Rotisserie Chicken Rice Soup – Make delicious chicken rice soup from rotisserie chicken, vegetables, herbs and spices. Warm, comforting, richly flavored stock.
I’ve had this lingering feeling for the past week that I can’t seem to shake. I’m not sick, but it’s almost like I’m “fighting something.” Maybe it’s the weather change or those seasonal allergies that tend to hit me during the winter. Have you felt that way? Let’s just say I’m not operating at 100%. Whenever this feeling comes around, I know it’s time for Jewish penicillin – chicken soup! Just what the doctor (and grandma!) ordered.
Sometimes my best cooking tips come from you, my readers. A few years ago, a reader commented to let me know that they make their soup stock using a rotisserie chicken. This might seem counter-intuitive– after all, rotisserie chickens are already cooked, why cook them again?– but stick with me here. The rotisserie-roasted chicken bones produce a rich, dark, strongly flavored stock. The chicken is seasoned and salted, so you don’t need to add much in the way of flavoring to the stock– a few veggies, some herbs (fresh dill is key!), and a pinch of spices. Throw in some rice, let it all simmer together, and you’ve got a healthy, hearty, winter soup. It’ll cure what ails you, and taste good doing it!
Now, don’t go using a barbecue rotisserie chicken, or anything with a strong flavoring or sauce. Herb, lemon herb, garlic and plain salt-and-pepper rotisserie birds work best here. This is also a great tip for getting the most out of your rotisserie chicken– eat the chicken, then use the bones (along with the veggies, herbs and spices outlined below) to create a yummy stock that you can freeze and keep for later!
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Rotisserie Chicken Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 pounds)
- 15 black peppercorns
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 medium yellow onion, rinsed and halved, skin on
- 4 large celery stalks, sliced (divided)
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced (divided)
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup white or brown rice
- 1/4 cup chopped dill
- Salt to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Carve the rotisserie chicken, pulling the meat in pieces from the bones. Reserve the meat.
- Place the chicken carcass, skin and fat into a 6-quart pot. Cover with 4 quarts (16 cups) of water. Bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the top.Add the peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, onion, 2 sliced celery stalks (feel free to include celery leaves), 1 sliced carrot, parsley and 2 tsp salt to the pot. Do not add the rice yet. Reduce to a low simmer (do not boil after this point, only simmer on low). Let the stock cook for 90 minutes. While stock is cooking, slice the reserved chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cover in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
- When the stock is fully cooked, strain it through a mesh strainer into another clean large pot.
- Discard the carcass and vegetables from the stock. At this point, if you'd like, you can skim some of the fat off of the top of the strained stock. I prefer to leave the fat, it makes the soup taste better and richer. Add the reserved bite-sized chicken pieces to the strained stock along with the remaining fresh sliced carrot, celery stalks, rice and dill. You may use either white or brown rice; keep in mind that brown rice will hold up better for leftovers, while white rice has a tendency to dissolve a bit in the stock over time. Bring back to a low simmer (not a full boil). Add additional salt and black pepper to taste, if desired. I like lots of black pepper! Simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes longer or until the rice is cooked and the vegetables are tender.
- Serve hot and enjoy! It's good for the body, good for the soul.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
My go to recipe everytime we get a Costco chicken. My mom says it tastes like her recipe and gave it her vote of approval!
Hi Tori, You are by far my favorite recipe source online! For this rotisserie chicken soup, do you always discard the initial cooked vegetables? Can they be left in after the bones / skin are thrown out? (And why discard them?)
Thank you so much for teaching us these great tricks of the trade!
Thank you so much for the compliment Tanya! 🙂 You can certainly leave them in, it’s just that after the long cook they tend to be overly soft and flavorless. It won’t hurt, but it doesn’t really add much to the soup (in my opinion) – that’s why I add fresh carrot after the initial cook.
I don’t like discarding the vegetables either, so I just add them after I’ve strained the chicken and cook them to the desired texture. They still impart some flavour to the soup, maybe not as much as they would if they were boiled for an hour and a half, but at least you’re not wasting them.
Thanks for the recipe!
I like to crack in 4 or 5 fresh eggs in a bowl to watch for shells. Than carefully put in soup when you turn off the heat. 10 minutes and you are ready to serve.
Hi Tori …
Made this recipe and it was very good. The spices gave it good flavor … never used clove in chicken soup before. The only thing is I found it to be lacking in chicken flavor so I added some chicken base to taste on the first round of simmering. Personal preference … I added extra carrots during second simmer and orzo instead of rice served on the side. Thanks for a delicious recipe I will definitely be making again.
Glad you liked it Kathy! I really like a hint of clove in chicken soup. Learned that tip from Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. 🙂
Do not put the meat back in until the soup is cool. Cooking it again takes out the flavor of the meat. Definitely use the chicken skin and onion skins. I use a little Tabasco to bring up the flavor.
I have made this recipe for my husband and I several times and we absolutely love it! It is the ultimate comfort food!
My grandfather passed away this past Memorial Day, and I have been in town, trying to comfort my family as best as possible, and this is the first recipe I thought of. Thank you.
Wow, thanks Tori! This is a lovely recipe. We’ve both been down with terrible colds and I woke up today thinking if I make some chicken soup, we’ll feel better. So I bought a rotisserie chicken and followed the directions. Once my broth was strained, I did add onion with the carrot and celery, as well as some chopped and peeled San Marzano tomatoes. I used rice noodles instead of rice. Delicious and heartwarming! I think it will cure us! I’ll definitely make this recipe again. Next time however, I think I just might leave out the cloves, just to see what might happen.
Oh, and forgot to mention, I did add 4 chopped cloves of garlic!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Ursula! Cloves are totally optional.
This is a great recipe – I definitely felt the need to add garlic though, as I cannot imagine a chicken soup without it !
In the list of ingredients, there is “4 cloves garlic” but the garlic is not mentioned in the preparation paragraph. Instead, it says “add the peppercorns, cloves, … One person asked a question about this but I was not clear about the answer. Am I correct that there is no garlic in the recipe but that the ingredient list should say “4 Whole Spice Cloves” and not “4 cloves garlic”? This recipe sounds delicious and I really want to try it but not sure about the garlic cloves versus whole cloves. Please let me know.
Hi Linda, sorry about that. We recently transitioned to a new recipe input system, and my assistant put garlic cloves– she misunderstood as well. I just corrected the recipe. It should be four whole spice cloves – meaning, the clove spice in its whole form. No garlic. Garlic cloves wouldn’t be bad here, either… but the original recipes calls for spice cloves. 🙂 Hope that clarifies!
Best soup ever. And easy! I can’t wait to make it again!!
Made this today! I found the stock to be a bit bland, so I added 1 cup vegetable broth and 2 cups of chicken broth. When I make it next I think I’ll do 12 cups water, 3cups chicken broth and 1 cup vegetable broth. I also omitted the dill (so that might be way I found it bland) but I don’t like dill. I also used noodles instead of rice. It turned out great! Definitely delicious.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I hate to make chicken soup, but this was simple enough to make for myself when I was ill, yet had excellent flavor. If I have my way, I will only make it this way from now on.
I am making this on Halloween for ppl coming and going. Could I have “a side of brown rice” for ppl to add as needed to their individual soup? Since the soup will be simmering for serveral hours, I’d prefer the rice didn’t blow up and consume the liquid. How would you recommend I do this so the rice does not dry out? Thanks!
Hi Chris– you could keep the rice separate and have folks add it to their bowls of soup, if you are worried about the rice getting soggy… but in this case I would use white basmati or something similar so it soaks in the flavor a bit. The hull on the brown rice will prevent it from taking in the flavor of the liquid.