigas Soup, this Vegetable Soup, or this Simple Lemony Chicken and Spring Veggie Soup!
Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2015, and has been updated with even more love!
Jen and Emily @ Layers of Happiness
This soup looks AMAZING!!! All those flavors and colors... and textures!! So much going on.. I'm obsessed!!
J
So true, so true. It is the simple things in life like a good bowl of soup on a cold winter's day with friends and family.
The Cozy Apron
Thank you for your comment, J.
Rocio
Can I make this in a crock pot and with chicken breast instead?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Rocio, I have not tried that method personally, but that should be fine.
Liz
A lovely soup. Thanks so much and have a great weekend.
The Cozy Apron
Thank you, Liz!
Kim Porter
I will be making this soup (looks delicious!), but I just wanted to take a moment to thank you so much, not only for the nourishing food inspiration, but also for the soulful inspiration you share in each post. I sincerely look forward to receiving your emails.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Kim, I'm so touched by your comments; thank you for your kind words! I'm thrilled that you are enjoying both the recipes and the posts, and we truly appreciate your readership!
Deedee
I'm trying this today, it looks yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
The Cozy Apron
Deedee, my pleasure! I hope you are comforted by this soup!
Deedee
Thank you! I tried this recipe for dinner last night and, OMGOSH!, delicious! My new favorite soup!
The Cozy Apron
Thanks for sharing your results, Deedee! Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
Linda Barnett
We enjoyed your soup recipe very much. Two thing I changed up. The rice happened to be already cooked so I put in the beginning. We love cilantro so I chopped it tossed in in the blender with some water and blended until smooth an added it to the soup. I probably used 3/4 of a bunch cilantro.
beginning.
The Cozy Apron
Linda, so glad you enjoyed the soup recipe! Thank you so much for taking a moment to share your comments.
Christina
I've made this soup at least 5 times! It's truly delicious and very simple!
The Cozy Apron
I love that, Christina! So glad you're enjoy it! And funny thing is, that I, too, just made a big pot of this for my hubby and I over the weekend; so the fact you also made it is precious! (It's perfect for when you're under the weather, too—just add a bit more lime and some hot sauce or something to make it more spicy, and it becomes a "hot & sour" type of therapy!) 🙂
Sheena
I just crossed this pin and am very excited to try this! I love soup and we're having the perfect weather for it! I'll let you know the outcome and will definitely spread the word to my friends who cook!
Kelly
I stumbled across your blog looking for a delicious mexican style soup to make for my husband and I. When I got to the comments about God I was so surprised! Someone like minded!! Way to go using this blog to share wonderful recipes AND glorify our maker. Wahoo!
The Cozy Apron
Thanks, Kelly! That's my mission: to offer physical sustenance, as well as some spiritual. We all need some uplift! I truly hope you are nourished by the soup!
Syndy Glick
Made this delicious soup tonight and loved every bite!! Perfect for a cold night.
The Cozy Apron
Syndy, that warmed my heart; a soup like this is perfect for a cold night, and that you were warmed & comforted means a lot. Glad you enjoyed!
Susan
I'm trying this on Tuesday! I LOVE the fact the ingredients are things I pretty much always have on hand. I'll only need to pick up the lime, cilantro and jalapeno! My only change will be to use brown rice. Also, I don't add rice or pasta to my soup if I know I'm going to have leftovers. I don't like when the rice or pasta gets bloated...Thank you for what I KNOW will be a great soup!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Susan, glad you'll be trying this! I also don't like to add my rice directly to my soup, either- you'll notice in the recipe that I add it to the individual bowls just before serving, so it doesn't "slurp up" all that good broth from the pot, lol! Hope you enjoy...
Elizabeth B
Just made this tonight for my very discerning husband, daughter and son, and they loved it! Thanks so much. We love lots of flavor, and this soup totally has it. Lime and cilantro...yum! I didn't have ground coriander, so threw in seeds. My husband kept asking, what is that unusual flavor? He loved it. Delicious on the rice, made a fantastic one dish dinner tonight. Thanks again!
The Cozy Apron
Elizabeth, isn't it wonderful when everyone enjoys a recipe? 😉 So happy to read that you all found it flavorful, cozy and filling!
Thank you for sharing.
Josh
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! My favorite restaurant used to make this before they shut down. I have been looking for a passable substitute for the PAST SIX YEARS with no luck, until today. My search has finally ended and I have only you to thank. I know you can't hear, but there is a rousing round of applause coming from my kitchen right now. Please feel free to take a well-deserved bow.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Josh, wow! Thanks so much for such a wonderful review!
I cannot tell you how happy this makes me, as I know only too well what it feels like to lose a favorite restaurant and not be able to get a beloved dish; so the fact that I could (in some small way) help you out makes me feel like my work here is done. 😉
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me, and may you now get loads and loads of comfort and nourishment from one of your favorite soups once again!
Amy N Alvarez
This soup was amazing! The rice ended up making it a little to thick. So next time I'll cut the rice in half. But that's just because I prefer a lot of broth!
Other than that, it was amazing. So warm and comforting for a cold night.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Amy, yes, if you add the rice directly into the soup pot, it will definitely thicken it. That's why I advise that you keep the rice separate, and add portions of it to individual serving bowls just before ladling the soup in, so that things stay brothy.
Glad you enjoyed!