Chickpea and Rice Soup (vegan, gluten free, wfpb)
Oct 22, 2020 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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Cozy Chickpea and Rice Soup
There are few things more comforting than a bowl of nourishing and soul warming soup and this Chickpea and Rice Soup is just that! It’s simple and unassuming, made with ingredients you probably already have at home, and it’s the perfect meal to make when you’re short on ingredients and don’t know what to make. Every time I make this, it looks slightly different because I’ll include veggies I have on hand, to put them to good use before they go bad. I’ll share some examples of recommended add-ins below, or of course, feel free to wing it and put your spin on it!
This is an adaptation of the popular Tofu “Chicken” Noodle Soup recipe I’ve shared, but made with slightly less processed ingredients (e.g. rice instead of noodles, chickpeas instead of tofu). It’s a great option if you don’t enjoy tofu, for example, or just want to keep it basic.
As with most soups, the flavour develops with time as well. In other words, this soup makes for great leftovers! Just be wary that rice will soak up the broth quite a bit over time, but you can always add more broth to the mix when re-heating. This Chickpea and Rice Soup is vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, nut free and can be made oil free if you prefer.
What’s in this Chickpea and Rice Soup?
- Chickpeas → both canned chickpeas or home cooked chickpeas will work, take your pick!
- Long grain rice → I find that long grain rice works best for a soup like this. You can also use leftover rice if you prefer, or experiment with brown rice, or wild rice.
- Flavour builders → AKA onion, garlic, carrots and celery
- Vegetable broth → again, homemade or store bought will work
- Fresh herbs → My personal pick includes thyme, rosemary and sage
Secrets to successful soup
The key to great soup is to season as you go, and keep tasting! You can adjust the saltiness, herby-ness and also play around with the ingredient to broth ratio if you prefer more broth, or more of a hearty stew-like consistency.
If you’d like to use leftover rice, add this in a few minutes before serving just to soften and cook down instead of at the beginning of the cooking process. This well preserve the texture of the rice, but if you prefer a congee/porridge style texture you can also add it earlier on in the process and cook down for more time. Totally up to you!
Fresh herbs are wonderful, but if you can’t find them, dry ground herbs work just as well.
If you like this recipe, try…
- Tofu “Chicken” Noodle Soup
- Red Curry Cauliflower Soup
- Miso Mushroom Ramen
- Pumpkin Lentil Soup
- Simple Minestrone
If you try this recipe out, tag me on Instagram @veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out below too.
Chickpea and Rice Soup (vegan, gluten free, wfpb)
Ingredients
- 1 cup carrots sliced or minced
- 1 cup celery thinly sliced
- 1 onion diced thinly
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp poultry seasoning or all purpose seasoning of choice
- 1-2 sprigs thyme
- 1-2 sprigs rosemary chopped finely
- 2-3 sage leaves finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2/3 cup basmati rice
- 5 cups vegetable broth more as needed (you can also use vegan chicken broth)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas roughly 1 can, rinsed and drained
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, sauté carrots, celery and onion with oil or a splash of veggie broth. Cook down for roughly 2 minutes to lightly soften, then add garlic, seasoning, fresh herbs and bay leaf. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add dry basmati rice to the pot and sauté for a few minutes to gently toast, then add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover the pot halfway and let cook for 15-20 minutes, or until carrots are tender and rice is soft.
- Add chickpeas, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with fresh parsley to garnish if desired.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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