Lemon Chickpea Rice Soup

Bright and creamy dairy-free Lemon Chickpea Rice Soup. A delicious and easy one-pan-meal made with pantry staples and packed with veggies!

Avegolemono! Have ya heard of this beloved lemony Greek soup? Me either. But she sure is a beaut.

Cozy, creamy, and comforting to boot, this lemony dream soup makes me feel bright and happy. We all need more bright and happy right now.

She's made with pantry staples and easy peasy cashew cream in lieu of traditional cream. Yep, she's vegan and gluten-free, too!

How to make Lemon Chickpea Rice Soup

While traditional avegolemono soup is made with chicken stock, we're making a veg version today using water, dill and a bunch of vegetables instead since not everyone has broth on hand in these times.

If you do have veggie broth, feel free to use that in place of water! Just season with salt to taste.

1. Cook the veggies. Sauté a mirepoix of onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in EVOO until softened. We're building flavor since the recipe calls for water versus broth.
2. Add water, fresh dill, chickpeas, and rice. Bring the soup to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rice or grain of choice is tender.
3. Make cashew milk. Blend raw cashews with water to make a silky smooth soup addition. Pour it into the pot along with lemon juice, a hefty dose of salt and pepper to taste, and a handful of spinach. Stir until wilted.
4. Taste and adjust, as we must always do. Ladle soup into bowls and serve garnished with extra dill and lemon slices if you've got 'em. Voila!

Possible substitutions or variations

• Use orzo. This soup is traditionally made with orzo---I just didn't have any on hand.
• Use cooked rice. No quick-cook rice? Feel free to use 2 cups of pre-cooked rice instead and reduce liquid to 5 cups.
• Up the veggies. Mushrooms, kale, asparagus, potatoes...they'd all be yummy here.
• Use broth. Homemade or store-bought broth would add even more flavor. Just be sure to reduce the salt since it's based on using water.

What to serve with this soup

This soup is so wonderful with crusty bread. What soup isn't?!

It would also be delightful with a big Greek salad (this apple cider vinegar dressing would be fab). Add some feta if you're not vegan! Oh, we're living.

Craving more soup goodness? Don't miss my other top-rated soups!

• Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
• The Yummiest Vegetable Soup
• Healthy Salmon Corn Chowder
• Vegan Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
• Golden French Lentil Soup

Lemon Chickpea Rice Soup Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 24 reviews

• Author: Alexis Joseph
• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 25 min
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Greek
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Bright and creamy Lemon Chickpea Rice Soup. A delicious and easy one-pot-meal made with pantry staples and packed with soul-soothing veggies! Vegan and gluten free.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups water (or broth, but reduce salt)
• 1-2 tbsp fresh dill (or 1-2 tsp dried, I used freeze-dried)
• 1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ⅔ cup brown rice (can sub orzo, pasta, etc.)*
• ½ cup raw cashews + 1 cup water (can sub 1 1/12 cups milk, cream, etc.)
• ¼ cup lemon juice, more to taste
• 2 cups spinach
• 2 tsp salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and celery and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add water, dill, chickpeas, and uncooked rice. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 35-45 minutes, or until rice/grain is tender. (If you use a 15-quick cook rice like I did or orzo/pasta, the cooking time will be reduced to 15 minutes). Turn off heat.
3. Blend cashews with water in a high-speed blender (I used my Nutribullet) until smooth and creamy. Add to pot with lemon juice, salt (to taste), pepper, and spinach. Taste and add more seasoning/lemon juice to taste. It should be nice and bright!

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Notes

*If you don't have quick-cook rice, you can use 1 ½ to 2 cups of fully cooked rice and reduce water to 5 cups or to your desired thickness.

Keywords: lemon chickpea rice soup