Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

Creamy chicken and rice soup is a hearty meal with simple ingredients like brown rice, celery, onion, and chicken. Total family favorite!

This creamy chicken and rice soup is my family’s most favorite soup recipe.

I find this rather funny since this chicken soup isn’t anything fancy. You have brown rice, celery, onion, chicken, and some seasoning in a thick, creamy soup base.

But what this creamy chicken and rice soup lacks in an extensive ingredient list and five star-restaurant appearance, it more than makes up for in simplicity, comfort, and flavor. To make it extra simple, I highly recommend a solid food chopper. They are dreamy!

And delicious leftovers.

This homemade chicken soup is perfect for feeding a large crowd—or a family of six with four kids over the age of 12. A single batch will feed our family with a few servings left over for lunch the next day.

And the leftovers are really, really, really yummy. Sometimes I hide the container just so I can be the one to enjoy them.

We like our creamy chicken and rice soup extra thick, but you can easily thin it by adding extra milk. When reheating the leftover soup, you’ll definitely want a few extra tablespoons of milk in there.

Of course, I’m all about extra thick soup, so I leave it as is. If I’m lucky enough to score one or two leftover dinner rolls, I’ll slather that chicken soup right on top!

Ready to learn how to make this hearty chicken soup?

How to Make Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

Step 1: Combine celery, onions, rice, bouillon, broth, and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 2: Melt butter in a saucepan and slowly whisk in flour. Add milk, stirring constantly. Add this and the chicken to the rice mixture.
Step 3: Add more milk and season to taste. Allow to simmer at least 30 minutes and add more milk if necessary.

And there you have it! Though this creamy chicken soup takes a bit of time, it doesn’t take a lot of effort or a crazy-long list of ingredients. Yay!

The best side dish when it comes to this soup is my favorite dinner roll recipe (different than the one-hour rolls linked above). These homemade rolls are requested more often than salted caramel butter bars, if you can believe it.

If you’re as huge a fan of homemade soup as I am, you’ll want to try my slow cooker sweet tortilla soup, slow cooker corn chowder, and easy vegetarian white bean chili.

This five bean soup mix in a jar is another delicious homemade soup and makes a fantastic neighbor gift!

Printable recipe for creamy chicken and rice soup below. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

This is my family's most requested soup recipe. It's simple, hearty and delicious! Feel free to add more milk to thin it as it cooks.

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Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups chopped celery
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 2 cups uncooked brown rice
• ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
• 1 (32-oz) carton chicken stock
• 1 ¼ cup water
• 1 cup salted butter
• ¾ cup flour
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 6 cups milk, divided
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the celery, onions, rice, bouillon, broth, and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is fully cooked. Remove from heat.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour to make a roux. Slowly add 4 cups of milk, stirring constantly. Add this and the chicken to the rice and return to stovetop over low heat.
3. Add remaining 2 cups of milk. Add white pepper and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Allow to simmer at least 30 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. Add more milk if soup gets too thick. Top with freshly ground black pepper when serving (optional).

Notes

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 542Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 512mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 23g