Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup is a warm and therapeutic cozy cold and flu fighting bowl of deliciousness. This savory, nourishing recipe is packed with healthy ingredients like turmeric, ginger, and garlic - just like our cozy chicken curry soup. These warming spices work together to warm you up from the inside out and comfort you when are feeling under the weather.
Jump to:
- Quick and Easy Soup Recipe
- Boost Your Immunity
- Cure What Ails You
- Main Ingredients
- Aromatics and Spices
- Vegetables
- Stove Top Method
- How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
- Recipe Tips
- Storage and Reheating
- Feel Better Soon Soup
- Cold vs Flu?
- Traditional Chinese Medicine: Keeping in Balance
- COLD Wind vs HEAT Wind
- More Delicious Soups
- Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup
- Sources/Bibliography
Quick and Easy Soup Recipe
We've made grandma’s healing chicken soup approximately 5 million times (give or take), and it never fails to hit the spot. We like to make a double batch because this ginger turmeric soup freezes fabulously. To make it as easy as possible for you, we have included the traditional stove top method, slow cooker, and instant pot directions.
In addition, this easy chicken and rice recipe is made without any cream or dairy and its gluten free.
Boost Your Immunity
One way to prevent the cold or flu is to make a big batch of our immune boosting soup BEFORE you get sick. Yep! You heard us right.
A few slurps of this old-fashioned recipe will have you feeling comforted and nourished. This chicken soup is easy to digest, ensuring your body can make the most of all the wholesome nutrients to support your spleen qi – your body’s powerhouse. Set yourself up for success during the change of seasons by keeping your body in balance and strong.
Cure What Ails You
Of course, we also enjoy a delicious bowl of warming soup when we are feeling under the weather. Grandmas always know best how to take care of those they love. They have been serving chicken and rice soup for centuries.
Now, science has finally caught on. According to a study in the Chest Journal, they have found several substances in chicken soup with anti-inflammatory properties. They found chicken soup to possibly ease the symptoms of upper respiratory infections by inhibiting inflammation.
Believe it or not it’s not the virus or the bacteria that is making you feel crummy. It’s your own body’s inflammatory cascading response to being exposed to infection such as coughing or increased phlegm. Chicken and rice soup could possibly reduce some of these annoying symptoms while your body fights off the pathogens.
Of course, the scientists still cannot nail down THE essential ingredient in the soup that makes it Grandma’s miracle cure. But one thing for sure, if you can take the edge off a current cold or prevent one in the future by enjoying a simple soup – let’s do it!
Main Ingredients
Chicken – We used chicken breasts. Feel free to use any cuts of skinless chicken such as thighs, drumsticks like in ABC soup, tenderloins and more. If you happen to have leftover pan drippings, shredded meat, or bones from our Roasted Whole Chicken or even a rotisserie chicken, be sure to use them. Using those leftovers as a soup starter, will take the flavor of this dish to the next level.
Rice – We chose Thai Jasmine rice for today’s recipe. Feel free to use any rice EXCEPT for pre-cooked and dehydrated “minute rice” as that will not hold up in this recipe. If you choose a brown rice, black rice, or wild rice, you will need a longer cook time and you will need to add more chicken broth.
Chicken broth or chicken bone broth – Use what you have on hand. However, we love using chicken bone broth as that is how grandma used to make it.
A French mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onions) are vegetables that add a lot of flavor and aroma to whatever is being cooked.
The Chinese version of the French mirepoix is a combination of ginger, garlic, and scallions.
Aromatics and Spices
Onion – adds a delicious flavor.
Ginger – Warming and fragrant! Our version of immune boosting soup is a Chinese fusion recipe - more on that later. In addition, ginger might even be helpful in fighting bacterial and fungal infections, according to a research article published in Heliyon.
Garlic – but of course, right? This fabulous herb might even help our immune system fight off infections, according to a study published in Journal of Immunology Research.
Turmeric – freshly grated or dried ground makes this chicken soup and golden noodle soup a beautiful golden color. Of course, this is an optional spice but when used alongside a good amount of black pepper – it may help to reduce inflammation. A scientific review in Frontiers in Pharmacology has found that black pepper helps your body absorb curcumin from turmeric.
Dried red chili pepper flakes – just a little sprinkle really makes this cozy soup sing. If you have a stuffy nose, this will sort you right out! As it is a warming spice, you can skip it if you have a fever.
Bay leaves – optional but trust me don’t skip it. We have tried making this recipe both with and without a bay leaf and have done taste tests. A bay leaf does not really add any specific flavors on its own but really helps bring together and intensify the existing flavors in the chicken soup.
Vegetables
Carrots – Carrots add a sweet flavor to the soup. In addition, they’re rich in Beta-carotene which gives them their beautiful orange color, fiber, and many essential nutrients. According to a study in the Journal of Food Science Technology, B-carotene in carrots may help inhibit cancer and give an extra boost in immunity.
Celery – is the third mirepoix ingredient and adds a light vegetal flavor to the soup. In addition, “Celery has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antirheumatic, anti-hypertension, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective properties”, according to a study in the Foods Journal. Who knew?
Spinach or other veggies of choice – Use up what you have in your crisper! If you have a little partial bag of frozen veggies – just add those at the very end after the chicken and rice soup has been cooked. Of course, this is optional.
Stove Top Method
Our favorite way to cook this soup is on the stovetop. It’s quick and easy. Believe it or not, because it takes such a long time for the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) to come up to temperature, it’s faster on stove top. If you are interested in a more hands off method of cooking, please refer to the recipe card below for directions for pressure cooker or slow cooker directions.
How to Make Chicken and Rice Soup
- Add oil, chopped onions, minced ginger, garlic, turmeric and dried red chili peppers to a large soup pot and fry over medium heat until aromatic.
- Sear chicken for 2-3 minutes.
- Next, put uncooked rice into pot and stir fry for just a minute or two to add a toasty flavor and reduce the starches.
- Add the chopped carrots and celery to the pot and stir.
- Pour in the chicken broth or bone broth and season well with salt and pepper as well as 3 dried bay leaves.
- Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until the carrots and celery have softened.
- Skim the soup and remove the bay leaves.
- Remove the soup from the heat and add in the spinach and stir until it wilts from the heat.
- Enjoy hot!
Recipe Tips
- Choose a big soup pot. This old fashion chicken and rice soup makes 6 hearty servings. We used a 6-quart (5.6 liters) large soup pot.
- Shoot for around 1.5 pounds (680 grams) of boneless skinless chicken but it does not need to be exact. Less is just as delicious, and more is just heartier.
- Chop the chicken into small little bites. From a texture perspective, it is nice to have everything around the same size.
- The same goes for carrot and celery. Make sure the vegetables are small and thin so that they cook quickly.
- This immune boosting chicken and rice recipe needs 10 cups of broth. That is 2 of the 32-ounce cartons plus 2 cups of broth from a 3rd carton. It is good to have the extra broth on hand as you will need this to thin out the soup as it sits and to reheat.
- Wash your rice until the water runs clear. This removes some of the excess starches.
- The longer you cook the soup, the higher the probability your rice will start to break down and become the consistency of congee. We personally love it this way as it is extra cozy and gets this thick creamy texture without the addition of cream.
- If you prefer to have distinct grains of rice with a thinner texture soup, cook the rice separately from the soup. Then, add a scoop of cooked rice to your bowl when serving up the soup.
- Periodically stir the soup while it is cooking. This is to make sure the rice is not cooking to the bottom of the soup pot.
Storage and Reheating
Leftover chicken soup with rice can be stored in a sealed covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The soup will thicken as it sits or after chilling. You will need to add a ½ cup of chicken broth or bone broth at a time to get to your desired consistency. The 2 methods for reheating include microwave or stovetop methods.
Microwave: Place soup in a microwave save bowl and place a light cover or paper towel on top to prevent splattering. (Uggh – teenagers – need we say any more) Reheat for approximately 3 minutes stopping every 1 minute to turn and stir. The soup is ready when it is piping hot all the way though.
Stovetop: Place the desired amount of soup into a pot. Heat until hot and bubbly and be sure to stir occasionally.
Feel Better Soon Soup
Colds and flu are no fun! We are sending some positive thoughts your way for a quick and speedy recovery. We want to arm you with some helpful hints to help you get through it.
The cold and flu season has peaked around the world. This year the flu has been especially virulent causing many hospitalizations around the world, especially in the elderly and in the young. Prevention is the key. Stay well and drink Immune Boosting Soup. If you are up all night coughing and hacking, try grandpa’s homemade cough syrup.
Cold vs Flu?
You may be asking why this does even matter? Understanding if you have a cold or flu is important because in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), food is medicine. We might even want to add or remove some of the ingredients in the immune boosting soup to help your body get back into balance.
Both the cold and flu have some overlapping symptoms. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish the two from each other. The only positive way to know one way or the other is to have a swab done within the first couple of days of symptoms to see if you are carrying the influenza virus and its antigens.
Both the cold and the flu may have all the usual things like coughing, aches, sometimes sneezing, stuffy nose, etc. Colds generally do not result in long term health complications. However, the flu has a higher percentage of complications such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, and hospitalizations.
Colds usually come on gradually and maybe start with a sore throat and then stuffy nose and coughing but are relatively mild. You might feel like &%$# but life goes on.
Contrasting, if you have the flu, you will feel like you have been hit by a Mack truck and the truck won. Within a few short hours you may have fever, chills, severe body aches, maybe rigors and headache along with some of the cold symptoms. Your ibuprofen or acetaminophen may be just sitting on the other side of the room. However, you feel so weak it might even be hard to get up to take some. This is the nasty flu bug.
Traditional Chinese Medicine: Keeping in Balance
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is believed that a change in season, along with a weakness or deficiency and exogenous force can cause illness. Examples of these external factors are wind, heat, fire, cold and dampness. The belief is that cold and flu types of illnesses are a result of an exogenous "wind" factor along with a weakened disposition or an imbalance in your body.
COLD Wind vs HEAT Wind
To get feeling better, it is important to nourish your body with the right foods to bring your body back into balance. Let’s explore some modifications to our soup recipe that are complimentary to the symptoms you are experiencing, using TCM practices.
COLD wind symptoms (chills, clear phlegm, etc.) – Enjoying lots of Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup and Tranquil Lemon and Ginger Tea is going to help you bring your body back to balance and help you recover quicker.
HEAT wind symptoms (fever, sore throat, yellow sputum) – Try eating more neutral foods or cooling foods to balance out your fever and signs of heat. You may choose to modify this soup by reducing the garlic, removing the onions, turmeric, ginger, and dried red chili flakes as these are warming. Instead, you may wish to replace with more cooling vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or mung beans. As chicken is considered a warming food, you may want to substitute with pork, beef, or duck instead. In addition, enjoy drinking a cooling peppermint or chamomile tea to bring your body to balance.
As this all may seem foreign to you, review our Five Energies of Food article. This introduction is a great overview of example neutral, cooling, and warming foods. Once your body is back to baseline, you want to go back to nourishing your body and strengthening your spleen, so you are less apt to get sick next time around.
So, there you have it! Your mom and grandma were right! Homemade chicken and rice soup to keep you well and to feel better you are not! Sources and Bibliography located below the Recipe Card.
More Delicious Soups
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If you are performing self home treatment for the cold/flu and you are having increase shortness of breath, chest pain. increased temperature after being afebrile or any other signs, please get seen by your medical provider ASAP.
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Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup
Equipment
- large soup pot at least 6 quarts
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion
diced - 2 tablespoon ginger
fresh grated (or ½ teaspoon dried ginger) - 4 cloves garlic
crushed and minced - 1 teaspoon red chili peppers
fresh minced or ½ teaspoon dried chili pepper flakes (optional/ hold if you have a fever) - 1 teaspoon turmeric dried, ground
- 12 ounces chicken breasts
chopped or 3 small breasts - 1 cup carrots
diced - 1 cup celery
diced - 1 cup white rice
uncooked (we used jasmine) and rinsed - Salt and pepper
to taste - 10 cups Chicken bone broth
or chicken stock (gluten-free if needed) - 3 whole bay leaves
dried - 2 cups spinach chopped or leafy green vegetable of choice (optional)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot add olive oil, onion, ginger, chili peppers and turmeric. Sauté on medium high heat until aromatic. Stir in garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add chicken and salt and pepper and cook for 2- 3 minutes. Next, add the rice and sauté for just 1-2 minutes or until all the grains are coated with oil and spice.
- Then, add carrots, celery and stir. Cook until vegetables start to soften slightly. (Feel free to add any any vegetables you have in your crisper)
- Add chicken bone broth (or chicken broth) and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. The soup is done when the veggies and rice are fork tender. Remove bay leaves and discard. Skim the top of soup. Check for taste. Add more chili flakes, salt and pepper as desired. FYI - the soup will thicken as it cools. (*please see notes below)
- Serve your Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice soup in a large bowl and start feeling better soon!
Slow Cooker Option:
- Place all chopped items together in the pot, except oil and spinach or any leafy green vegetables. Place on low heat for 6 - 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours. Add your spinach to the hot soup and serve. If you happen to come home from work with cranky sick kids, dinner is already prepared and the madness can begin.
Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot Option:
- Turn your instant pot to sauté function. Add oil, onions, ginger, chili and turmeric and sauté until just aromatic. Then add your garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add your chicken to the pressure cooker and sauté for about 3 - 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the spinach, and pressure cook on high for 6 minutes. Let your instant pot decompress for 10 minutes and then perform the quick release. Remove the bay leaves, skim the soup and add your spinach or leafy green vegetables of choice and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Choose a big soup pot. This recipe makes 6 large bowl servings, so we used a 6-quart (5.6 liters) large soup pot.
- Shoot for around 1.5 pounds (680 grams) of boneless skinless chicken but it does not need to be exact. Less is just as delicious, and more is just heartier.
- Chop the chicken into small little bites. From a texture perspective, it is nice to have everything around the same size.
- The same goes for carrot and celery. Make sure the vegetables are small and thin so that they cook quickly.
- This immune boosting chicken and rice recipe needs 10 cups of broth. That is 2 of the 32-ounce cartons plus 2 cups of broth from a 3rd It is good to have the extra broth on hand as you will need this to thin out the soup as it sits and to reheat.
- Wash your rice until the water runs clear and drain well. This removes some of the excess starches.
- Periodically stir the soup while it is cooking to make sure the rice is not cooking to the bottom of the soup pot.
- The longer you cook the soup, the higher the probability your rice will start to break down and become the consistency of congee. We personally love it this way as it is extra cozy and gets this thick creamy texture without the addition of cream. However, we know that many prefer a clearer soup.
- If you prefer to have distinct grains of rice with a thinner texture soup, cook the rice separately from the soup. Then just add a scoop of cooked rice when serving up the soup.
- Feel free to add any vegetables you desire. If you want to add frozen veggies it is best to add them at the very end, right before you add the spinach.
Nutrition
Sources/Bibliography
Rennard Barbara O., Ertl Ronald F., Gossman Gail L., Robbins Richard A., Rennard Stephen I. (2000) Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In Vitro, Volume 118, Issue 4, P1150-1157.
Sharma, K. D., Karki, S., Thakur, N. S., & Attri, S. (2012). Chemical composition, functional properties, and processing of carrot-a review. Journal of food science and technology, 49(1), 22–32.
Yan, J., Yang, X., He, L., Huang, Z., Zhu, M., Fan, L., Li, H., Wu, L., Yu, L., & Zhu, W. (2022). Comprehensive Quality and Bioactive Constituent Analysis of Celery Juice Made from Different Cultivars. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 11(18), 2719.
Jolly Oder Akullo, Beatrice Kiage, Dorothy Nakimbugwe, John Kinyuru, (2022) Effect of aqueous and organic solvent extraction on in-vitro antimicrobial activity of two varieties of fresh ginger (Zingiber officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum), Heliyon, Volume 8, Issue 9.
Arreola, R., Quintero-Fabián, S., López-Roa, R. I., Flores-Gutiérrez, E. O., Reyes-Grajeda, J. P., Carrera-Quintanar, L., & Ortuño-Sahagún, D. (2015). Immunomodulation and anti-inflammatory effects of garlic compounds. Journal of immunology research, 2015, 401630.
Sharifi-Rad, J. et al, (2020). Turmeric and Its Major Compound Curcumin on Health: Bioactive Effects and Safety Profiles for Food, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological and Medicinal Applications. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 01021.
Deng Liangyue, et al, Chinese acupuncture and Moxibustion, 3rd Edition 2010, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China, pages 266 – 268.
Doris says
This Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup looks like the perfect remedy for chilly days and colds! The mix of turmeric, ginger, and garlic sounds both comforting and healing.
Doris
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Doris! The cold and flu season has started early this year. Boost your immunity today with our easy chicken and rice soup. Stay well and take care
Hannah says
I'm not even sick, but I feel better just thinking about this nourishing soup!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Hannah! The seasons are changing already so please take care.
Heidi says
This is the ultimate cozy soup recipe... YUM! Grandma recipes are always the very best!! I especially loved your tip for freezing leftovers. Brilliant!!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Heidi! Grandma's always know best and her immune boosting soup is just what you need during the change of season. Stay well and take care
Lynn Fenby says
This soup is so very delicious, and healing. It will anything that you might be going through....not only physically AND mentally. I was surprised how quickly it all came together....and very easy to make. I froze some of it...I want to have it already made for our next cold/flu/stressful situation.
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Lynn. This chicken and rice soup is like getting a warm hug from mom. This recipe does make a lot but leftovers are even better the next day. We love making a huge batch and freezing part too for a crazy work night.
Larry says
Perfect for a cold winter day
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Larry. Stay well and take care
Eha Carr says
Moreish recipe of the 'Yiddishe grandmother's cold and flu remedy' ! Many people do not realize medical practitioners around the world count chicken soup as a 'pharmaceutical' remedy - it DOES work ! In Australia I have for years belonged to the 'flutrackers' who are asked on a weekly basis as to their state of health . . . very useful for logistics ! Well, just yesterday we were given a 'holiday' until February . . . so the flu' numbers here must have hit rock bottom for the year . . . as we know the unfortunate presence of Covid and the precautions we have had to take has decimated flu cases and deaths also . . . interesting to note ! Well I do hope your turn does not post too many problems . . . meanwhile, still having some chicken bone broth in the freezer . . . guess what !!!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Eha. Mother's and Grandmothers around the world have been fighting the cold and flu viruses for centuries with their chicken soup. Brilliant ladies- way ahead of their time for sure! Just like Bird Flu in Hong Kong made people more aware of hygiene and safe practices to prevent cross-contamination, the same holds true for Covid-19. If there is one positive thing that has come from all of this, people are more aware and doing the basics like hand washing, etc. These preventative measures along with nourishing chicken soup hopefully will keep people healthier. Thinking those chicken bones in your freezer will be put to good use soon. Please take care and stay well.
Ken says
I love this stuff -- especially when the chicken is cut small
HWC Magazine says
Thank you . It's Soup Season! That is really important so that all the veggies and chicken are all cut small or about the same size.
Raul says
I will keep this idea for winter. Always good for soup in the winter time.
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Raul. The change of seasons is almost upon us. We love eating our Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice soup to help build up our immunity during these fragile times. Stay well and take care
karla says
Looks so yummy
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Karla. It is just what your body needs during this change of seasons. Stay well and take care
Cal says
Yesterday it turned a little chilly and we made this soup. Mmmmmm. So warming.