Crock Pot Chicken Rice Soup
Crock Pot Chicken Rice Soup is a simple and delicious comforting soup that is perfect for a cold winter night. Filled with simple and wholesome ingredients, this easy soup is hearty AND healthy.
I'm not sure there are any real healing powers in chicken soup, but this Crock Pot Chicken Rice Soup it is definitely comforting! This Slow Cooker Chicken Rice Soup is not only incredibly easy but definitely checks the "comfort food" box. Bonus: I made ours with chicken bone broth that I had in the freezer, which gave it a boost of nutrients!
Looking for other chicken soup recipes? Check out my Creamy Tortilla Soup, Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup, and Creamy Chicken Potato Soup!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy - this is a slow cooker recipe that you literally dump all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it do its magic all day long.
- Simply Ingredients - there are no fancy or hard to find ingredients in this recipe!
- Hearty and Healthy - this chicken rice soup is not only hearty and filling, but it's healthy and full of flavor. The addition of brown rice ensures you stay full for hours after eating it!
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs - I love using chicken thighs in slow cooker recipes because they are economical and stay super tender even after cooking all day long.
Vegetables - this recipe uses classic chicken soup vegetables including carrots, celery, and onion.
Chicken Broth
Brown Rice - brown rice is able to tolerate cooking all day, compared to white rice which would get a little too mushy. It is also rich in dietary fiber and is also high in magnesium.
Garlic - I love adding a ton of garlic for not only the flavor, but the health benefits. Garlic has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which supports your immune system. That's important during cold and flu season!
Dried Herbs - I also add dried thyme and a bay leaf to this soup for extra flavor.
Refer to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients.
Variations
Chicken Breasts - if you're not a fan of chicken thighs, you can use chicken breasts or chicken tenders instead of chicken thighs. In addition, you can use bone-in and skin-on chicken if you like, just be sure to remove it when shredding the chicken at the end.
Bone Broth - As mentioned, I often use chicken bone broth in this which makes it super rich and nourishing. If you're interested in making your own chicken bone broth, check out my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth! You can also use low sodium chicken broth if you are concerned about your sodium intake.
White Rice - if you don't have brown rice, you can use long grain white rice instead. However, I would change the cooking method a little. Cook the rice separately and add it at the end, and cut back on the broth by 1 to 2 cups, OR just add the white rice about an hour before the cooking time is up.
More Vegetables - if you're craving an even more vegetable-filled soup, you can add more! Diced zucchini, sweet potatoes, chopped kale, peas, and chopped spinach would all work.
Lemon - add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end for a bright and zippy lemony flavor!
Different Herbs - I often add poultry seasoning to my chicken noodle soup, which would also work well in this soup.
Stovetop Method - you can also make this on the stove if you prefer. Refer to the recipe card notes for instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Photo 1. Chop up the onion, carrots, and celery into small bite-sized pieces.
Photo 2. Add the chopped vegetables, chicken, dried thyme, garlic, bay leaf, brown rice, and chicken broth to a slow cooker. Season with salt and black pepper.
Photo 3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Photo 4. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker.
Photo 5. Shred the chicken with two forks.
Photo 6. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Serve and enjoy! I highly suggest serving it with oyster or saltine crackers.
If you love slow cooker recipes, check out my Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup!
Expert Tips
Storage - leftover soup should cooled be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Freeze - Let the soup cool and then transfer to a freezer safe, airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat - you can reheat this soup in the microwave or on the stovetop. You may need to add more broth (water works, too), as sometimes the rice will soak up the broth once it has been chilled.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, all of the ingredients in this soup are gluten-free, making this entire soup gluten friendly.
You can simply place it in a microwave safe bowl to reheat, and heat for 90-120 seconds or place it on the stovetop in a small pot or saucepan and reheat over medium-low heat.
Yes! That's exactly what you do in this recipe and, using brown rice, it cooks beautifully .
Other Slow Cooker Recipes to Consider
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #greensnchocolate.
Crock Pot Chicken Rice Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 small white onion diced
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- fresh parsley, chopped, for topping
Instructions
- In your slow cooker, add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken thighs, brown rice, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.
- Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until rice is tender.
- Remove the chicken thighs and shred with two forks. Return to the crock pot and stir in to combine.
- Serve topped with fresh parsley along with saltine crackers or fresh bread.
- Enjoy!
Iam loving this, and thanks for sharing
Can I make this with chicken breasts?
Yes!
Regular rice or minute rice 😉
Hi! I use regular brown rice 🙂
Hi! Have you tried this recipe (freezer to slow cooker method) using canned chicken instead? I'm worried if I add canned chicken to the slow cooker it will dry out before the rice is cooked. But if it gets added toward the end, there could be less of a chicken flavor in the soup? Thank you in advance!
Hi Kayla, I haven't tried this. I think if you add the chicken towards the end, it would still get great chicken flavor from the chicken broth. If you try it, let me know...I'd love to hear how it goes!
I used the white rice instead of the brown rice. I cooked it separately and included it in the crockpot the last hour. My question is i cooked one cup of white rice and it actually turned out to be looking like two cups. Do I measure one cup of cooked rice or actually put all of the cooked rice in. It just looks like a lot of rice.
Yes it is 1 cup of uncooked rice.