Crockpot Hearty Chicken and Rice Soup.

Crockpot Hearty Chicken and Rice Soup. The perfect comfort food. Slow-cooked chicken and vegetables with fresh herbs, lemon, and rice. It’s warming, hearty, full of flavor, and simple to make. We love to add grated parmesan cheese and parsley on top, plus bread on the side for dipping. Totally delicious!

Something my mom always made was chicken soup (and frozen potstickers). She adores just about any bowl of soup. One thing she always used to do that I thought was so unique was stir a cup or so of instant rice into the soup just before serving.

One thing about my mom? She was the queen of the instant rice. She’d always have it on hand for an easy side. But more times than not, she’d stir the rice into soup. And then? She’d top it with popcorn.

Another thing about my mom? She loves a bowl of homemade popcorn more than anyone you’ll meet.

And this is how she made her bowls of chicken soup. By the end of the bowl, the rice usually soaked up much of the broth, but it’s actually so delicious!

I’ve made a lot of chicken and wild rice soup before, but I haven’t shared a classic version like the one my mom would make.

When the temps got really cold during Christmas week, I made this soup in the crockpot. I’ve been loving my crockpot this winter!

I started the base the night before I planned to serve this. Then I just let it cook, low and slow, all day long. It turned out so yummy that my family ate up bowl after bowl!

And, of course, my mom fully loves this recipe the most!

These are the details

Ingredients

• salted butter
• chicken breast and or chicken thighs – I use boneless, skinless
• yellow onions
• shallots
• garlic
• celery
• carrots
• fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary – if fresh is unavailable, dry spices work!
• dried bay leaf
• broth – I use bone broth
• dry basmati rice – any dry white rice will work
• baby spinach
• lemon juice
• fresh parsley

Special Tools

You need a crockpot for this recipe. Or you can use the stove-top cooking method.

Steps

Step 1: add ingredients to the crockpot

In the bowl of your crockpot, layer the butter, chicken, onion, shallots, garlic, celery, and carrots. Pour over the broth.

Now add the thyme, sage, rosemary, and bay leaf. Season with lots of salt and black pepper. If you have one handy, add a parmesan rind for an even more flavorful broth!

Note that the order really doesn’t matter; just get everything into the crockpot!

Step 2: start the cooking!

Now cover the crockpot and slow cook. You can cook on high for just a couple of hours or on low all day long.

And again, if you don’t have a crockpot, you can easily make this on the stove.

Step 3: add the rice

The very final step is adding the dry rice. It’s important not to add the rice until you are ready to serve. If you add the rice too early, it will soak up all of the broth. The dish will become souper rice (my mom used to make this when she was in middle school!). It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not what we’re looking for with this recipe!

If you want to be able to serve this at any time you like, just cook the rice separately, then stir it into the soup when ready. Either way is just fine!

Add the spinach and lemon juice with the rice as well.

Step 4: serve

Ladle the rice and soup into bowls. You can top it simply with parsley, or add some parmesan, which is, of course, is so yummy!

Make sure to serve with bread, or you can try what my mom loves – add some popcorn on top! It’s fun!

A note about leftovers

Lastly, if you’re planning to enjoy this soup leftover, just note that the rice will soak up a lot of broth. You can do what I mentioned above and not add the rice directly to the soup when cooking, or you can add additional broth to the soup when rewarming.

Looking for other soup recipes? Here are my favorites: 

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Brie and Cheddar Apple Beer Soup

Creamy Gnocchi Soup with Rosemary Bacon

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup

Healthier Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Vegetable Soup

Pumpkin Beer Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Hearty Chicken and Rice Soup, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!