Make this Creamy Chicken and Brown Rice Soup for the most comforting meal. You can make this creamy chicken and rice soup on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot.
One-pot
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: The pan-searing technique for juicy chicken with golden edges
Worth It: It builds a freezer stash for stress-free meals later
Bonus: Only one pot to clean
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Cozy favorite – I love traditional chicken soup. It is my ultimate comfort food. This creamy chicken soup is perfect on a cold winter night. There is something about the soft brown rice that is even more comforting than noodles.
- Gluten free twist – Rather than noodles, any kind of rice is an awesome gluten free substitute in chicken soup.
- Pantry Meal – For this recipe I chose to use brown rice because it is something I always have on hand in my pantry. I used a can of coconut milk to make this creamy soup, but do not worry there is no coconut-y taste.
Can you make this soup in a slow cooker?
Yes you can make this creamy chicken and brown rice soup in a slow cooker or crockpot. It will increase your cooking time, but it is absolutely delicious. Sear the chicken and sauté the onions, celery and carrots in a medium saucepan on the stove top.
Place the rest of the ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Shred the chicken and stir it back into the soup.
Serving Suggestions
To me, there is nothing better than a bowl of soup and a delicious piece of bread. This soup would be delicious with this overnight bread recipe.
I also love serving this soup with a salad, like kale cranberry quinoa salad or Italian chopped salad. It would be great on the side of a sandwich or no bread turkey club.
Ingredients
- Butter or ghee – you can use whatever you prefer here. Olive oil would also work.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – I love chicken thighs in this recipe, because they create a really tender bite
- Salt, pepper, dried parsley, garlic powder – This spice mixture is all you need for a delicious soup, but you can add any you want. Thyme or Italian seasoning would also be delicious.
- Yellow onion, carrots, celery – This combination of vegetables creates the mire poix that is the base for your deliciously creamy chicken and rice soup. You could also add some cloves garlic as well
- Brown rice – I used brown rice, but you could use whatever rice you have on hand
- Coconut milk – I keep coconut milk in my pantry to make this an easy pantry meal, but you can use any milk
- Chicken broth or chicken stock – you can make your own or buy store bought. Low-sodium chicken broth works well for this soup
Ingredient substitutions
There are many ways to alter this creamy chicken and rice soup. You can replace the coconut milk with heavy cream or regular whole milk. You can even use a different plant based milk, but make sure it is a higher fat option like cashew milk.
If you do not like chicken thighs you can replace them with chicken breasts. Feel free to use boneless or bone in chicken. Leftover chicken from a store bought rotisserie chicken also works well for this recipe in a pinch!
Turn this into a creamy chicken wild rice soup recipe by replacing the brown rice with wild rice. You may need to simmer the soup for longer because wild rice can take longer to cook. Also, feel free to use long grain white rice or jasmine rice in place of brown rice.
If you do not need this recipe to be gluten free, you could add a bit of all purpose flour to thicken the liquid a bit and make it even creamier.
Looking for a classic chicken soup recipe? Try this chicken soup for a cold. It has lemon, ginger and turmeric to help you feel better when you are sick.
How to make
Step 1: Sear chicken thighs and saute veggies
To begin, dice onion, carrot and celery. Then, mix salt, pepper, dried parsley and garlic powder in a small mixing bowl.
Next, season chicken thighs on all sides with seasoning mixture. Heat ghee or melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Then, add chicken thighs to the pot and sear for 2 minutes each side. Remove the chicken from the pot, add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot and reduce the heat to medium heat.
Next, saute the veggies for 5 minutes tossing frequently.
Step 2: Boil and simmer soup
Then, add the seared chicken thighs back into the pot and whisk in the chicken broth, coconut milk, brown rice. Increase the heat under the soup to high and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for a total time of 50 minutes.
Step 3: Shred chicken thighs and serve
Then, after 50 minutes, turn the heat off and remove the chicken thighs from the pot. Shred the cooked chicken thighs with forks and return them to the pot.
Finally, allow the soup to cool slightly and serve in small bowls!
Soup Garnishes
Serve this creamy chicken and rice soup with garnishes that enhance the flavor! My favorite garnishes are freshly grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest, cracked black pepper, and fresh parsley.
I also like to serve this soup with bread. Sometimes thats a hunk of a baguette or sometimes its a slice of my no knead focaccia bread.
Storage, Freezing and reheating
Once prepared allow the creamy chicken rice soup to cool completely. Then, transfer to airtight containers. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze this soup in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. I like to store it in individual servings so that I can defrost them one at a time.
Souper cubes are perfect for storing the soup in individual portions. Reheat this creamy chicken soup in the microwave or on the stove top over medium-low heat with a little extra chicken broth.
Check out these other soup recipes!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Creamy Chicken and Brown Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1.5 cups diced carrots
- 1.5 cups diced celery
- 3/4 cup dry brown rice
- 1 14oz can of coconut milk
- 4 cups chicken broth
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Dice onion, carrot and celery
- Mix salt, pepper, dried parsley and garlic powder in a small mixing bowl
- Season chicken thighs on all sides with seasoning mixture
- Heat ghee or butter in a large pot over medium-high heat
- Add chicken thighs to the pot and sear for 2 minutes each side
- Remove the chicken from the pot, add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot and reduce the heat to medium
- Saute the veggies for 5 minutes tossing frequently
- Add the seared chicken thighs back into the pot along with the chicken broth, coconut milk, brown rice
- Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 50 minutes
- After 50 minutes turn the heat off and remove the chicken thighs from the pot
- Shred the chicken thighs and return them to the pot
- Serve the soup with fresh cracked black pepper and fresh parsley
Instant Pot Instructions ** This will only fit into an 8qt instant pot. If you have a 6qt Instant pot please reduce the size of the recipe by cutting back to 1/2 cup of rice and 3 cups chicken broth.
- Dice onion, carrot and celery
- Mix salt, pepper, dried parsley and garlic powder in a small mixing bowl
- Season chicken thighs on all sides with seasoning mixture
- Turn the Instant Pot on to saute and melt ghee or butter
- Add chicken thighs to the pot and sear for 2 minutes each side
- Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and add the onion, celery and carrots to the Instant Pot
- Saute the veggies for 5 minutes tossing frequently
- Add the seared chicken thighs back into the Instant Pot along with the chicken broth, coconut milk, brown rice
- Set the Instant Pot to Manual/high pressure for 15 minutes
- Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure and then cook for 15 minutes
- When the Instant Pot beeps, immediately release pressure and remove the lid
- Remove the chicken thighs from the Instant Pot
- Shred the chicken thighs and return them to the Instant Pot
- Serve the soup with fresh cracked black pepper and fresh parsley
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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