Believe it or not, in the 2.5 year history of this blog, I have never made a basic chicken noodle soup. Well, I almost made it this weekend until I went perusing through my pantry to see what left over ingredients I had that needed to be used. I found a half bag of wild rice mix that I had left over from this holiday rice dressing last year. It’s a really delicious mix of all sorts of wild rices and since I had kept it tightly sealed, I thought it was definitely worth using.
You don’t have to use wild rice for this recipe, although it gives a really nice texture. White or brown will certainly work in a pinch. See the step by step photos for cooking adjustments for white or brown rice.
If you don’t like creamy soups (this one isn’t super creamy), you can skip the milk mixture at the end of the recipe and use chicken broth instead. Then you’ll have yourself a delicious, clear broth chicken and rice soup. You’ve got options!
I also used the carrots and celery that I had left over from this recipe a couple of weeks ago. I just cleaned and sliced the entire bunch then froze half to use later. I was happy not to have to peel and chop today!
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Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.11)
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.56)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 lb. carrots, sliced ($0.39)
- 1/2 bunch celery, sliced ($0.79)
- 1 lb. chicken breast ($1.99)
- 1 whole bay leaf ($0.15)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- to taste cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1-2 tsp to taste salt ($0.05)
- 1 cup wild rice mix ($1.37)
- 6 cups water ($0.00)
- 1/3 bunch fresh parsley ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 cups whole milk ($1.07)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Meanwhile, dice the onion (and mince the garlic if using fresh rather than pre-minced). Add the onion and garlic to the hot oil and saute until tender (5 min).
- If using fresh carrots and celery, clean and slice them while the onions are sauteing. Add them to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes more.
- Add the chicken breast (whole), bay leaf, oregano, thyme, cracked pepper, dry rice, and 6 cups of water to the pot. Do not add salt yet. Bring the pot up to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for one hour.
- Near the end of the hour, begin to make the creamy milk mixture. In a small pot, melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. When it is fully melted, whisk in 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour. Cook and stir the butter and flour mixture for two minutes. Whisk in the milk and allow it to come up to a simmer, whisking occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Once it reaches a simmer, it will have thickened slightly.
- Carefully remove the chicken pieces from the soup and shred or dice with a knife and fork. Rinse and chop the parsley. Add the parsley and the thickened milk mixture to the soup. Season with salt to taste. I used about 2 tsp of salt, but start with a little and add more as needed. I also added a touch more pepper at this point. Serve hot!
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start by dicing the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the diced onion and minced garlic over medium heat until softened and transparent.
‘Till it looks like this.
Most recipes that I use only require half of the smallest bag or bunch of carrots and celery that you can buy at the store. I never let the other half get limp and moldy in my fridge. I just prep the entire bunch and freeze half so that I’ll have some for next time. I added these to the pot straight out of the freezer and just cooked it for about five minutes or until they were fully thawed.
Once the carrots and celery are thawed (they don’t have to be tender because they’ll boil for quite a while), add the raw chicken and herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme, cracked pepper).
This is the wild rice mix that I had in my pantry. I used one cup. Feel free to use any type of rice. Wild rice has a thicker hull so it can withstand one hour of boiling, but if you’re using a regular rice variety, add it a half hour into the simmer step.
Add the dry wild rice mix and 6 cups of water. Bring the whole pot up to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for one hour.
After an hour, the rice will be cooked and the chicken will be tender.
Carefully remove the chicken pieces from the pot and cut/shred into bite sized pieces.
It will be hot, so use a fork and knife. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
Rinse and chop the parsley. Add it to the pot as well.
At this point you have a really great chicken, rice, and vegetable soup. You can stop here, season with salt, and enjoy it as is. Or, you can go on to the next step and make the creamy milk base.
To begin the cream sauce, melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour. Stir and cook this mixture over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
Whisk in the milk and allow the mixture to come up to a simmer over medium-high heat. Whisk occasionally as it heats to prevent the bottom from scorching. Once it reaches a simmer, it will be slightly thickened.
Pour the thickened milk mixture into the soup. Stir to combine.
Season the soup with salt to your liking. Start with a 1/2 tsp of salt, stir, taste, and add more as needed. I added close to 2 tsp before it reached a point that I liked. I also added a little more pepper. A little cayenne wouldn’t be too bad either!
This is a really hearty soup that is everything you need in one pot! Protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates!
Can I make this with orzo pasta instead of rice?
That should be fine! You wont need to cook it as long so just keep that in mind!
This soup is delicious! To make it vegan, I leave out the chicken and add a can of coconut milk instead of the butter and flour. I also add 2 Tablespoons of the vegetable BTB mix with 6 cups of water, instead of just plain water. We love this soup, even my picky six year old eats it!
This soup is delicious. I followed the directions exactly and it turned out great.
I make soups and freeze them for lunches.
I had a craving for this kind of soup and of course I turned to trusty Budget Bytes. It is DELICIOUS. The older recipes definitely hold up. I followed instructions exactly.
This was delicious! My daughter is obsessed with the Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup and she said the broth was exactly like it.
I have made this twice now and I really enjoy it though I do make a couple of changes. I add some better than bouillon for added flavor and I like adding mushrooms too. This will be one of my soup go to’s.
I was so excited to make this. All the ingredients were on hand, including the exact same rice blend. I had some shredded, rotisserie chicken which I had planned on adding that at the end instead of the chicken breast. Well, it turns out the soup is so delicious, I was halfway through nomnomnomming my bowl of soup before I realized I had forgotten to add it!
I have following your ingredients. That soup is a super delicious; full of vegetables.
There are just two of us here, and we try to have a soup in the fridge every week. Some goes to work as lunches, some is for at home when we just don’t want to cook. This is a winner every time. I’ve made it with leftover cooked chicken, and sometimes I add some cooked yellow eyed beans and use chicken broth instead of water. I wish I could give it more stars.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I actually sub coconut milk for regular milk and it is DELICIOUS!
Excellent! I use better than bullion mixed with the 6 cups water and coconut milk instead of dairy and it is delicious.
I made this in my instant pot on medium for about 25 minutes and it turned out great!
The vegetables were still hard after cooking for an hour, so I had to throw my first attempt out. It smelled really good though, so I’m going to try again and see if I can figure out where I went wrong.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that Katie. Could have possibly been cooking too low or veggies chopped too large.
I’m a fan of fresh veggies and having them done. I use a 1 cup food chopper to make the veggies small and they cook quickly
Hi! I’m thinking about making this soup to freeze. Any reason I shouldn’t? Any problem w freezing milk?
Nope you should be good!
Yum!!! I love your recipes so much 🎉. I made this for the first time tonight and it was delicious!!! I’ve never made a soup like this before. I used my instant pot and threw in the milk after it coked the soup. So so good!!
This was so yummy! My husband loves it! I 1used chicken stock (1/2 the amount) instead of straight water and added frozen corn at the end. It tasted just like canned corn chowder, except way better! I used my Instant Pot to make the soup, it took 15 minutes to cook and everything cooked perfectly.
i love this soup! i have made it 3 times this fall and can’t get enough. i used bullion in the water and bulk wild rice from sprouts (cheaper).
i have not tried freezing but i have made it as a lunch meal prep, and it held up through friday and tasted as good as the first day. i add water and a little salt to reconstitute a bit.
i did try this in a regular stainless steel pot and a cast iron dutch i’ve, and the chicken when made in the stainless steel was not as tough. maybe the temp in the cast iron cooks it faster? not sure if the rice would cook if i did less time.
I made this pretty much as written except used almond milk, heavy cream and gluten free flour. I actually had 2lb of chicken tenders, cooked all but used half in the soup and reserved the others.
I also pureed 1/3 of the soup, without the chicken,and stirred it in with the cream milk mixture. When you puree 1/3-1/2 of the soup it makes it so good you dont need to add milk or cream, but I always do!lol I am pureeing soups because of swallowing problem for hubs and a chipped tooth for me.
I really liked how this soup cooked the chicken and it called for water not broth! Perfect for a hardy soup, economical and easy to adapt.
Hi Beth. Love your site, I’ve purchased several of your cook books for friends and family. Question, how would you modify this recipe to be “slow cooker” compatible?
Hmm, I’m afraid that would be really tricky because of the rice and the milk thickener at the end. I’d definitely need to do some testing before I could give good advice on that one. :(
My baby (bf) is sick as a dog and this was simply amazing! I added mushrooms, broccoli, more garlic, and substituted coconut flour instead of all purpose, and quinoa instead of rice (add 40 minutes in). I was worried to add the milk but it tastes great! I’m thinking of trying a non dairy milk next time but I didn’t want to mess up his very much needed chicken soup.
I’ve commented before, but I’m going to again. This soup is the best! The recipe is foul proof. Thanks!
This was so good. I made it in my instant pot with frozen chicken breasts and it turned out amazingly awesome. So simple to make and so delicious.
I don’t have carrots on hand and I’m trying to decide if it will be too bland without them. Would sweet potatoes be a good substitute?
Hmmm, I bet sweet potatoes would be good/interesting in this! I say give it a try. :)
This soup was amazing! So much better than I thought it would be. I will definitely be making it again. Thanks!
I’ve made this at least 4 times lately – a big hit. Used smoked leg quarters ($.59/lb) chopped and added late, with the milk mixture. Used chicken stock in place of water and added mushrooms, bell pepper, and okra. The okra added immense depth of flavor. I will start trying okra in other soups now, not just gumbo.
Love your website. I check it every time I’m looking for something new to try and you always come through. Thanks!
Seriously. …made this last night for dinner…so good! And it was easy. Thanks for a great recipe! 5 stars! :)
This is amazing. Made tonight for dinner!
This is a delicious recipe. I am so happy I made it for dinner last night. It was so creamy, rich and filling, just what we wanted it. I did use chicken tights instead of breast and I cooked it all using my pressure cooker. At the end I just needed to add the parsley and milk sauce and I was done. It came out really good, everything was perfect even the chicken, it was so tender that it was falling off the bone… yummy.
thanks again.
This soups looks wonderful. Can you tell me if it freezes well? I try to make soups to have on hand in the freezer for lunches and I-forgot-to-plan-for dinners.
I don’t remember if I froze any of this soup or not. From what I’ve read, I think creamy soups are supposed to not freeze as well? But I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure.
This recipe is great as is, but I recommend trying it with smoked turkey legs instead of chicken–the smokey flavor the turkey adds is wonderful :)
This came out wonderful. Creamy and flavorful. I used to buy this in a can (horrors!) but this is a thousand times better. I also froze the rest of the chicken breasts and some of the chopped celery and carrots.
Thanks for a great recipe.
I just made this tonight and it was incredible! I had to halve it to fit it in our largest pot, but I prepared the full amount of ingredients so I could make a second batch tomorrow (soooo glad I did!) Next time – because there will definitely be a next time – I’m going to try it in the slow cooker, adding in the cream sauce at the end. We ate ours with French bread, and it looks like we’ll get six servings using it as the entree. Thank you for such a delicious, simple recipe!
Hey! I am just curious if the serving size for this is one cup? Just trying to portion it out right for the nutritional info I have on it =]
Your blog rocks, and has helped me get my fiance to eat at home more often!
Hi, sorry, that recipe is pretty old and it doesn’t look like I measured the volume or the volume measure of the servings got lost when I transferred to my new format. :(
Beth, I love Budget Bytes! Thank you for taking the time to post so many yummy & affordable recipes. I have a question about the Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup; if I were to substitute precooked shredded turkey for the raw chicken breast, do I need to shorten the cooking time? I am afraid that if I cook the soup for an hour, the turkey will be overdone. What do you think? Thanks again!
Yep, in that case you only need to simmer it as long as needed to make the rice tender. :)
Beth, first off, your blog has been saving my budgeting life! We are loving trying out new recipes that won’t break the bank. I’m wanting to make this one this week and I was just wondering if I could substitute almond milk for the whole milk. We’ve got some milk intolerance over here. :) Thanks!
Hmmm, I think it will definitely be less creamy, but if you’re used to almond milk the difference might not be as noticeable to you. I think it’s one of those things you’ll just have to try. I would portion out a bowl of the soup, then try adding some of the almond milk to see how it affects the flavor.
This was an awesome soup! I followed the recipe for the most part, but used boneless chicken thighs, more spices than called for and added the cayenne as Beth suggested. I could only find a long grain rice & wild rice blend, but it ended up working out and the rice didn’t deteriorate. Delicious!
how would you adapt this to a slow cooker please?
Where in the US do you find 1 lb of chicken for $1.99?!? I watch the sale ads to be able to buy it for $4.99/lb.
My grocery store puts chicken breasts on sale for $1.99/lb. about once a month or every other month, so I always stock up when they do. :(
Two years late, I know but – yeah. Meat around here is INCREDIBLY expensive, but now and again either Safeway or the Grocery Outlet have chicken breasts for $1.99/lb. I always buy like, 10-12 pounds when it’s on sale like that, and just separate and freeze it to use over the course of the month.
This soup is fantastic!
This looks superb! I’ve never made soup before and I was wondering, if I wanted to put sliced almonds in, at what point should I include them? I really like the added crunchiness.
I’d probably do it just before serving so they don’t soften up in the hot liquid, although I’ve never eaten soup with almonds in it before. :)
Thanks! It might be a Minnesota thing…..
This looks amazing. Any ideas on what could be used in place of whole milk? I am lactose intolerant.
Thanks!
Hmm, if you like coconut, you could try using some coconut cream. Coconut and chicken go great together and it will have a slightly Thai flavor to it. :)
This is my new favourite comfort food. Burnt the garlic on the first attempt but so glad I persevered! Also, 1/4tsp of cayenne pepper was an inspired addition – very nice little kick :)
Love this website, just discovered it a week ago and have been hooked trying tons of recipes from this blog! So similar to my style of cooking with ingredients and such. So perfect. Thank you. Hidden gem. What I have waiting/looking for!!!
This was delicious! Thanks! I substituted chicken stock for the water because I had some in the fridge, soy milk for cow’s and Earth Balance for butter. I poached the chicken first, in the chicken stock, then added cooked shredded chicken and 6 cups of stock to the rest of the ingredients. Who needs canned soup when you have this?!
I just made this today with one change, I used chicken stock in place of the water and it is DELICIOUS. Even my picky husband loves it.
I have yet to make something here we didn’t love.
This is one of my new most favorite soups. First time I made it with black rice, and well, the soup (and chicken) turned purple! But was delicious. Second time I made it with brown rice, but didn’t reread the intro, so I cooked the rice the whole hour. It wasn’t very “soupy” – kind of way too thick, so I just added a little more broth and it turned out just fine. Just had some leftovers for lunch and it’s definitely an A+ soup!
It was a little bland for me at first, so then I made it with half water half chicken broth. Much more like a chicken soup! Love it! :)
I made this soup vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using mushroom bouillon cubes and dried mushrooms soaked and chopped. I also made the creamy sauce with vegan becel and soy milk.
Delicious! This will be in our soup rotation! Thanks for posting.
This was an excellent way to stretch out a half pound of leftover chicken I had. I froze the extra carrots, celery, and parsley. I feel so frugal, and so full!
This soup was vary tasty. I did change the rice up a little bit it was “UNCLE BEN’S® LONG GRAIN & WILD RICE” I also used the seasoning packet it came with. Turned out wonderful! Looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow.
This is my FAVORITE chicken and wild rice soup recipe! I made it for the third time on Sunday! :)
I have made this receipe using turkey instead. The same instructions except the turkey will have to be cooked for at least one hour. I used white rice instead of the wild thats all I had including the turkey when i read this. The best receipe ever! Thanks for the post. Keep up the good work!
well so far i’ve made 4 of your recipes and i’m thoroughly enjoying your blog! i’m especially happy with this one because i didn’t have to buy anything from the store ; )
absolutely delicious!! Just like everything else that I have tried from your blog. Thank you.
just happened upon your blog and so glad i did! cant wait to try some of your recipes!
I love this recipe- I added a bit of kale to it to make it even more nutritious! What a great soup to tuck away for cold winter nights! Thanks!
Kimberly, I think freezing would work great with this recipe. If the broth gets a little watery on top upon thawing, it can just be stirred back in.
Beth, what do you think about freezing & reheating this soup? Thanks! Love your blog!
just made this soup and its really really good. Especially for a cold day like this.
I just made this recipe and its AMAZING! I just discovered your blog a few days ago and I wanted to make everything I saw, lol. I chose this recipe to be my first and I LOVE it. This is my go-to recipe blog from now on. Thanks so much for sharing. :-)
Wow! Your recipe looks astonishing! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Emily – Well, frozen vegetables will *always* be softer than fresh because when they freeze, the water inside each cell expands and bursts the cell wall. For me, I don’t mind that they’re kind of soft if I’m using them in soups and stuff because fresh veggies will soften somewhat as they cook anyway. But if they were *total* mush, I’m really not sure… Thawing them before hand should not make a difference. I don’t have any other ideas, though :(
I had frozen some uncooked carrots and celery leftover from one one of your other recipes, and I pulled them out of the freezer today for this one. Unfortunately, they turned immediately from frozen to mush. Any idea what went wrong? It seems like you have used this technique extensively and very successfully in the past.
More details: I froze the veggies a day after two after buying them, I had the veggies in the freezer for about three weeks, and I briefly put them in the fridge before dumping them in the pot (about a half hour). Could that have done it? Is there anything else that would impact this? I’d love to hear thoughts from anyone who has had success with freezing raw veggies. Thanks!
This was awesome! I just finished making it. The only thing I did differently was at the end, I felt like the flavor needed more depth than mere salt could provide, so I added chicken bouillon granules to taste. Also, I only needed 1 chicken breast and I think that was plenty of meat. I will most certainly make this again!!! Thank ye!
just made this tonight for my boyfriend and I and we we really enjoyed it! He added some sour cream and I squirted a wedge of lemon into it for some tanginess and it was so yummy! I’m new to your blog but I’m really diggin’ it!
This soup turned out great! I added mushrooms just because and they were a nice addition. Love your recipes…spicy pickled carrots and rice pudding have become favorites in our family!
This looks delicious! I am going to give this one a try for sure!
this looks great! YUM, i would add it some mascarpone to thicken it.. although that makes it more luxurious :). this looks quite healthy and yum, perfect for winter comfort food at home. @krysta, I love soups with evaporated milk, in Singapore the signature fish head/slices noodles soup is made with fish stock and evaporated milk.
Yum. This looks great. Thank you.
I love this soup – I make it in the crock-pot and stir in a can of evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed) at the end just before serving. I like having a stove-top option though – thanks for sharing!
I can’t wait to try this soup. Sounds super easy & tasty!
Love your blog! It’s saved me from going out to dinner since I’ve been super busy since I started working a second job. My family and I am glad to be eating healthier and saving money : )
We’re having a broth-based soup tomorrow night. Not totally sure what yet, but I’m using the chicken Monday night and frying up some tofu for the soup. The rest will come later, I’m sure.
I’ve been totally craving chicken & rice soup!!!! Thia seals the deal. It’s whats for dinner tonight.