Creamy Lemon Rice & Chickpea Soup

A creamy rice and chickpea soup that makes a perfectly balanced plant-based meal that will warm your soul – plus it’s super yummy!

This hearty soup is similar to the Lemon Chickpea & Rice Soup recipe featured in my Strong.Bold.Healthy Plant-Based Meal Plan… with a few alterations.

While I love a good broth-based soup, I wanted to bring in an extra layer of creaminess to make this Creamy Lemon Rice & Chickpea meal.

So I made a roux (the secret to any creamy dish) with vegan butter and whole wheat flour. Then I used unsweetened, original pea milk in place of the usual dairy options like heavy cream. This gave me the creaminess I was looking for…

After sautéing carrots, celery and onion, I added a few herbs – thyme, sage and rosemary – with a little pepper, then combined it with the creamy, vegan milk mixture. By this point, most of the work is done! Just add broth, chicken or vegetable base, chickpeas, cooked rice and spinach and you’ve got yourself a delicious plant-based soup.

To top it all off, I juiced half a lemon into the soup and it was a game-changer! Get the recipe below…

Ingredients (5 servings)

• 1 cup dry white or wild rice
• 3 tbsp. vegan butter (divided)
• 1 cup carrots (diced)
• 1 cup celery (diced)
• 1 sweet onion (diced)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1/2 tsp. dry thyme (plus more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. ground sage (plus more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. dry rosemary (plus more to taste)
• Black pepper
• 1/4 cup 100% whole wheat flour
• 2 cups plant milk (I use unsweetened original pea milk)
• 5-5 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp. vegan chicken base (I use Better Than Bouillon ’No Chicken Base’)
• 2 15oz. cans garbanzo beans; chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)

Directions

1. Cook the rice in a rice steamer or over the stove following the package directions. Set aside.
2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons butter. When the butter melts, whisk in the flour 1 tablespoon at a time to make a roux. Then whisk in half the milk and bring the milk to a simmer allowing the roux to dissolve. The mixture should begin to thicken; continue to whisk as you slowly adding in the remaining milk. When the milk has reached a thick and creamy consistency remove it from the heat and set aside.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery and onions. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until onions are translucent and carrots are tender.
4. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute or until fragrant. Then add the thyme, rosemary, sage and a few dashes of pepper.
5. Slowly stir the milk mixture into the sautéed veggies. Mix well. Then add 5 cups vegetable broth. Increase the heat bringing the soup to a simmer. Stir in the chicken base until it dissolves.
6. Add the chickpeas to the soup and continue to cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.
7. When the rice is done, stir it and the spinach into the soup and continue to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. The soup will thicken as it continues to cooks. If you want a thinner consistency, add the remaining vegetable broth.
8. Remove the soup from the stove and stir in the lemon juice. Add more spices and herbs to taste. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? Tag @strong.bold.healthy on Instagram or Facebook to show me your creation!

If you are following the SBH Plant-Based 21-day Meal Plan, one serving of Creamy Lemon Rice & Chickpea Soup is approximately:

• 1 serving Vegetables
• 2 servings Grains
• 1 serving Healthy Fats
• 1 serving Protein (meat & dairy alternative)

Note: Strong.Bold.Healthy does not promote calorie counting. However, being that some may use calorie counting as a tool to helpful tool, 1 serving of Creamy Lemon Rice & Chickpea Soup is approximately 406 calories. Nutritional information is a rough estimate.