Name: Easy Chicken and Rice Lunch Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 medium carrots, chopped; 1/2 cup chopped celery; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or poultry seasoning; 1 bay leaf; 2 32-ounce containers of low sodium chicken stock; 1 cup water; 1 cup long grain white rice; 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, from a rotisserie chicken

This easy Chicken & Rice Soup recipe is one of those recipes you want to have around when you need a delicious thermos lunch idea or a warm bowl of comfort for dinner.

One thing I love about soups like this one is that it tastes better the second day. Pack leftovers into a thermos container for a hot lunch for school or the office.

chicken and rice soup in a metal thermos

Hot soup, whether enjoyed on a cold day or by someone feeling under the weather is something everyone loves and it’s the perfect healthy comfort meal!

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Aside from being made in one pot and ready to eat in just 30 minutes, the key to speeding up this simple and flavorful pot of soup is a pre-made rotisserie chicken.

I love using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make this soup and many other meals. It’s an inexpensive item that can yield multiple recipes for the entire week. I’ll use it to toss into soups, make chicken salad, top salads for lunch, or shred it to make tacos and burrito bowls.

It’s also a perfect solution for those baked chicken leftovers sitting in your fridge. White meat, dark meat, or both will work great for this recipe.

This recipe is versatile and perfect for incorporating more veggies into your family meals by adding green peas, chopped spinach, or broccoli into the pot.

How to Pack Chicken & Rice Soup for Lunch

Curious how to keep this soup hot until lunch? I can help you do that, just follow the steps below.

Reheat
Add the soup to a microwave-safe dish or small saucepan and reheat until it’s boiling, about 212F or 100C.
Preheat
Fill the thermos container with boiling water and cover with the lid. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes before emptying the thermos.
Pack
Add the soup to the thermos and seal. Place it in a lunch bag, and you’re all set.

Learn better visually? Here’s a short video of the above process that you can use with any of your favorite soup recipes.

And just in case you’ve tried packing hot lunches into thermos containers only to find the food grew cold before lunchtime, you’ll find these thermos lunch-packing tips will help.

Need a Thermos container for this soup? Check out our top 5 Thermos containers here.

Easy Chicken and Rice Lunch Soup

Print Recipe

This easy chicken and rice soup recipe is full of veggies, tender rotisserie chicken, and rice. It’s the ultimate healthy comfort meal on a cold day.

Author: MOMables – Laura
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Category: Lunch
Method: Stove-top
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, chopped
½ cup chopped celery
½ teaspoon dried thyme or poultry seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 32–ounce containers of low sodium chicken stock
1 cup water
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups shredded cooked chicken, from a rotisserie chicken

Instructions

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook and stir until the veggies are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil. Add the rice and chicken meat, stir and cook over medium-low heat until the rice is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
If packing for lunch, preheat the thermos container and fill it with a portion of the chicken and rice soup. Close the thermos container and pack it into a lunch bag with your choice of snacks.
Include an ice pack to keep the other ingredients chilled.