Chicken Vegetable and Rice Soup

Sautéing the chicken first makes this Chicken Vegetable and Rice Soup extra flavorful. It is also nutritious and packed with vegetables, hitting the spot any time of the year.

Update: This post was originally published in 2020. Most of the original content is below, but it has been updated with an added Recipe Highlight section and additional images. Minor changes have been made to make the soup even more flavorful than before!

Disclaimer: The new images do not include corn, but feel free to add it to your soup!

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Happy New Year!! I hope you had a great start to 2020! I’ll have to get used to seeing and writing that number. It seems so futuristic, don’t you think?

My first blog recipe of the year is this Chicken Vegetable and Rice Soup. Chicken soup is always satisfying when you need a simple, healthy, and comforting meal.

This particular recipe came to me one day by happenstance. I had a container of leftover sautéed chicken pieces that I did not want to waste. As I was craving chicken soup that day, I decided to incorporate the chicken into the soup. After sampling the first spoonful, I knew I had a winner! The flavor of the preseasoned, pan-seared chicken permeated my mouth and was a standout. It was so flavorful and so good!!

Recipe highlights:

• Brown chicken pieces in batches in a skillet. Set aside.
• Cook carrots covered for 4 minutes in a soup pot. Add celery, green beans, and onions. Cook for two minutes.
• Next, add garlic, spices, and Italian seasoning. Cook for two minutes.
• Add chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
• When the broth boils, add rice. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, covered.
• Finally, return the chicken to the pan. Add corn. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve.
• Refer to the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
  

Don’t crowd the chicken while sautéing for optimal flavor and searing. Doing so will cause too much liquid to release, hindering a good sear and browning. Sauté the chicken in a really large pan or in two batches for best results. 

After the photoshoot for this post, I sent my daughter home with some of the soup. Although she couldn’t eat it since she turned vegetarian on me (sigh), her boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed it. He loved how hearty and satisfying it was and appreciated the extra veggies.

Who doesn’t love a recipe that allows the use of leftovers? This one does just that. I find this soup is most flavorful using leftover sautéd chicken. It has had time to absorb the seasoning and seal in the flavor. The next time you pan-sear chicken for a recipe, make extra to use for chicken soup. But, if precooked chicken is unavailable, freshly sautéed chicken makes a huge difference in intensifying the soup’s flavor.

I love the versatility of this soup. The vegetables can easily be swapped out. Feel free to use whatever combination of vegetables you have on hand. It’s great for emptying out the vegetable bin. Adjust cooking times according to the firmness or softness of the veggies. In a pinch, frozen vegetables are fine. I prefer fresh.

See you back here next time!!

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• 12-inch skillet for browning the chicken. This is non-stick and is PFOA-free.
• This stainless steel 5-quart soup pot has a heavy bottom base and is suitable for all cooktops, including induction.
• Slotted spatula—this has a thin edge design to slide under food easily.
• Sodium-Free Chicken Granulated Bouillon—I like sodium-free because it adds flavor without making the broth overly salty.

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