Chicken and Mushroom Soup

This Chicken and Mushroom Soup recipe is loaded with homemade flavor! It has a savory seasoned broth with delicious bites of juicy chicken, rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and a hint of parmesan.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 317kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

Rice

1 cup chicken broth
½ cup white long grain rice uncooked. (Or 1 ½ cups cooked rice.)
2 tablespoons butter

Seasonings

¾ teaspoon EACH: dried basil, oregano, parsley
¼ teaspoon EACH: dried thyme, pepper

Soup

1 ¼ lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts see notes
salt/pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup dry white wine see notes
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion diced
¾ cup carrots sliced
2 ribs celery diced
8 oz. mushrooms washed/dried. see notes
3 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 cups chicken broth
½ chicken bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated. (Optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook the rice according to package instructions, using chicken broth instead of water for more flavor. (See notes for more details.) Once rice is cooked through, add butter, fluff with a fork, and set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients while the rice cooks.
Pat the chicken dry and season each side with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 3-4 minutes per side, until a light golden crust has developed. (It’s okay if it’s not cooked all the way through yet, it will finish cooking in the soup which will add more flavor to the broth.) Remove and let it rest for 10 minutes, then dice or shred.
Turn the heat off and add the wine, then set the heat to medium. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pot, this will give the soup more flavor.
Add the butter, onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Soften for 5-6 minutes. (Pro tip: sprinkle the veggies with a little salt once they start to soften.)
Add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and seasonings and stir to combine and heat through for 2 more minutes.
Add the chicken broth, chicken bouillon, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Add the chicken back and simmer gently, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Don’t let it reach a boil or the chicken will become tough.
Reduce heat to low and stir in the parmesan cheese. Remove the bay leaf. Spoon the rice into serving bowls and ladle the soup on top. Serve!

Notes

Pro Tips:

Rice: The rice is cooked separately in this recipe to ensure that it doesn’t soak up too much broth. This allows leftover soup and rice to be stored separately, as the rice continues to soak up more broth during storage.
- Pro Tip for Cooking Rice: After adding the rice to the pot, reduce the heat of the liquid as soon as it begins to boil. This will reduce the likelihood of the rice sticking to the bottom of the pot. If it does stick, let it sit in the pot for 10 minutes covered. All or most of the stuck rice will release during this time.
1 + 1/2 cups of leftover rice can be used for this recipe as well.
Chicken: Bone-in chicken breast or chicken thighs will add the most flavor to the broth, boneless also works well and is usually what I have on hand. 2 cups of leftover/rotisserie chicken can be used instead if needed, add it when the chicken is added back to the soup at the end.
Wine: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc are great in this recipe. Chicken broth can be used if you don’t cook with wine.
Mushrooms: Baby Bella (Cremini) mushrooms are best for this recipe, they hold up well after being simmered in the soup. Aim for thickly sliced mushrooms. White Button mushrooms may also be used if needed.
Optional additions include: Spinach, zucchini, corn, and peas.
This Chicken and Mushroom Soup pairs really well with Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Buttermilk Biscuits, No Knead Bread, and Ranch Oyster Crackers!
If you like this recipe, you'll love my Chicken and Wild Rice Soup as well!

Making Perfectly Cooked Rice: Here is how I make it 1 ½ cups of white long grain rice for this soup:

Bring 1 cup of chicken broth to a boil.
Add ½ cup of white long grain rice and let the liquid come back up to a boil.
Cover tightly and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let it stand in the pot for 10 minutes with the lid on, any rice stuck to the bottom will release.
This yields 1 ½ cups of flavorful, perfectly cooked rice.
Add butter and fluff with a fork. Cover until ready to serve.
Note that other varieties of rice may require different liquid measurements and/or cooking times.

Storage:

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup freezes very well, be sure to freeze the rice and soup in separate containers.

Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition