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!

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Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice

Author: Karen Puleski Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 8

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 bens butter & garlic rice
• 4 cups shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Melt butter in Dutch Oven
2. Prepare veggies (slice, dice, etc) and add to melted butter in Dutch Oven. Cook until softened.
3. Add garlic powder, salt & pepper, & Italian seasoning.
4. Pour in Chicken Broth, Chopped Chicken, McCormick Seasoning, and Shredded Cheese.
5. Stir while bringing to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and let it simmer, stirring every half hour.
7. 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).
8. Simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes.
9. Serve with Garlic Breadsticks. Enjoy!

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