Description
A comforting and creamy chicken and rice soup packed with tender shredded chicken, cannellini beans, and leafy greens, enhanced with fresh lemon zest for brightness. This hearty soup is simple to prepare, relying on stovetop simmering and gentle mashing to achieve a creamy texture without cream.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 800ml chicken stock
- 2 chicken legs, skin removed and meat shredded
- 400g can cannellini beans, with liquid
- 250g microwave rice
- 50g leafy greens, roughly chopped
- ½ lemon, zested
Instructions
- Heat the Oil and Onion: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften and become translucent.
- Add Garlic: Stir in the finely chopped garlic cloves and cook for an additional 2 minutes, allowing the garlic to release its aroma without burning.
- Add Stock, Chicken, Beans, and Rice: Pour in 800ml of chicken stock, then add the shredded meat from 2 skinless chicken legs along with the 400g can of cannellini beans including their liquid, and 250g of microwave rice. Stir to combine.
- Simmer and Mash: Cook the soup for 10 minutes on a gentle simmer. Then, use a potato masher to roughly mash the soup; this will break up some of the beans and rice to create a creamy yet chunky texture, thickening the soup naturally.
- Add Greens and Finish Cooking: Stir in 50g of roughly chopped leafy greens and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the greens soften and the soup is heated through.
- Season and Serve: Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving, scatter over the zest of half a lemon to bring a fresh and zesty brightness to the creamy chicken and rice soup.
Notes
- You can substitute microwave rice with any pre-cooked rice.
- For extra flavor, add fresh herbs like thyme or parsley.
- Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or chard work well in this soup.
- Remove the skin from chicken legs to reduce fat content.
- The potato masher technique thickens the soup naturally without adding cream.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: chicken soup, creamy chicken soup, chicken and rice soup, comforting soup, easy chicken soup
