Is It Spring Yet?
No? OK, then. Time to make chicken and rice soup! When the endless Pacific Northwest rain gets us down, we fight back with this cozy, healthy chicken and rice soup. In a rather genius move (if we may so say) we simmer the chicken breasts whole in the chicken soup base, making your prep work super-minimal. Get this chicken rice soup simmering on the stove and sit back while your windows steam up and your whole house fills with the soothing scent of homemade chicken soup. And if you want more chicken soup inspo, check out our easy Chicken Noodle Soup or get wild with our chicken and wild rice soup!
Our Secret Chicken Rice Soup Ingredient? A Lot of Lemon!
People who watch their salt intake, take note! Did you know that adding lemon juice—or anything with high acidity, like lime juice or even vinegar—acts as an overall flavor enhancer, similar to salt? Not that you have to forgo salt to enjoy the flavor-boosting power of a little lemon juice. Or, in this case, a full ¼ cup lemon juice, which probably qualifies as a lot of lemon juice! Especially when paired with fresh dill—the other ingredient that gives this chicken rice soup a little bit of a bright zing—lemon juice brings this simple soup to life.
Chicken and Rice Soup—Healthy, Easy, Fast.
We bet you either have all of these ingredients at home already, or can grab it all in a quick run to your favorite grocery store. Nothing too fancy here—just a bunch of easy, tasty, familiar chicken soup fixings. In addition to salt, pepper and oil, you’ll need:
- Garlic & onion
- Chicken broth
- Chicken breast
- Long-grain white rice.
- Carrots
- Celery
- Fresh dill.
- Fresh spinach.
- Lemons.
How To Make Chicken Soup With Rice.
Yeah, you could open a can and have chicken soup in five minutes. But if you have a few extra minutes to spare at the stove, you could have homemade chicken rice soup, which isn’t just healthier (by a long shot) but is also, always, way more delicious. Here’s how to make chicken rice soup from scratch:
- Sauté the onion. When it's fragrant and translucent, toss in the fresh garlic.
- Add the chicken breasts (yep, add them whole!) and rice, then pour the chicken broth and water over all of it and bring it to a rolling boil!
- When the chicken breasts are cooked through, pull them out—this is a good job for kitchen tongs—and use two forks to shred the chicken into pieces. (Use forks because the chicken will be hot!). You can just let the rest of the soup continue to simmer while you do this.
- Add the chicken pieces, along with carrots, celery, salt, pepper and dill and simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Stir in the fresh spinach and lemon juice. When the spinach has wilted, the soup is done!
Tools You’ll Need
- Big stock pot.
- Sharp knife.
- Ladles sure are handy.
4 More Easy, Healthy Chicken Soup Recipes
Ditch the canned stuff for good. Who needs all of those unpronounceables, anyway, when homemade chicken soup is so easy and quick? These four soup recipes are just as fast and delicious as this chicken and rice version:
Happy Once, Happy Twice, Happy Chicken Soup With Rice
There’s a reason that Maurice Sendack wrote an entire book about chicken soup with rice—there’s just nothing quite as purely comforting as a big bowl of homemade soup. Let us know how yours turns out! Snap a photo of your chicken soup and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
