Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice
A comforting twist on traditional chicken soup with hearty rice, tender chicken and vegetables, and a bright hit of lemon.
Servings cups soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons butter or oil
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 1 carrots, 1 large or 2 medium peeled and diced
- 1 onion, yellow, medium-large diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried dill or at least 1 tablespoon fresh I just use a handful to taste if I'm doing fresh!
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup dry/uncooked rice
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (rotisserie works great)
- 2 cups kale leaves, finely chopped a couple of large leaves, trimmed and chopped- see instructions in recipe details
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest from one lemon
- 1 can evaporated milk optional; if you'd like a creamy version
Instructions
- Heat large stock pot to medium heat. Add oil or butter. Add chopped celery, carrot, and onion. Saute 3-4 minutes until tender. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds more. Stir in salt, pepper and dill. Add broth, stirring to scrape any bits off the bottom of pot.
- Bring soup to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Add rice and stir occasionally until cooked through (about 20 minutes.)
- While soup is simmering, wash kale leaves and use a sharp knife to remove leaves from stems. Holding leaves tightly together, finely chop into very small pieces.
- After rice is cooked through, add chicken and kale and stir for 1-2 minutes until chicken is heated through and kale is wilted. Remove soup from heat and stir in zest and lemon juice to taste. Also add dill if using fresh dill.
- Makes about 8 cups of soup, and even though it's broth-based, with the rice absorbing liquid, it can become quite thick the longer it cooks. If you'd like to thin it out a bit, or extend serving sizes, feel free to add more broth to your liking.
- If you'd like your soup with a little creamy element, it's fantastic with one can of evaporated milk added at the end!
Notes
- Nutritional information was calculated without one can of evaporated milk.
- If you have raw chicken to use instead of fully cooked (as is called for in the recipe), follow the recipe as written, but after you add your broth, add in 1-2 chicken breasts into the pot. If your chicken pieces are more than 1/2 inch thick, consider butterflying them first.
- Continue with recipe as written, adding broth and letting chicken breasts poach in soup liquid. Cook until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees. After soup is done cooking, remove chicken, shred, and place back into pot.
- Store cooled leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 4-5 days for best results. Soup also freezes beautifully. Freeze individual servings in muffin tins or Souper Cubes for a quick lunch or easy meal on busy nights.
- Here's one optional step, if you'd like a creamy element to this soup. I often add a can of evaporated milk at the very end. It doesn't make the soup thick and rich- it keeps it brothy and nourishing, but it simply adds a little flavor dimension and a slight creamy element that my family loves, similar to my really popular Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.
- This is a very simple soup with minimal ingredients. If you have time earlier in your day, one time-saver would be to chop your carrots, onion and celery ahead of time. The mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to a few days and makes the prep time super quick when it comes time to make your soup!
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup, Calories: 173kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 1239mg, Potassium: 145mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 1849IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Calories: 173kcal
Cost: $8
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