Mom’s Chicken and Rice Soup

Today you will learn how to make Mom’s Chicken and Rice Soup. This classic comfort food soup is ready in about 45 minutes and it’s perfect for a cold wintery day. 

Mom’s Chicken and Rice Soup

Before you start cooking there’s a few ingredients you’ll want to prep first. You’ll need to slice about 1 cup of carrots, so 3 or 4 carrots, and dice 1 white or yellow onion, you’ll need about 1/2 cup of sliced celery, so about 3 ribs maybe depending on their size, and then you’ll need 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

And last you’ll need about 1 tablespoon of minced or pressed garlic, and 1 tablespoon of freshly minced or pressed ginger. 

Once you’ve got all that prepped, grab a large soup pot and let’s head on over to the stove. We’re gonna get about 1 tablespoon of olive oil heating over medium high heat. Then add in about 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. 

Then we’re gonna season these with about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. We are not cooking these chicken breasts all the way through yet, we’re just searing them off.

You just want a little color on each side, which will take about 2-3 minutes per side. Then pull these out and transfer them to a cutting board or a plate. 

We’re gonna add them back to the pot later to finish cooking. Now you could always use pre-cooked shredded chicken in this recipe, but I like cooking up the chicken breasts themselves because it does add a lot of flavor. 

We’re gonna add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then we’ll add in our onion, our sliced carrots, and our sliced celery. We’re gonna let these sauté to get a little bit of flavor for about 4 or 5 minutes. All of the little bits and pieces of chicken that stuck to the pan are flavor, so don’t wash or wipe out your pan. You don’t want to lose any of that goodness.

Once the onions just start to get soft you’ll add in your minced garlic and your minced ginger, and 1 cup of some sort of long grain white rice. We’re gonna toast all of this for about 2-3 minutes. 

Now you can use other types of rice. I prefer a long grain white rice because it cooks the fastest and it works out the best with the chicken. If you want to use a different type of rice I’ll include those instructions on my website with the recipe.

After 2-3 minutes the ginger and garlic should be nice and fragrant, and then it’s time to return the chicken to the pot. Then we’ll pour in 8 cups of chicken broth. Then season with 1 teaspoon of dried thyme and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, and we’ll bring this to a simmer. 

We’re gonna let this simmer for about 15 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through. After 15 minutes we’re gonna pull out our chicken breasts and transfer them to either a plate or a cutting board. 

Now it doesn’t matter if there’s any rice or veggies stuck to your chicken, you’re just gonna grab 2 forks and shred that meat right up.

Then return all of that shredded chicken back in to the soup pot. Give it another 5 minutes for the rice to finish cooking, then turn off the heat and pour in 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

Give it a stir and then you are ready to eat. The rice will continue to absorb liquid, so this soup is best served hot and fresh.

Table of Contents

Toggle

Mom’s Chicken and Rice Soup

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Mom's Chicken and Rice Soup is healthy, hearty, flavorful, and a family favorite comfort food for cold days. Recipe includes instructions for white rice, wild rice, and brown rice.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• Chicken and Rice Soup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
• 1 medium white onion (divided)
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup heavy cream ((optional))
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear chicken breasts in olive oil for 2 minutes per side until golden brown, but not cooked through. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot. Add in onion, carrots, and celery and saute 4-5 minutes. Add in rice, ginger, and garlic and toast for 2-3 minutes.
3. Return chicken to pot. Pour in chicken broth and season with thyme and oregano. Simmer for 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
4. Use tongs to remove chicken from pot. Shred and return to pot. Pour in heavy cream (if using). Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until rice and vegetables are soft.
5. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Chicken Thighs will need to simmer for approximately 30 to 40 minutes and are preferred when using brown or wild rice due to the longer cook times. 

 

Brown Rice will need to cook for approximately 50-60 minutes.

 

Wild Rice will need to cook for approximately  40-45 minutes.

 

*If the rice absorbs too much liquid for your liking, add more chicken broth to taste. 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: American