Simple chicken rice and vegetable soup for kids

First Foods · Slow-Cooked ✓ 6 Months+

Simple Chicken & Rice Soup for Kids

A cozy, nourishing soup made with chicken thighs and drumsticks, carrots, potatoes, rice, and tomato. This small batch makes just enough for a few children's meals and can easily be doubled for the whole family.

Prep15 min + soaking

Cook2 to 3 hours

Makes4 to 5 small servings

Age6 months+

Ingredients

1 chicken thigh, bone-in and skin removed
1 chicken drumstick
1 tbsp grass-fed butter, ghee, or oil
1 large carrot, diced
1 medium potato, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tbsp white rice, rinsed a couple of times, then soaked in filtered water for 2 hours and drained
1 medium tomato, grated
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp good quality sea salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp black pepper, adjust to taste
4 cups (950 mL) filtered water, plus a little more if needed
Lemon, for serving
Sourdough bread, for serving

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What makes this soup so simple This is intentionally a small-batch soup, meant to be an easy kid-sized amount rather than a big weekend pot. It comes together with pantry basics and a few hours of gentle, mostly hands-off simmering. The long, slow cooking gives you a rich, comforting chicken broth without any complicated technique. Adding soft pieces of sourdough directly into the bowl is a small touch that makes it especially appealing to kids, the bread soaks up the broth and becomes soft and easy to eat.

Instructions

1 Soak the rice. Rinse the rice a couple of times until the water runs mostly clear. Place it in a small bowl and cover with filtered water. Soak for about 2 hours, then drain and rinse.
2 Cook the onion. Heat a little high quality butter, ghee, or oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the turmeric and stir for about 30 seconds.
3 Add the chicken and carrot. Add the diced carrot along with the chicken thigh and drumstick. Cook for several minutes, turning the chicken occasionally, until it develops a little golden color on the outside.
4 Add the water and rice. Pour in the 4 cups of filtered water. Add the drained rice, then the salt and black pepper, adjusting the amounts to your family's taste. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
5 Slow cook. Cover and let the soup gently simmer for about 1 hour. Check partway through, if it looks like it is thickening up more than you like, add a little more filtered water to loosen it back to a soup consistency.
6 Add the potato and tomato. After the first hour, add the diced potato and grated tomato. Cover again and continue cooking over low heat for another 1 to 2 hours, until the chicken is very tender, the potato is soft, and the rice has cooked into the broth.
7 Serve. Remove the chicken bones and shred the meat into small pieces. Serve the soup warm with a squeeze of fresh lemon. For kids, tear soft sourdough bread into small pieces and let them add it directly to their bowl of soup.

A note on salt: This recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt as a starting point, but it should always be adjusted to taste and to your family's preference. For babies under 12 months, prepare their portion with little or no added salt before seasoning the rest of the pot for older children and adults.

Adaptations by Age

Age	How to serve
6 to 12 months	Make sure the chicken is completely cooked and remove all bones before serving. Shred the chicken very finely and mash some of the vegetables and rice into the broth for a softer texture. Prepare with little or no added salt.
Toddlers	Leave the vegetables and chicken in small, soft pieces. Offer sourdough bread to tear and add directly to the bowl.
Family	Serve as is with a squeeze of lemon and sourdough bread on the side.

Easy Family-Size Version

This recipe is intentionally small, meant to be an easy kid-sized batch. Need more? Simply double everything. That gives you enough for the kids plus leftovers, or a larger pot for the whole family.

Storage

🧊 Fridge

Up to 2 days in an airtight container. Why we keep cooked meat for 2 days only.

Tips

Rinse the rice a couple of times before soaking to remove excess starch, this helps keep the broth from becoming too cloudy or thick.
Let the soup simmer low and slow. The long, gentle cooking is what builds a rich, comforting broth without any complicated technique.
If the soup looks like it is getting too thick at any point, especially after adding the rice and potato, just add a splash more filtered water to bring it back to a good soup consistency.
Always taste and adjust the salt. The 1 teaspoon here is a starting point, not a fixed amount.
A squeeze of fresh lemon right before serving brightens the whole bowl.
Soft sourdough torn into the bowl is a simple, effective way to make this feel like a complete and comforting meal for kids.

Why This Nourishes

🍗

Bone-In Chicken

Slow simmering with bone-in chicken draws out minerals and gelatin, building a rich, gut-supporting broth

🥕

Carrot & Potato

Provide beta-carotene, potassium, and gentle fiber, softening beautifully during the long simmer

🍚

Soaked Rice

Rinsing and soaking improves digestibility. Learn more about why we soak rice.

🍋

Fresh Lemon

A finishing squeeze of lemon adds vitamin C and brightens the flavor of the rich, slow-cooked broth