Chicken and Rice Soup

Comforting Chicken and Rice Soup! Made with tender chicken thighs, nourishing fresh veggies, hearty rice and a savory lightly-lemony broth. A simple soup with so much satisfying flavor!

Old Fashioned Chicken and Rice Soup

This is such a basic soup made with everyday staple ingredients, yet it packs in so much goodness paired with an enjoyable and welcome flavor.

It’s the; not feeling so well, pick me up kind of soup, a dinner the whole family can agree on soup, or the not much in the fridge what to make for dinner kind of soup.

It checks so many boxes. In other words it’s one of those must try recipes for a rainy day. Literally.

One of the highlights of fall is breaking out all the soup recipes to warm us up and fill our homes with the scent of classic old fashioned dinner. Who can resist a stick-to-the-ribs homestyle recipe like this?

Ingredients

1.5 lbs bonless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess visible fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
1 1/4 cups diced carrots (2 large)
1 cup diced celery (2 large)
1 Tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
7 to 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 parmesan rind, plus shredded parmesan for serving
3/4 cup to 1 long grain white rice*
1/4 cup chopped fresh parlsey
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Dab chicken thighs dry with paper towels, season both sides with salt and pepper.
Add to pot and sear until browned on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate.
Return pot to medium-high heat (there should be about 1 Tbsp oil in pot now, if needed you can add a little more). Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute 5 minutes.
Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
Pour in 7 cups chicken broth, add thyme, bay leaves and parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring mixture to a simmer then stir in rice, and return chicken thighs to pot.
Reduce to low heat. Cover pot and let simmer until thighs are cooked through, about 8 minutes (they should be 165 in center of thickest portion).
Transfer thighs to a cutting board (shake rice that sticks back into pot). Let rest 5 minutes then cut chicken into small pieces.
Meanwhile let soup continue to simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 8 to 12 minutes longer.
Remove soup from heat. Remove parmesan rind and bay leaves. Stir in chicken, parsley and lemon juice.
As soup rests it will thicken you can thin with remaining 1 cup chicken broth if desired. Serve with shredded parmesan cheese to taste.
Notes
*Some reviews have mentioned their soup being thicker than they’d like. Recipe originally listed 1 cup rice but you may want to go with 3/4 cup if you don’t want it quite as thick.