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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:
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!
Crockpot Hearty Chicken and Rice Soup
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 444 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup chopped, celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped sage
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups dry basmati rice
- 3 cups chopped fresh baby spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, mix the butter, chicken, onions, shallots, celery, and carrots. Pour over the broth. Add the thyme, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Add the parmesan rind, if using. 2. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-4 hours. Shred the chicken,3. 20 minutes before serving, stir in the rice, spinach, parsley, and lemon juice. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is fluffy. Alternatively, you can cook the rice separately and add to the soup before serving.4. Ladle the soup and rice into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
- Stove
- 1. In a Dutch/oven, mix the butter, chicken, onions, shallots, celery, and carrots. Pour over the broth. Add the thyme, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Add the parmesan rind, if using. 2. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or up to a few hours. Shred the chicken.3. 20 minutes before serving, stir in the rice, spinach, parsley, and lemon juice. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is fluffy. Alternatively, you can cook the rice separately and add to the soup before serving.4. Ladle the soup and rice into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on January 29, 2025
Very buttery & needed significantly different time with rice. Ended up taking out of crockpot and cooked on stovetop to finish & added additional lemon juice to cut butter
Hi Abbey,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!
Hi! I made the soup base yesterday, and will serve it today. If cooking rice separately, then putting in bowl and ladling soup on top to serve, should I add the spinach and lemon juice while reheating the soup? And, the fresh parsley is for topping in serving bowls, correct? I tasted it once cooked and the flavor is so good! Looking forward to serving with crusty bread!
Hi Jo,
Yes, that is correct! Thanks for trying this recipe! I hope you love it:)
Definitely add the COOKED rice to your bowl. Made the mistake of adding dry rice to the crockpot and it took FOREVER to cook. Once it did cook all the way it soaked up a ton of broth. But overall yummy soup 🤤
Hey Murielle,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your notes, so glad it was enjoyed!
Have a great Sunday!☃️
Would you be able to adjust this recipe for an instant pot?
Hi Emma,
I’m sure it would work, but I haven’t tested it so I don’t have the exact instructions. For best results, I would do the crockpot or stove top method.
I hope you love this recipe!
Perfect for a cold winter day. I read prior comments and cooked rice before adding to crockpot. Also used dried herbs and that worked well. Used 1.5lb chicken thighs will use more next time. My boys really like it so will make again!
Hey Deanna,
Happy Monday! Big thanks for making this recipe and your comment, I love that it turned out well for you!
I love that I can come to your site and find a recipe to make for dinner with items I already have in the pantry. This recipe was good. Perfect proportions. I used noodles instead of rice, and added Juniper berries and bay leaves. It’s winter so no fresh herbs. Thanks for having a classic. Your recipes never let me down. 🙂
Hey Tinessa,
Fantastic! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well for you!
Have the best weekend!
If cooking the rice separately, does the spinach, parsley and lemon juice go into the Crock Pot or with the rice?
How does the stand up for leftovers — particularly with the rice incorporated into the Crock Pot?
Hi Katie,
I would still add the spinach, parsley, and lemon juice as directed. For leftovers, the rice will definitely soak up the broth so if you plan to have leftovers, I would keep the rice separate. I hope this helps!
Have a great Friday!
OUTSTANDING! So amazing. This soup makes me want a heavy duty crockpot so I can make double the amount of my fiest bath. I did everything except the Parmesean, but only because I forgot to buy it. Hahaha. I will be adding it next time. Oh, and I used Kale instead of spinach and TOTALLY reccomend.
Hey Ashley,
Wonderful! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well! Happy Friday!
Could I add cooked rice at the end instead of cooking in the soup?
Thank you
Kristen
Hey Kristen,
Totally, that would also work nicely for you. Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it!
Delicious
Thanks so much, Tara!!
Definitely do not try to cook the rice in the slow cooker for 20 minutes. I am so upset right now and disappointed…i was looking forward to this for dinner so much and followed the recipe exactly (cooked on low for 5 hours, in the 4-6 hour range) and I put the basmati rice in 20 minutes before dinner was supposed to be ready. I’m writing this an hour later, it’s STILL somehow not ready and we’re all starving. Huge regret of not cooking the rice separately. I even turned the slow cooker on high for the last 25 minutes, and the rice is still somehow crunchy. If you’re making this don’t frustrate yourself by trying to cook the rice in the slow cooker. I thought it would be easier, but had I cooked it separately we all would have eaten a hour ago. Sincerely, Hangry.
Hi there,
I’m very sorry to hear that the rice didn’t cook for you, I have never had this issue before. An hour seems like a very long time, is your crockpot off? Again, my apologies.
Ah this is happening to me currently!! Wish I saw this earlier lol
I’m also having the same issue! The cooking time needs to be adjusted if you add the rice to the crockpot. Honestly, it would have been more successful adding the rice from the beginning and letting it cook the entire time.
I really enjoyed the flavors of this soup. I’m hoping to make it again but with preparing the rice ahead of time. Would you adjust the volume of broth added if cooking rice separately? Thanks!
Hi Hannah,
Happy Thursday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was a winner! I would keep it the same unless you prefer a less brothy soup. x
My fiancée and I really enjoyed this soup! Super easy to prep and leave cooking on the stovetop.
Hey Andy,
Thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you! Thanks for giving it a try!
I love it! My first time making homemade soup and it turned out great! I used brown rice so I had to cook it longer and for me, for my crock pot, it took 7 hours total on high, with about 2 hours for the rice. Had to omit a few veggies since where I live they are hard to find so I just put a little extra of the others but still turned out great! Definitely making this again! 🙂
Hey Jasmin,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! Happy Friday!!
This was the worse soup I’ve ever made. There is WAY too much onion, and I didn’t even include shallots based off of the reviews. The cooking time is also off. I don’t think anyone tried this soup before posting the recipe.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!