Go Back
–+ servings
David Murphy

Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

This slow cooker chicken and rice soup is creamy, cozy, and loaded with tender chicken, rice, vegetables, and comforting flavor. It’s the kind of easy crockpot dinner everybody wants on chilly nights.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Calories: 535

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 stalks of celery sliced
  • 3 carrots peeled and diced
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 9 cups chicken broth
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup uncooked rice

Instructions
 

  1. To your slow cooker add your chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, bouillon cube, onion powder, garlic powder, garlic and butter.
  2. Cook on low for 5 hours or high for 3 hours until chicken is tender.
  3. Remove the chicken, shred and add it back to the slow cooker. 
  4. Stir in the 1 cup of uncooked rice.
  5. Cover and cook another hour until rice is tender.

Nutrition

Calories: 535kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 44gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 2526mgPotassium: 999mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 8064IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 2mg

Notes

Pro Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

  • Low and slow beats fast every time: If your schedule allows it, always go with the LOW setting. Five to six hours on LOW gives the chicken more time to become genuinely tender and lets the broth develop more depth than the HIGH setting does.
  • Add fresh herbs at the end: A bay leaf added at the start adds background flavor, but fresh parsley, fresh dill, or a squeeze of lemon juice stirred in right before serving brightens the whole bowl. Dried herbs that cook for hours can taste flat by the time you serve.
  • Don't oversalt too early: The bouillon cube and broth both contain sodium. Taste the soup after the rice has cooked and adjust then - you'll likely need less salt than you think.
  • Store rice separately if freezing: Cooked rice in frozen soup turns mushy when thawed. If making this for the freezer, freeze the soup base without the rice and cook fresh rice when you reheat. Five extra minutes, completely different texture.
  • Make it creamy: Stir in a cup of heavy cream or half-and-half in the last 20 minutes for a creamy chicken and rice soup version. A can of cream of chicken soup stirred in at the same time gives you an even thicker, creamier result.
  • A splash of lemon at the end: A teaspoon or two of fresh lemon juice stirred in right before serving lifts the whole broth and makes every flavor taste brighter. One of those finishing moves that makes people ask what you did differently.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!