I’ve always loved homemade chicken noodle soup. When I was growing up, this was a very frequent meal in our house. There were two versions: mom’s and dad’s. My mom used her homemade chicken broth, a bunch of vegetables and chunks of rotisserie chicken. My dad, on the other hand, used chicken bouillon powder, put a ton of noodles and barely any vegetables. Needless to say, I used to love my dad’s salt and carb galore quite a bit.
As I get older and try to control a little bit more what I eat (and how it will make me feel later), I’ve experimented a lot with various chicken soup options. Some were really complicated to make, others were very bland.
Recently while browsing Sprouts, I had the urge to try my hand at chicken soup again. I bought a raw chicken and a few basic vegetables and went for it. The raw chicken was an excuse to try the roast setting of our Instant Pot. Of course, the same recipe could be made with a store-bought rotisserie chicken but it’s always nice to have everything homemade when possible. In this recipe, I also traded the noodles for brown rice.
Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of oil or butter
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups of diced carrots (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cups of diced celery (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cups of corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
- 2 cups of chicken broth (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 cups of water
- 1/4 cup of dry brown rice
- Italian seasonings, salt and pepper (quantity to taste)
Directions
- Heat the oil/butter in a large pot or in a dutch oven, over medium heat.
- Add the onions and shallots. Cook until golden.
- Add the carrots, celery and corn. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the chicken, chicken broth, water and seasoning. Stir and bring to a boil.
- When the soup is boiling, add the brown rice, cover and simmer for about 1 hour (or until the rice is cooked).
This recipe made 5 servings, which was perfect for my weekly meal prep. I also decided to freeze a couple of portions as I figured it would come in quite handy whenever I’ll have a cold this winter. There’s nothing like a good comforting soup when you don’t feel well…and as a preschool teacher spending my days with sneezing toddlers, it is bound to come in handy sooner or later. 🙂
The Hungry Quebbie 
This looks so simple and delicious 🙂