Buffalo Chicken & Rice Soup

Prep:15minCook:25min

This creamy buffalo chicken and rice soup recipe is simmered with tender chicken, veggies, rice and a zesty blend of buffalo seasonings. Instant Pot and Crock-Pot options included in the notes above. *Rice: You are welcome to use brown rice, wild rice, or any other type of rice that you prefer. Just note that most other varieties of rice will need more time to cook. **Bacon: If you decide to make homemade bacon bits, I would highly recommend frying the bacon first. Then use 1 tablespoon of the leftover bacon grease to sauté the veggies, for extra flavor. ***Make it spicier or more mild: The amount of hot sauce included in the recipe below definitely has a bit of a kick, but I personally like to add in a bit more to make the soup spicier, or you could add less to make the soup more mild. ****Make it in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker): Use the sauté feature to sauté the veggies until softened. Then add the remaining ingredients minus the cream cheese, cover and pressure cook for 12 minutes followed by a 10-minute natural release (then followed by a quick release). Stir in the cream cheese, season and serve! *****Make it in the Crock-Pot (slow cooker): Add all ingredients minus the cream cheese to the bowl of a large slow cooker, cover and slow cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, until the rice is tender. (Heads up that different slow cookers perform so differently. So keep an eye on the rice and move on to the next step once it’s done. Or if it soaks up too much of the broth, add in an extra cup or two and adjust the seasonings as needed.) Stir in the cream cheese, season and serve! ******Use heavy cream: As mentioned above, feel free to use heavy cream in place of cream cheese to make this soup nice and creamy if you prefer. *******Use noodles: Alternately, feel free to add in 8 ounces of pasta noodles in place of rice to make this a buffalo chicken noodle soup. Simmer the soup until the noodles are al dente (cooking time will depend on the type of noodles you use), then proceed with the recipe as directed.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:45:42 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

Moderate

Nutrition per serving

Calories352.9 kcal (18%)

Total Fat16.9 g (24%)

Carbs32.1 g (12%)

Sugars6 g (7%)

Protein17.2 g (34%)

Sodium757.7 mg (38%)

Fiber1.3 g (5%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

8 servings

1 tablespoonolive oil

1white onion

large, peeled and diced

8 cupschicken stock

1 poundchicken

cooked, diced or shredded

1 cupwhite long-grain rice

¼ cuphot sauce

½ cupcream cheese

fine sea salt

freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

Step 1

Sauté the veggies. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant.

Step 2

Simmer. Add the chicken stock, chicken, rice, hot sauce and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer. Cover and continue cooking for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked and tender, stirring the soup every 3-5 minutes or so to ensure that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Step 3

Season. Add the cream cheese and stir until it is completely melted and combined. Give the soup a taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. And feel free to also add in more hot sauce and/or cream cheese if you would like to make the soup more spicy or creamy.

Step 4

Serve. Serve warm, garnished with lots of cheese, green onions and bacon bits. Enjoy!