Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 large Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 20 cups Cold water
- 1 1/4 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp Butter
- 1 large Onion, diced
- 6 stalks Celery, chopped
- 6 large Carrots, chopped
- 7 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 tsp Dried parsley
- 1 1/4 tsp Dried thyme
- 1 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 3/4 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground, plus more to taste
- 2 Bay leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cups Long-grain white rice, rinsed
Make a Simple Chicken Broth
Place the chicken thighs and breasts in a large stockpot and cover them with the cold water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for ~30-45 minutes.
Using bone-in, skin-on thighs adds more flavor and richness to the broth.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside on a cutting board to cool. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or another pot.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones.
Sauté the Vegetables
While the chicken is simmering, you can start the vegetables. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for ~2-3 minutes until it starts to soften.
Add the carrots and celery and continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Cooking the vegetables slowly like this is called sweating, and it builds a sweet, flavorful base for the soup.
Stir in the garlic, dried parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add the bay leaves.
Combine and Simmer the Soup
Pour the strained chicken broth into the pot with the vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat.
Add the rinsed rice and the juice of one lemon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for ~30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to prevent the rice from sticking.
Add the shredded chicken to the pot and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Classic Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 large Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 20 cups Cold water
- 1 1/4 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp Butter
- 1 large Onion diced
- 6 stalks Celery chopped
- 6 large Carrots chopped
- 7 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 1/4 tsp Dried parsley
- 1 1/4 tsp Dried thyme
- 1 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt plus more to taste
- 3/4 tsp Black pepper freshly ground, plus more to taste
- 2 Bay leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cups Long-grain white rice rinsed
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs and breasts in stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer covered 30-45 minutes.
- Remove chicken, let cool, then shred meat. Strain broth through fine-mesh sieve.
- Heat olive oil and butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, cook 2-3 minutes.
- Add carrots and celery, cook 10-15 minutes until tender.
- Add garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Cook 1 minute.
- Pour strained broth into pot. Bring to boil.
- Add rice and lemon juice. Reduce heat, cover, simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add shredded chicken, simmer 10 more minutes.
- Season to taste and remove bay leaves.
