This easy ham and rice soup is an utterly foolproof recipe the whole family will love. The perfect comfort food, this delicious one pot meal is a great way to use up leftover cooked ham. Just add veggies and rice for a speedy weeknight dinner.
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Add heavy cream to give the soup a more velvety texture if you like. If you prefer a lighter soup you can swap heavy cream for half and half, or leave the cream out altogether and add a little more chicken stock. The soup will still taste fantastic.
This is based on an old fashioned ham and rice soup recipe. I've opted to use brown rice as it has great texture and doesn't break down quite so much as white rice. You can also use wild rice, just ensure you adjust the cooking time to suit the rice used.
Nothing goes to waste in my kitchen and this ham soup is a great way to use up holiday ham or leftover ham from the weekend's roast.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Ham & Rice Soup
- Ham and Rice Soup Ingredients
- How to Make Ham & Rice Soup - Step-By-Step
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Variations & Substitutions for Ham and Rice Soup
- Tips & Tricks
- How To Serve Ham and Rice Soup
- How To Reheat?
- How to Freeze Ham and Rice Soup?
- Pin This Easy Ham & Rice Soup Recipe For Later
- What Do You Think?!
- More Easy Recipe Ideas
- Printable Recipe
- Easy Ham & Rice Soup Recipe (With or Without Cream)
- Reader Comments & Ratings
Why You'll Love This Ham & Rice Soup
- This recipe is great for meal prepping, make a double batch of soup and freeze half for a quick and easy family meal another day.
- This soup is naturally gluten free with no need for flour or other thickeners.
- Heat up the leftover soup and pour in a thermos for a quick and easy lunch on the go.
- This is a great recipe for using up leftover holiday ham (and tastes even better with the leftover ham bone!)
- Looking for a hearty and filling bowl of soup, try these recipes:
Ham and Rice Soup Ingredients
Find the full list and quantities in the recipe below.
Ham - I use cooked ham in this recipe, you can go for any variety such as smoked or maple cured. You can also use leftover roast ham from the weekends roast.
Rice - I've opted to use brown rice in this recipe as it has a great nutty flavor and a bit more bite than regular white rice. You could make a wild rice soup recipe by swapping brown rice for uncooked wild rice, or try a wild rice blend.
Vegetables - I like to use a yellow onion, celery, carrots and garlic which form the base for many of my soup recipes.
Stock - I've used chicken stock in this recipe, but you could also use ham stock or vegetable stock too.
How to Make Ham & Rice Soup - Step-By-Step
Find the full printable recipe below.
Sauté the chopped onion, celery and carrots with butter or olive oil in a lidded pan, soup pot, or large Dutch oven. Stir occasionally for around 10 minutes.
Season well with sea salt and black pepper then stir in the minced garlic.
Add the cooked ham pieces and brown rice.
Pour in 6 cups of chicken stock. Stir to incorporate everything well then bring the soup to a boil then turn down to a simmer. It should be barely bubbling. Add the lid and simmer for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the heavy cream if using. If you prefer your soup a little thinner, it's fine to add some more stock here too. Taste and season again, then serve sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should rice be cooked before adding to soup?
No, add uncooked brown rice to the soup, do not use cooked rice or the rice grains will overcook in the soup and loose any bite and texture.
If you do want to use leftover rice, add it right at the end of the cook and warm it up in the soup, this will stop the rice from overcooking.
Which rice is best in soup?
You can add any variety of rice to soup, just ensure you adjust the cooking times depending on the type of rice used. White rice, brown rice, wild rice, wild rice blend and jasmine rice would all work in this recipe.
Can I make Dairy Free Ham and Rice Soup?
Yes, with a few simple swaps you can make this soup dairy free. Swap the butter for a dairy free alternative or use olive oil or vegetable oil. Then either leave the heavy cream out altogether or swap it for a dairy free alternative, or use coconut milk.
Variations & Substitutions for Ham and Rice Soup
You can easily adapt this recipe, adding extra vegetables to the pot creating more of a ham casserole in a creamy sauce than a soup.
Any variety of ham works in this soup, it would also work really well with chicken. Try using rotisserie chicken for another fast dinner.
If using ham leftovers from the weekend's roast dinner, you can also add the leftover ham bone which will add great flavor to the soup.
You could also add to the vegetable mixture, like green beans, bell pepper, zucchini, spinach or broccoli if you want to increase the veg count.
Add some herbs to the soup while its cooking, try bay leaves or sprigs of thyme.
Once you've sautéed the vegetables you can add a touch of white wine to add some acidity to the soup.
Swap the rice for other carbohydrate like new potatoes, or some pasta noodles.
Heavy cream gives the soup a really creamy texture, if you prefer a looser soup you can use half and half, or thin down the soup with some extra chicken stock of low-fat milk (skim milk).
Tips & Tricks
- Ham can be a little salty so I prefer to taste the soup at the end of the cook and check for seasoning, adding more salt and black pepper if needed.
- Soup is a great make ahead dish and tastes even better the next day. Cook the soup in advance, cool, then place in an airtight container and store for up to 3 days in fridge.
- If the soup is too thick add a splash of chicken broth or water to loosen it.
How To Serve Ham and Rice Soup
This is a hearty and filling bowl of soup so I keep any additional sides simple. Add some crusty or garlic bread, some toasted sourdough or warm focaccia to the side.
How To Reheat?
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days. To re-heat, place the soup in a saucepan and place over medium heat to warm until piping hot.
How to Freeze Ham and Rice Soup?
Creamy soups don't always freeze well as heavy cream has a tendency to split during the freezing and defrosting process. Instead I recommend preparing the recipe as written, but omit the cream. Freeze the soup as is, then add the cream to it after defrosting and warming up the soup.
Pin This Easy Ham & Rice Soup Recipe For Later
What Do You Think?!
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More Easy Recipe Ideas
Printable Recipe
Easy Ham & Rice Soup Recipe (With or Without Cream)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Butter - or Olive Oil
- 1 medium Onion - diced
- 2 stalks Celery - diced
- 2 Carrots - diced
- 2 cloves Garlic - minced
- 1½ cups Cooked Ham - diced
- ½ cup Brown Rice
- 6 cups Chicken Stock - or vegetable stock
- ¼ cup Heavy Cream (Double Cream) - if adding
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper - to taste
Optional Garnishes
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley - chopped
Instructions
- Melt the butter (or Olive Oil) in a large Dutch Oven or pan with a lid, over a medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion, celery and carrots to the pan and cook until soft stirring occasionally. This should take around 10 minutes
- Season well with sea salt and black pepper then stir in the minced garlic
- Add the cooked ham pieces and brown rice
- Pour in 6 cups of chicken stock. Stir to incorporate everything well.
- Bring the soup to a boil then turn down to a simmer. It should be barely bubbling.
- Add the lid and simmer for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the heavy cream if using. Note If you prefer your soup a little thinner, it's fine to add some more stock here too.
- Taste and season again.
- Serve sprinkled with parsley if using.
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