Chicken Vegetable Soup
Updated Dec 06, 2025
Chicken Vegetable Soup is a family favorite recipe with lots of veggies, rice, chicken breast, and a squeeze of lemon juice made in one pot!
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Another Chicken Soup for thE soul!
This Chicken Vegetable Soup is my take on classic chicken noodle soup with a delicious broth, cubed chicken breast, lots of veggies, and rice instead of noodles. I love making this chicken vegetable and rice soup, especially when it’s cold, because it’s so comforting and filled with lots of good-for-you vegetables like zucchini, carrot, and celery.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Chicken Vegetable Soup Ingredients
- Chicken: I use boneless skinless chicken breast for this soup recipe, you can also swap in boneless chicken thighs (or turkey, beans, chickpeas, or tofu).
- Vegetables: I like to sauté a classic mirepoix blend of onions, carrots, and celery and then add fresh veggies like zucchini and Roma tomatoes, but feel free to get creative with your veggie additions.
- Rice: I use regular short-grain rice in this soup, but brown rice, basmati rice, or wild rice will also work.
- Aromatics: You’ll need garlic, dill, and lemon for this soup. Go for fresh dill if you can!
- Seasoning: I use dried thyme, salt, and pepper to flavor this soup. You can use fresh thyme, too, just increase the amount. A good rule of thumb is a 1:3 ratio of dried versus fresh herbs.
- Water: You’re basically making a homemade broth here, but you can always add in some extra flavor by switching to a vegetable stock or chicken stock instead.
How to Make Chicken Vegetable Soup
Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe
Chicken Vegetable Soup made with lots of vegetables, cubed chicken breast, and rice that's simmered in a homemade chicken broth.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup short grain rice
- 2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 1 small zucchini chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, add olive oil and cook over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables become slightly tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 more minute.
- Move the vegetables to the sides for the pot, add the chicken breasts in the middle and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes, then flip the chicken to the other side and add the water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and cut into small cubes. Return the chicken back to the soup along with the rice, tomatoes and zucchini. Continue to cook the soup uncovered over medium-low heat until the rice is tender and the broth is reduced, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill and lemon juice.
Notes
- My Top Tip: Cook your rice separately. This is a great one-pot recipe, but you can cook the rice on its own and add it to the soup or each individual bowl before serving for a chewier texture, especially if you plan to freeze some of it.
- Storage: Allow the soup to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container and placing it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave, occasionally stirring until heated through. Add a splash of water or broth to thin the soup if it’s too thick.
- Freezing: Cool the soup to room temperature, then pack it into freezer-safe containers, leaving about an inch at the top of each container for expansion in the freezer. Close tightly and freeze for up to 3 months, and when you’re ready to eat, your can cook it directly from frozen. Note the rice may puff up more and lose its structure while freezing and reheating. Avoid this by leaving the rice out if freezing and adding fresh during the reheat.
Nutrition
Calories: 260kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 553mg, Potassium: 741mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 3791IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 44mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Tips
- Chop your vegetables finely. Because there are so many different vegetables in this soup recipe, I like making small cuts so that every spoonful has a nice mix of vegetables, flavors, and textures.
- Shred your chicken instead of cubing it. I love these chunks of chicken, but you can also shred the chicken instead if you find it easier!
- Stir your soup while cooking. Once you add the rice, make sure to stir the soup on occasion to make sure it doesn’t settle on the bottom and stick to the pan.
- Add lemon last. Before serving, add the lemon juice to the pot or squeeze over each serving to brighten and balance the flavors of the soup.
- Cook the rice separately. This is a great one-pot recipe, but you can cook the rice on its own and add it to the soup or each individual bowl before serving, especially if you plan to freeze some of it.
Serving Ideas
- Eat with fresh bread. I love dipping some fresh bread into this soup, like my homemade air fryer bread, oatmeal bread, or French bread dinner rolls.
- Pair with a sandwich. This chicken soup is a great pairing with a classic grilled cheese, a white bean avocado sandwich, or a mozzarella sandwich.
- Add a side salad. For a light, soup-salad lunch, I love eating my chicken vegetable soup with some fresh garden salad, Caesar salad, or even broccoli salad.
FAQs
How do I keep the rice from becoming mushy?
The longer the rice is cooked in the soup, the softer it will become. Avoid this by cooking the rice separately, adding it before serving or into each bowl, and ladling the soup on top. This will keep the rice al dente for a chewy bite. I like to store it separately from the soup if I have leftovers.
Comments
This was the best chicken soup I’ve ever tasted!! So flavorful and packed full of veggies. I subbed penne pasta for the rice. So hearty and just what we needed to get back to clean eating but a comfort food all in one!
Yay, so glad you liked it!! Love the penne pasta swap, I will have to try that sometime. Thanks, Amy!
Wonderful!! The lemon and dill at the end take it to the next level! This soup is healthy comfort food your whole family will love.
Aww thank you so much, Joyce!! So happy you loved it!
Love the chicken noodle soup and have been making it every Sunday. Wanted to try something a little different this Sunday and thought to give this a shot. As always, Yumna’s recipes never disappoint. So delicious! I added 10 cups of water so I think next time I would add a whole cup of orzo instead of 3/4. Very interested in getting the new cookbook that was just released. Wanted to know what the difference is in recipes on your website vs the new cookbook.
Great question! A few of the recipes in my cookbook are my most popular online recipes (like my Authentic Hummus and Baked Feta Pasta) but most of them are original. If you like this soup and my chicken noodle soup, I think you would love the Healing Couscous Chicken Soup from my cookbook!
I can only find short grain brown rice. Is that ok?
Yes, that will work! Long-grain rice is preferable in soup but any rice will be delicious.
To make this a slow cooker recipe, would I do the same thing?
You could certainly make this as written and then transfer it to a slow cooker to keep warm, but since it was not developed to be made in a slow cooker, I don’t have all the specifics on how long it would take in there.
If I cook the rice separately, should I reduce the amount of water for the soup since the water content is reduced in the recipe through the absorption of it with the rice?
Yes, I would drop the water in the soup to 6 cups if you are making the rice separately.
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