Easy Chicken and Rice Soup

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This flavorful and easy chicken and rice soup recipe includes tender chicken cooked in creamy broth with Italian seasoning. It’s a quick, easy, hearty, and oh-so-filling comfort food dish.

A spoonful of easy chicken and rice soup.

This easy chicken and rice soup recipe is simple to make and absolutely delicious. It’s one of those comforting meals you can throw together in the time it takes to cook your rice. It’s perfect for a sick day, a hard day, a long day, or a lovely day that just needs a light and lovely finish.

The ingredients are few, but they are enough to give it a wonderful flavor that will have ’em coming back for more. You’re going to need shredded rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, Italian dressing mix, dried parsley, white rice, and instant potato flakes.

The instructions are as simple as combining the chicken broth with the seasonings, adding the shredded chicken, bringing the ingredients to a boil then simmering. Then we stir in the cream and potato flakes (the best soup thickener), and your creamy chicken soup is done! Pop a bed of cooked white rice into your serving bowl and ladle the soup on top. Now that’s what you call a quick and easy chicken and rice soup.

I like to serve it with a side of warm cornbread, garlic bread, or a soft buttermilk biscuit to soak up that creamy and flavorful soup broth but there are more serving suggestions below. It’s also important to note that I’m making enough for 6 to 8 servings because I love soup leftovers. Meal prep, anyone? But feel free to half this recipe if you’d like to feed only 4.

 Now let me show you how easy it is to make this delicious homemade chicken soup.

Labeled ingredients for my easy chicken and rice soup.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Chicken broth
  • Rice
  • Heavy cream
  • Italian dressing mix
  • Rotisserie chicken
  • Dried parsley flakes
  • Instant potato flakes

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make My Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

Add chicken broth to stockpot.

First of all, get your rice cooking. Cook two cups of dry rice according to the packet directions.

If you want to have a heartier soup, make more. If you want a lighter soup, cook less.

While the rice is cooking, pour the chicken stock into a large stockpot.

Add Italian dressing mix to stockpot.

Add in your packet of dry Italian dressing mix.

Add dried parsley to stockpot.

And the dried parsley.

Whisk ingredients together.

Give those ingredients a good stir together.

Add shredded chicken to stockpot.

Take your cooked chicken off the bone and shred it, then add it to the pot.

Place this over medium heat and bring just to a boil, stirring every so often.

Then, reduce heat to a simmer.

Add cream to stockpot.

Add cream.

Add instant potato flakes to stockpot.

If you like, you can also add instant potato flakes at this point. 

Creamy soup ingredients all mixed together.

Stir that all up well until your chicken soup looks a little bit like this.

Place 1/2 cup of cooked rice into a bowl.

Place about 1/2 cup of cooked rice in a bowl.

Ladle soup over rice in bowl.

Ladle servings of soup over the rice and stir.

Bowl of easy chicken and rice soup.

Serve with warm crusty bread or whatever you’re in the mood to serve it with.

Spoonful of easy chicken and rice soup.

Enjoy!

Storage

  • Store the rice and soup in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat either in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
  • You can also freeze them in separate containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating as above.

Recipe Notes

  • You can use half and half or even milk in place of the cream. It won’t add the rich buttery flavor that cream does.
  • If you’re choosing to cook a whole chicken yourself, here’s what you need to do. Cover a whole fryer with water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour, or until chicken is done and broth is rich. Remove chicken. Proceed with step 2. Be sure to add salt to taste if you make your own broth.
  • This recipe works great with any kind of leftover chicken breast, leftover roast chicken, or even leftover turkey during the holidays. You just want roughly 2 cups of shredded chicken in total.
  • Want to add some veggies to your chicken rice soup? You’ll want to saute them in the stockpot with oil before adding the chicken stock and proceeding with the instructions as directed. Popular soup veggie options include chopped onion, a couple of chopped carrots, a chopped zucchini, and/or a couple of chopped celery ribs.
  • If you don’t want a creamy chicken and rice soup, feel free to just omit the cream. The soup will still taste flavorful and delicious.
  • Instead of adding dried parsley to the soup, you can garnish individual servings with chopped fresh parsley.

Recipe FAQs

How do you thicken chicken soup?

I love to use instant potato flakes as a soup thickener. I find they give my soup a little more body without altering the flavor. 

Should I cook rice before adding it to the soup?

Now, I don’t personally stir the rice directly into the soup. If we did and were planning on having leftovers, the next day that rice would be all bloated up, and the soup would look more like a weird rice pudding. So just keep them separate until serving. Cooked rice refrigerates and even freezes well anyway.

What is the best rice to use in soup?

White rice is the best rice to serve with soup, like long grain white rice, jasmine rice, or basmati rice. But other options include wild rice for chicken wild rice soup and brown rice.

What do you serve with chicken and rice soup?

Serve your chicken rice soup with some sort of bread side dish to soak up the broth, like crusty bread, cornbread, garlic bread, or a soft buttermilk biscuit.

You may also like these sensational soup recipes:

Southwest Chicken Soup

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe

How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Spoonful of easy chicken and rice soup.

Easy Chicken and Rice Soup

This flavorful and easy chicken and rice soup recipe includes tender chicken cooked in creamy broth with Italian seasoning.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, rice, soup
Servings: 8
Calories: 332kcal

Ingredients

  • 64 ounces chicken broth
  • 1 shredded rotisserie chicken
  • 2 cups uncooked white rice
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 0.7-ounce packet Italian dressing mix
  • 1 cup instant potato flakes (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)

Instructions

  • Pour broth into a large stockpot. Stir in Italian dressing mix and parsley if using.
    64 ounces chicken broth, 1 tablespoon dried parsley (optional), 1 0.7-ounce packet Italian dressing mix
  • Debone and shred chicken then add it to the pot. Place over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer while rice cooks.
    1 shredded rotisserie chicken
  • Cook rice according to package directions.
    2 cups uncooked white rice
  • When the rice is done, stir cream and potato flakes into the soup.
    1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup instant potato flakes (optional)
  • Fill each individual bowl with 1/2 cup of cooked rice. Top with soup and stir to combine. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 332kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

“No one ever injured their eyesight by looking

on the bright side of things.”

~Unknown

Submitted by Jenny. 

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124 Comments

  1. Hey Christy! I think you and I have the exact same fashion sense (or lack thereof). Katy always looks gorgeous in her photos. Sparkle is good. The world needs more sparkle, especially when it starts in the smile, as Katy’s does.
    I looked at your purchase photo and thought I might try to find the same shirts. THEN I thought, “I’ll bet there are oodles of other SP gals thinking the same thing” and just had to laugh. Can you imagine if we all showed up at your next book signing wearing Bass Pro plaids and henleys?

  2. I think this will be on the menu as soon as I see those rotisserie chickens on sale — looks very good! I think your stories are sweet and inspiring — I’ve spent many a sleepless night reading your uplifting words. Thank you for all you do.

  3. I LIKE YOUR WEB SIGHT AND RECIPE’S JUST THE RECIPE’S AND I CAN NOT GET THEM WITH OUT THE DIALOG OF NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE OF YOUR FAMILY LIFE.YOU NEED TO MAKE THE RECIPE’S ABLE TO BE PINNED WITH OUT HAVING TO PLOW THROUGH YOUR LIFE. REALLY

    1. First of all Deb, thank you for your all caps opinion of my family being nothing of importance here 🙂 While I am glad you enjoy my recipes, I can offer you complete assurance that this will never be a website of recipes only. As long as I pay the light bill on Southern Plate it will be a place of community, sharing, encouragement, laughter, and even virtual hugs.
      If you decide you’d like to be a part of that at some point, we’d sure welcome you to. Until then though, I’m afraid this just isn’t the website for you.
      Hang in there, Deb. Life is good and if you let it, it gets even better.
      Gratefully,
      Christy

      1. This is the reason I love Southern Plate so much. It’s not just a “recipe”- it’s the back story that makes me love your recipes just as much as the yummy food :). You are such a classy lady Christy!!

      2. I am so proud of you Christy. You answered Deb like a true Southern Christian woman should. I am afraid my answer would NOT have been so kind. I learn from you every day my friend.

      3. CHRISTY ALL CAPS TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR BLOG, RECIPES AND STORIES. I FEEL AS IF IT’S AN OLD FRIEND DROPPING BY TO BRIGHTEN MY DAY AND THAT’S WHAT YOU STORIES DO IS BRIGHTEN MY DAY. I DON’T GET OUT MUCH AND MISS YOU EMAILS ON THE DAYS I DON’T GET ONE. YOU ALWAYS STIR UP SOME BEAUTIFUL OLD MEMORIES WITH YOUR STORIES THAT I WAS BLESSED TO HAVE WITH MY PARENTS WHO HAVE BOTH PASSED. SO PLEASE CHRISTY DON’T CHANGE A THING YOU ARE SUCH A BLESSING TO SO MANY PEOPLE EVERYTHING ABOUT SHINES A LIGHT ON EVERYONE WHOSE LIFE YOU TOUCH

  4. Temp-tations, right? Just bought my first couple of sets and I’m hooked… but now I need to make space for it.

  5. YES! Now I know I will see you more in Memphis when Bass Pro finishes their biggest store yet in retrofitting the Memphis Pyramid with a everything they have in Missouri and much more. You can even ride to the top of the Pyramid. May be ready at end of next summer. They just finished reinforcing the earthquake safety things (your husband would enjoy the technical on this). They said they would have an aquarium, fishing tank, and just so much. My family is overly ready for this since all five grands, including the girls, hunt and fish. It will also be totally handicapped accessible so I can go with my scooter. Have you noticed my new profile picture with the pig on wheels? I am ready for Bass Pro!

  6. Can’t wait till it gets cold & I can make this!! Here in Texas, that might happen in November…or December….or maybe I won’t wait!!!

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