Bright and creamy dairy-free Lemon Chickpea Rice Soup. A delicious and easy one-pan-meal made with pantry staples and packed with veggies! Super filling and healthy, this easy soup flavored with dill and fresh lemon gets even better as it sits. Vegan and gluten free!

Avegolemono! Have ya heard of this beloved lemony Greek soup? Me either. But she sure is a beaut. If you love my Cream of Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup, Golden French Lentil Soup, and Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup, you're going to be obsessed with this recipe!
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!
Key ingredients
- Mirepoix: An aromatic base of onion, celery, carrots and garlic add so much flavor and veggie goodness.
- Dill: A unique and delicious herby addition that I highly recommend! Dill and lemon are quite the dynamic duo.
- Chickpeas: For plant protein and to make this more filling and meal-like. You can omit if you'd like!
- Brown rice: Brown rice thickens the soup, adds fiber body, and interesting texture.
- Greens: I love that I can put a whole bunch of greens in here and they just add to the flavor.
- Water/broth: Broth will add even more flavor as the base liquid. I use Better than Bouillon.
- Cashews: Homemade creamy cashew milk gives velvety smoothness and mouthfeel. Raw is ideal for the best flavor.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice adds amazing brightness and depth to this soup.
Check out the recipe card for the full list of ingredients!
How to make (step by step)
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
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 or croutons. 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.
Storage
Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze soup?
Yes! Place completely cooled soup in a freezer baggie and place in the freezer flat. It will keep for up to 3 months. This is a great nourishing soup to make for new moms!
I hope you're as obsessed with this fun recipe as I am!
I'd be super grateful if you'd take a moment to leave a quick star rating and review below. Comments mean the world to me and your honest feedback helps me to continue to share recipes you'll crave!
PrintLemon Chickpea Rice Soup Recipe
- 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
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.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups spinach or 1 bunch Swiss chard, de-stemmed and chopped
- 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
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, more to taste
- 2 tsp salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- 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.
- Add spinach or chard, water or broth, 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). Remove pot from heat.
- Blend cashews with water in a high-speed blender (I used my Nutribullet) until smooth and creamy. Add to pot with lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Taste and add more seasoning/lemon juice to taste. It should be nice and bright! The soup will continue to thicken as it sits.
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
Lindsey says
Very good! I took some liberties with what I had on hand - added sweet chicken sausage, subbed coconut milk for cashew cream, and diced sweet potato instead of carrot. Perfect on a cold winter day!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Oh wow those sound SO good, thanks Lindsey!
Alex says
This is our absolute favorite soup recipe. We always find ourselves making it for guests and everyone always loves it! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
I love it, thank you so much for letting me know Alex!
Alex B says
Love this recipe! I used orzo and broth instead of water. Delicious and easy!
★★★★★
Alexis says
Perfection, thanks Alex!
Marisah Ali says
This was so simple, filling and delicious!
★★★★★
Alexis says
Yayyy thanks a ton, Marisah!!
Jen says
This was epic! The lemon made it so fresh, and the creamy texture was so nice. Will definitely make it again.
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, thank you tons Jen!!
Amber E Kenyon says
I love a good soup, my family often times is not as much into soup as I am. I made this the other day because my son wasn't feeling well, and this recipe reminded me of a Greek lemon chicken soup I always used to get when I didn't feel well. I used orecchiette pasta instead of rice/orzo, but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. I love the lemony zing of this soup, and so did my family. We loved it so much there were no leftovers by the next day!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyy love this, Amber! Totally agree about the Greek lemon chicken soup. Orecchiette pasta sounds SO good in here. Thanks for the fab review 🙂
willa says
This is a go to soup for my boyfriend and I. It is equally delicious, creamy and refreshing. Heats up well. Truly one of our favorites. We use orzo and it comes together soooo quickly!
★★★★★
Emily M says
This soup is great as written, but is also a great starting point to riff off of based on what you have! I've made this as written, and I've also made the following variations:
-Didn't have dill so I used basil, used store-bought cashew milk, added extra celery and carrots, and used basmati rice instead of brown
-Didn't have dill so I used cilantro and mint (sounds strange but the flavors mellowed out in this soup and just gave it a nice herby-ness), added an extra can of chickpeas, added broccoli, and used wild rice instead of brown
-Used store-bought cashew milk, added extra celery and carrots, extra lemon (1/3 cup vs 1/4), subbed half the rice for cauliflower rice
All of these versions were delicious!! Thank you for giving me this healthy and easy recipe that is so easily adaptable to the times I don't want to run to the store to grab dill 🙂
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, I'm so glad to hear those subs worked! Thanks for sharing, Emily.
Alex says
This is my absolute favorite soup! So easy and delicious. Everyone I have made it for loves it!! Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Awesome, I'm thrilled to hear that Alex!
Rosie says
This soup's flavour is utterly divine!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, thanks Rosie!
Lisa says
Oh. My. Goodness. 😍 This is so good! My husband even gobbled it up and asked for seconds, and he’s a self-professed dill hater. I used “no chicken” broth and fresh dill and lemon juice. So bright and springy! This is definitely a keeper!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Hahaha I love this! No-chicken broth is so good. Thanks for letting me know you loved this soup, Lisa!
Lizenia says
I didn't have celery but I improvised with some diced red peppers, and some left over zucchini I had. Also no cashews so I used regular milk. At the end, it was still delicious and perfect for a chilly wet evening.
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Perfect! I love that you made it your own. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Katie says
This soup was delicious! A perfect soup for spring!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, thank you so much Katie!
Athena says
I'm Greek and very familiar with Avgolemono soup so when I saw a vegan version I was so excited and this did not disappoint! I added extra lemon because you can never have too much. Surprised how flavorful it was considering how few ingredients. Would definitely recommend!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
I'm so glad to hear that, Athena! Love your name, too :_
Alex says
Made this for supper tonight. I slow-cooked some dried chickpeas (~ 1 cup dried) in six cups of water for twelve hours and used those (~ 3 cups cooked chickpeas) and the liquid leftover (~ 4 cups) as my "broth". I cooked my brown rice in advance as well since it was not quick-cook and used parsley and peas instead of the spinach. I wish I would have had fresh dill instead of dried - it would have been even better! The cashew cream was a great addition. A very nice refreshing soup! Thank you!
★★★★★
Lauren says
This is fantastic!!! Cozy soup but light and fresh. Perfect for a midwestern “spring” evening. Kids asked for seconds 🙂
★★★★★
Pam says
Absolutely delicious! I used farro instead of rice. As I am not vegetarian, I used half chicken broth and half water for a little extra richness. One of my favorite soups ever!
★★★★★
Carrie says
Made it and it is awesome! We loved it 🙂
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Awesome, thank you Carrie!!
Morgan says
Such a fresh and satisfying soup. I love how the cashew cream soaks into the rice and I pureed some yellow potatoes into the broth as well to add extra thickness which worked out great!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Mmmm yum! I love the potato addition. Thanks for letting me know, Elizabeth!
Rachel W says
So good and easily adaptable with what you have on hand! I added mushrooms and a bit of leftover cooked quinoa, along with the rice. So good and will definitely add to my soup rotation!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Mmmm I love the mushroom addition! Thanks for letting me know, Rachel 🙂
Clarisa says
This is a seriously delicious soup. It’s refreshing! So a great option for warmer weather when you still want that cozy feeling. It’ll be on repeat this spring. ✨
Alexis Joseph says
Heck yes! You made my day. Thanks for letting me know!!
Carrie says
Can't wait to make this one, it's in the plan for this week. Your soup recipes do not disappoint!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Awww thank you so much, Carrie! Please let me know if you try it.
Carrie says
Made it and it is awesome! We loved it 🙂
★★★★★
Lillian Ashworth says
Hey! Could I substitute the cashew cream with coconut cream (full fat)? I am limiting my grocery trips and already have coconut cream on hand.
Alexis Joseph says
Hey there! I personally don't love coconut milk in American soup recipes (I prefer it in curries/african peanut stew etc) but it should work if you like that flavor. You could also use 1/3 cup of tahini if you have that on hand!
Abbey says
Found this on your IG and made it the next day! I was able to freeze some to save for when the fam pulls out their meat filled soups (I’m vegetarian). Yay for not feeling left out anymore!!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
I'm thrilled to hear that, Abby! Love that you loved it 😉
Lauren says
This recipe is exactly what I need in my life!! It so good and chock full of healthy goodness. I’m so glad I found this recipe. It definitely feeds me for 2-3 days and is great each time!!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Yay! Thanks for letting me know, Lauren!!
Dylan says
The perfect soup for spring! So good 🙂
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyyy thanks, Dylan! If spring soup were a thing...it would be this.
Bionaze says
It's so good. I have made it a few times now. The last time I made it with orzo in place of rice and loved it so much!