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Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe

5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Yield 9 cups (4 servings)
Category Dinner, Soup
Cuisine Amercican

Description

Learn how to whip up a delicious lemon chicken rice soup in no time using chicken thighs, vegetables, and jasmine rice for a quick and satisfying meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 cup long-grain rice, such as jasmine, rinsed
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • cup chopped fresh dill
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar

Instructions

  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs with kosher salt.
  • Once oil is shimmering, add thighs, skin side down in pot, and cook, without moving, until skin is deeply golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Flip and cook 2 more minutes; transfer thicken to a plate.
  • Reduce heat to medium and stir in 1 cup rinsed rice, cook 2 minutes. Add 1 cup carrots, 1 cup celery, 1 cup onion and 3 chopped cloves garlic; season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, remove and discard chicken skin.
  • Add 8 cups broth and browned chicken (and any accumulated juices) to pot, bring to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a bowl and remove pot from heat.
  • Once chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred meat into small pieces using two forks; discard bones.
  • Add shredded chicken, 2 cups peas, ⅓ cup dill and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Video

Notes

You can get this on the table, start to finish, in 40 minutes. To do this, starch browning the chicken thighs before prepping anything else. While those are browning, prep the veggies and rinse the rice—no wasted time!
For an extra-lemony soup, zest the lemon before juicing it and top each serving with a bit of lemon zest. 
Storage: Store chicken and rice soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat the soup over low heat just until heated through.
For longer storage: transfer the soup to zipper-lock freezer bags, layer on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer. Once solid, remove the baking sheet and stack, layer or "file" the soup bags in the freezer. Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator before reheating and serving.
Chicken thighs: Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are essential for this soup. Boneless and skinless won't work as well, but if you do use them, skip the browning process at the beginning of the recipe and add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil.
Dice the raw chicken thighs, add them to the soup and simmer for about 5 minutes until cooked through. 
Better than Bouillon is one of the most effective and convenient ingredients you can keep on hand for quick soups. We like the Roasted Chicken Base and the Roasted Beef Base

Nutrition

Serving: 21/2 cupsCalories: 480kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 33gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 885mgFiber: 7gSugar: 6g
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