Are you a fan of Panera? We enjoy eating there occasionally. My husband always gets their Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup and I always get their Creamy Tomato Soup (because they don’t have too many GF options). I like the Tomato Soup, but I’m always jealous I can’t have his Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup…it always looks so good!
Since the new year, we have CUT eating out drastically. It’s really been kind of nice! I decided that I would try to recreate some of our favorite dishes at home and make them gluten free – {plus we are saving money and calories all at the same time!}.
Seriously, a whole POT of soup costs the same as a BOWL of soup in a bread bowl at Panera. Kinda insane when you think about it. Okay, really insane.
I found this recipe at For the Love of Cooking. I changed it up a little to suit what we had on hand and we both loved it! It’s packed full of flavor and makes such a warm comforting dinner.
It’s a keeper, for sure!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp of olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2-3 carrots, diced
- 2-3 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 5 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced
- 1/2 cup long grain rice
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, stir, and let cook about 1 minute.
- Add in the chicken broth, rice, basil, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Turn up the heat to boil the soup. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch and the evaporated milk. Add the milk mixture to the pot of soup. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. (Soup will begin to thicken)
How do you feel about the cost of eating out rather than making things at home?
Have you found a happy medium between the two?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
OK….even tho Chuck is NOT much of a soup guy…..we ARE going to have this…I LOOOVE soups and could eat them EVERY day in the winter time!!!
This looks SOOOO good!!! And to ruin all the wholesome goodness of it…I can just SEE
it with a little pile of shredded cheese on top!!! LOL
I think that if you are doing the cooking…sometimes there has to be compromise and you need to make something YOU love…even if it’s not the husband’s favorite (assuming that he doesn’t HATE it). Daniel is not a huge fan of mashed potatoes, but every great once in a while I make them and if he doesn’t want them he can load up on veggies and meat.
Now that’s some great marriage advice, huh?LOL!
And yes, cheese would be great on the soup!
P.S. That pic of the Nutty Buddy cake on the side is KILLING me!!! I WAAANNNT some!!!!
I know…I don’t know why I did that
Silly me.
Thanks for this! Looks delicious. I love Panera! My husband – not so much – exactly because of the price point you mentioned. I bought the only ingredient I didn’t have on hand today and I can’t wait to try this. Unfortunately we had soup for dinner last night so I’ll have to wait a few days. My toddler and soup can be a frustrating combination… It’s best to space it out a little.
Hi Cheryl! Yes, Panera is definitely pricey for the amount you get…and for a guy it’s not a lot of food! I hope you guys enjoy the soup when you get to make it
Thanks again Katie. We had this Cream Chicken and Rice soup last weekend and it was delicious! I just pinned it to share the love.
Cheryl, thanks for pinning and feedback…I appreciate it
Made it!!!! Chuck really liked it too!!! I made toasted Italian bread to go with it…and YES…..I put CHEEEEEESE on mine!!! DEE-LISH-US!!!!
Yay! I’m glad you guys like it! I will have to try putting cheese on it next time