Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup (No Cream)

creamy chicken rice soup in a bowl with a black spoon.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup (No Cream)

This Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is amazingly thick and luscious but made without any cream. Made using simple curry spices, it is healthy, satisfying, warms you on a chilly night and easy to make on the stovetop or in the instant pot!

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken and rice soup, creamy chicken and rice soup

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings Servings

Calories 268kcal

Author Maria Doss

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 to 4 garlic cloves chopped
2 teaspoons coriander powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne powder or use less if you'd like
2 14.5 ounce cans chicken stock (we used 33% reduced sodium)
2 carrots medium to large, peeled and chopped
½ cup rice rinsed and drained (basmati or jasmine)
2 to 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
½ to ¾ teaspoon salt

Items used

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large pot, over medium heat. When hot, saute chopped onion and garlic, for 3 to 5 minutes or until translucent.
Stir in coriander and cayenne powders, cook stirring constantly for about one minute or the spices have toasted.
Add all remaining ingredients ( stock, carrots, rice, chicken thighs and salt), bring to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the rice is tender and chicken is cooked through.
Turn off heat and remove chicken thighs onto a plate and let it cool down until you blend the soup.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup, until thick and creamy. (If you don't have immersion blender, then let the soup cool down for a few minutes, transfer the contents into a vitamix and blend until creamy. Be careful when blending hot liquids in a blender).
Let's shred the chicken - Using two large forks, shred the chicken thighs into big chunks and transfer back into the blended soup. (if the soup looks too thick , then stir in more stock to thin it down.
Ladle into bowls and serve topped with chopped cilantro.

INSTANT POT METHOD

Saute - Set instant pot to saute and let it heat up. Add oil and let it heat up for about one minute. Cook chopped onion and garlic until translucent and then toast curry spices.
Pressure Cook - Cancel saute function, stir in thighs, rinsed grains, stock, chopped carrots and salt. Close lid, making sure that the valve is set to sealing position. Pressure cook for 10 minutes in normal pressure and open lid after 10 minutes of warm mode.
Shred - Remove the cooked meat onto a plate and shred into chunks using two large forks.
Blend - Blend all remaining ingredients using an immersion blender until thick and creamy.
Finish - Stir the shredded meat back into the instant pot and ladle into bowls.

Video

Notes

Chicken – Our preferred is boneless skinless thighs or breasts. If you use other cuts then please make sure to remove the skin before adding into the broth. This ensures that this recipe stays healthy without added fat.

Broth – We used 33% reduced sodium stock, so feel free to adjust salt based on the type of stock used.

Types of rice – White basmati or jasmine variety.

Rinse rice – Make sure to rinse well and drain completely before adding into the broth.

Spice level – Adjust cayenne based on your taste.

Thickness – The will thicken as it cools. Simple mix in more stock to adjust consistency based on your liking.

Blenders – A good quality immersion blender or Vitamix is perfect. If using the immersion blender, make sure to use a large pot, so that it doesn’t splatter outside when blending leaving you a mess to clean up after. If using the Vitamix, make sure that it has cooled down for a few minutes before blending.

Nutrition