Hearty Chicken Rice Stew (Simple Ingredients & Easy to Make)

December 14, 2021 • Mains, Recipes • chicken, dairy-free, easy recipe, healthy, stew • No comments

This recipe is the perfect warming dish to have in the cold months! It requires few ingredients, is healthy and easy to make. Feel free to swap out the rice for another grain such as barley or farro, and add in other veggies you like such as mushrooms or peas. You can also keep this recipe dairy-free by not topping with parmesan cheese which is totally optional.

(This recipe was adapted and inspired by Gimme Some Oven’s Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup recipe.)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

1/2 celery heart (a little over a cup chopped celery)
1 diced medium white onion (a little over a cup)
3 large carrots peeled and chopped
1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast or chicken thighs
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 bay leaf
32 fl oz low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Salt
1 13.5 fl oz can of coconut milk
2 handfuls of destemmed washed kale
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Prepare chicken by cubing it into 1 inch pieces, season with garlic powder and black pepper. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large pot on medium heat and cook until no longer pink in the middle, about 10 minutes.
While chicken is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Once chicken is done cooking, remove from pot and set chicken aside.
Then using the same pot (lightly clean from cooking of chicken), heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat. Then add onion and sauté for about 3 min before adding about 1 tbsp minced garlic. Sauté about 2 min until fragrant. Then add in carrots, celery, uncooked rice and Old Bay, stir to combine.
Then add broth, water and bay leaf. Increase heat to medium high until stew starts to boil then lower heat to medium low, cover and simmer for about 30 min until rice is tender.
Remove bay leaf. Add in coconut milk. Stir in kale and cooked chicken (which you can shred into smaller pieces once cooked, if you'd like). Cook an additional minute or 2. Add additional old bay seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
Top with a bit of Parmesan cheese when serving, if desired. Enjoy!