Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup
7 Comments Nov 23, 2022
Updated Sep 01, 2025
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Crock Pot Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup, which is very similar to Avgolemono Soup, is loaded with shredded chicken breasts, rice, and flavors of lemon, celery, carrots, and staple herbs and seasonings.
Featured Comment
I made this soup about 2 weeks ago it was delicious ,& the lemon made it “perk” up. I found one juicy lemon was enough. Will definitely make it again & again. Thank You!
– JOanne
If you’ve visited any authentic Greek restaurant, chances are you’ve seen something similar to this delicious recipe on the menu. Now, you can skip the restaurant and make this lemon chicken and rice soup right at home.
With my tested and from-scratch recipe, you can eat this lemony soup for days.
Key Ingredients
Chicken Breasts: These will be seasoned with salt, pepper, and red chile flakes and cooked in the slow cooker until shred tender. Try my Crockpot Chicken Gyros recipe which has fresh flavors like this recipe.
Chicken Broth: Regular chicken broth or chicken stock is perfect, or you can use a low-sodium kind. If you have homemade chicken broth or chicken bone broth, you can use that!
Minute Rice: This is a par-cooked rice that works well in the crock pot. If you add standard rice you may find that the rice will get gummy and chalky for the slow cooker doesn’t get hot enough to cook it properly. You can use Minute Brand brown rice if desired.
Vegetables: Carrots, celery, and onion add color, texture, and taste to this delicious soup.
Seasonings: Besides salt, pepper, and red chile flakes, we also add garlic, parsley, thyme, and freshly squeezed lemon juice to make the iconic flavor of this dish.
How to make Lemon Chicken Rice Soup
- Toss the veggies, chicken, broth, lemon, and seasonings into your crockpot and let it work its magic.
- Shred the chicken when it’s tender and stir it back in.
- Finish things off with a quick-cooking rice and a sprinkle of parsley before serving.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Some recipes call for (lots of) fresh dill instead of fresh parsley. This would undoubtedly taste good and stay true to the Greekness of the dish.
- Besides the chicken breasts, you could also use a whole chicken, chicken thighs, or even rotisserie chicken in this recipe.
- If you want to use wild rice you can add that right to the slow cooker as well.
How to Serve
- You can also garnish the top with fresh lemon slices, feta cheese, and extra lemon juice.
- Serve with crackers, pita bread, or oyster crackers. Those are great for dipping into the hot broth.
How to Make this Avgolemono Soup
If you want to add an egg, simply whisk an egg in a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the finished hot soup to that whisked egg, stir, then add that egg mixture to the slow cooker and stir. Cook for 15 minutes longer. The egg will make the soup thicker and creamy.
How to Store Leftover Soup
Place any leftover chicken lemon rice soup in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. This soup also freezes well. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1.5 lbs. chicken breast
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- ⅛ tsp. crushed red pepper, optional
- 2 Tbsp. salted butter
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 Tbsp.)
- 8 fresh thyme sprigs, Tied with Butcher's Twine or 1 tsp. dried thyme
WAIT TO ADD
- 1 cup Minute Brand rice, (will add the uncooked rice to the slow cooker)
- 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, Finely Chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dried parsley)
Instructions
- To the slow cooker pot add the shredded carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Lay the chicken breast over the vegetables and season with the salt, pepper and red chile flakes. Add the butter, pour in the chicken stock and place the thyme in the slow cooker, squeeze in the juice of the lemon.
- Cook on HIGH for 4 Hours or on LOW for 8 hours. After 3hrs 30mins, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred, add back into the slow cooker (if cooking on low remove the chicken and shred after 7hrs 15mins).
- Add the minute rice in with the shredded chicken and soup. Cook for another 30 minutes on HIGH or 45 minutes on LOW.
- When done, sprinkle in the fresh parsley and mix. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Slow Cooker Soup Recipes
Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup and Crack Chicken Soup are both comforting bowls full of rich, savory flavors.
Slow Cooker Turkey and Rice Soup and Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup make hearty, satisfying meals without much effort.
Creamy Tortellini Soup and Buffalo Chicken Soup bring cheesy comfort and a little kick of spice to the table.
Wondering how log this would take in the Instant Pot? Any idea?
I do not, I apologize.
Can I use the Instapot for this? If so, any idea as to time? Thank you so much! This looks delish!!
I do not have an idea on time, but I’m sure it would work well!
I made this soup about 2 weeks ago it was delicious ,& the lemon made it “perk” up. I found one juicy lemon was enough. Will definitely make it again & again. Thank You!
Is there an alternative for rice? My husband dislikes those tasty little seeds/cereal grains of goodness.
You could boil about a 1/4 pound of pasta (such as macaroni) and add at the end of the cooking time.