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    Home » Chicken

    Lightened Up Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

    Published: Oct 21, 2017 · Modified: Feb 19, 2019 by Debs · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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    Bowl of lightened up creamy chicken soup with rice. With text overlay.

    There's no better way to keep the fall wind at bay than to sit down and cozy up with this nourishing and hearty lightened up creamy chicken rice soup.

    There's no better way to keep the fall wind at bay than to sit down and cozy up with this nourishing and hearty lightened up creamy chicken rice soup.

    Fall weekends are all about the cozy things. And this chicken rice soup is as cozy as it gets. It's full of hearty vegetables, nourishing brown and wild rice. And lots of chunks of chicken to keep the fall wind at bay.

    But how is this lightened up I hear you ask? Well... it's cream free! That's right... that creamy, thick, silky soup is totally cream free. The magic of this lightened up creamy chicken soup is that it's thickened with a cornflour water slurry. ← Slurry is just a fancy word for a thickening agent (cornflour, flour, arrowroot etc.) mixed with water. The ratio of your slurry can vary, but I prefer to have a slurry that's quite thick.

    There's no better way to keep the fall wind at bay than to sit down and cozy up with this nourishing and hearty lightened up creamy chicken rice soup.

    What is a slurry and how does it work?

    But here's the deal with thicken with a slurry. You need to let the liquid that you're thickening to come to a full boil for it's maximum thickening potential to be reached. It's not enough to add the slurry and to mix it in. It needs to come to a boil for a few reasons:

    Why your lightened up creamy chicken rice soup needs to come to a boil when you thicken:

    1. the cornflour needs to be cooked out properly. There's some pretty crazy science behind all this cooking stuff, but the cornflour actually only needs to come to 83℃ or 181℉, but it would be a bit much for me to say that you should stand at the stove with a temperature probe and wait for your soup. So a full boil makes sure that you've definitely hit that mark.
    2. If the cornflour doesn't hit the 83℃, not only does it not have the proper amount of thickening, your soup can have a claggy texture. A claggy texture is the very opposite of that cozy feeling that we're looking for!
    3. This is a total besides the point, but when you use cornstarch, the soup is amazing for freezing. I tend to find if I try to freeze a cream based soup, they're never as good, once defrosted.

    There's no better way to keep the fall wind at bay than to sit down and cozy up with this nourishing and hearty lightened up creamy chicken rice soup.

    With the thickening coming from the starch in this soup,  milk is used for the dairy portion. Now, in our house we buy 2% (semi skimmed) milk. But, if you would prefer a richer texture then you can use whole milk. With the starch from the rice, and the thickening of the soup, I personally wouldn't waste my calories on whole milk or cream. I'd rather have dessert!

    There's no better way to keep the fall wind at bay than to sit down and cozy up with this nourishing and hearty lightened up creamy chicken rice soup.

    Chicken Rice Soup in a white bowl.

    Lightened Up Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

    There's no better way to keep the fall wind at bay than to sit down and cozy up with this nourishing and hearty lightened up creamy chicken rice soup.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 193kcal
    Author: Deborah Rainford
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    Ingredients

    • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped
    • 2 shallots diced
    • 2 carrot sticks diced
    • 2 ribs celery diced
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2 fresh bay leaves
    • 3 sprigs thyme
    • 1 cup brown and wild rice mix
    • 1.5 litres chicken broth
    • 500 ml milk
    • 2 tablespoon cornflour
    • 2 tablespoon water

    Instructions

    • Directions
    • In a large heavy sauce pan heat the oil over a medium heat.
    • Add the shallots, carrots, celery and garlic.
    • Sweat the vegetables off for a few minutes until they are soft and the shallots are translucent.
    • Add the chicken, rice, bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme leaves and the chicken broth.
    • Bring to broth to the boil and reduce to a simmer.
    • Cook covered for about 20-25 minutes until the rice is cooked.
    • Add the milk and bring to the boil again.
    • Mix the cornflour with the water and add to the soup pot.
    • Bring to the boil for a minute.
    • Save the last sprig of thyme to garnish the soup bowls.
    • Serve with warm crusty bread and a large salad.
    • Makes 2 litres about 8 portions.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2720IU | Vitamin C: 2.9mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 0.7mg
    have you made this recipe? I'd love to see it! Tag me @salted_mint or use #saltedmint!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Aimee Mars says

      October 21, 2017 at 7:26 pm

      So many things to comment on here... First and foremost this soup looks so unbelievably delicious! Next, I've never heard of a "slurry" before, but now I want to start slurrying away. Lastly, those bowls!!! Where oh, where did you get them?!?!

      Reply
    2. Karly says

      October 25, 2017 at 2:50 am

      YUM! Always looking for yummy soups to add to the dinner menu this time of year, and this one fits the bill perfectly. Kids are gonna love this one!

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Debs! A Cordon Bleu graduate with more than 10 years of restaurant cooking experience. I now focus on helping you create easy, delicious and healthy(ish) comfort food recipes from scratch. Welcome to my virtual kitchen!

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