Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice

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This Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice is ready to serve in just over an hour!

Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice

Last weekend Nick asked me to buy some veggies he could eat for snacks, so when I was at Sam’s Club, I bought giant bags of Broccoli, Celery, and Carrots.

I knew the kids liked them too, and they eat A LOT, so I wasn’t worried about them going bad before they could eat them all.

Then I remembered the kids can’t eat them raw due to their braces.

I just made Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken and Rice Soup the week before, so I needed a new recipe that I could use all of these in.

They used to enjoy the Panera Broccoli & Cheese Soup, but there isn’t a Panera that’s reasonably close to us, and they don’t like it in the Panera containers that Sam’s Club sells because it isn’t “fresh” enough for them.

So, I decided to make some at home, adding in a few other items to create an Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice.

Several of you asked about the bowl in the picture. I got a set of these around Christmas time from Target. They’re part of the JoAnna Gaines Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia Collection, and I think they were around $5 each!

I browsed the internet looking over a variety of recipes for Broccoli Cheese Soup.

None really met the parameters I had in mind, so I decided to just throw some stuff together and see what happened.

I considered putting it in bread bowls, but they were $5 each at the market this week, and $20 for bread alone for ONE MEAL was not in my budget, it got served in bowls 🙂

Normally when I try a new recipe, I’ll make it several times making adjustments here and there, and I won’t write it down until it’s perfect (for us).

I’ll be honest, I really did not expect this one to go well, because I had ingredients I was just throwing in, and it was a very easy broccoli cheese soup recipe.

At the end, I added chicken and rice, so maybe we’ll call it… Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice.

It was easy. I used only one pot. Broccoli. Cheddar Cheese. Chicken. Rice. Bam – it has a name 🙂

McCormick Limited Edition Cheddar Broccoli Soup, 1.05 OZ (Pack of 1)

*Shown as an example so you know what the package looks like when shopping in-store. I purchased mine at a Wholesale Club in a bulk size, so the pricing was MUCH more affordable 🙂

I don’t have the ingredient or in process pictures, because I really wasn’t prepared to share the recipe just yet.

Once the family tested it, they proclaimed it AMAZING and insisted I share it immediately.

I shared it with a quick phone snapshot and had several messages asking for the recipe, so here it is.

No fancy picture set up, they let me use the last scoop of soup in a bowl to snap two pictures, then they ate it.

Not one drop was leftover for lunch the next day.

 I may make it in the slow cooker next time too because I think it would work well on low for 6-8 hours.

Food Network Enameled Cast Iron 5.5qt Dutch Oven – This is the EXACT model I have.

Here’s is how I prepared this Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice Recipe:

I melted half a stick of butter in my Dutch Oven.

I already had my carrots, celery, broccoli, and onions peeled & diced and stuck in the freezer in a gallon freezer bag (I bought in bulk last week at Sam’s Club, prepped them when I got home bagged together & labeled for how I was using them).

I threw the frozen veggies in with the melted butter and let them unthaw, and cook until softened.

I added the garlic powder, salt & pepper, and Italian seasoning as they cooked.

Once they were ready, I poured in the cheese, chopped chicken, chicken broth, McCormick Slow Cookers Cheddar Broccoli Soup Seasoning, and brought the liquid to a boil.

I reduced heat and let it simmer, stirring every half hour.

When we were about 30 minutes away from eating, I added the rice (I used Uncle Ben’s Butter & Garlic Rice, the bags cook in the microwave for 90 seconds, but when using in a soup I do not microwave it, I just add it to the soup).

I let that simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes then served with garlic bread sticks.

My original plan was bread bowls, but at my local market they were $5.99 each – I would’ve needed 4 and didn’t want to pay $24 for bread alone, so we passed on that.

Next time, I might bake my own, but they liked it really well with the breadsticks!

Yield: 8

Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice

Print

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 medium onion diced
• 5 medium-sized carrots sliced
• 3 cups broccoli chopped
• 1 celery stalk sliced
• 1 32 oz box chicken broth
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 pkg McCormick slow cooker seasoning - broccoli & cheese soup
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 3 cups chicken chopped
• 2 bags uncle ben's butter & garlic rice
• 4 cups shredded cheese

Instructions

Melt butter in Dutch Oven

Prepare veggies (slice, dice, etc) and add to melted butter in Dutch Oven.

Cook until softened.

Add garlic powder, salt & pepper, & Italian seasoning.

Pour in Chicken Broth, Chopped Chicken, McCormick Seasoning, and Shredded Cheese.

Stir while bringing to a boil.

Reduce heat and let it simmer, stirring every half hour.

About 30 minutes prior to desired serving time, add the rice. (I used Uncle Ben's Butter & Garlic Rice, the bags cook in the microwave for 90 seconds, but when using in a soup I do not microwave it, I just add it to the soup).

Simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes.

Serve with Garlic Breadsticks. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 530Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 1300mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 31g

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