Vegetable Rice Soup with Chickpeas (Vegetarian)

This comforting soup never fails to make me feel good. It starts with a foundation of onion, celery, carrot, and Serrano pepper. Next comes broth, rice, potatoes and herbs. It's finished with partially smashed chickpeas to add some vegetable protein and creaminess (without the cream) and a secret ingredient. It's a total comfort soup.

There's some meal prep at the beginning with cutting the onion, celery, carrot, Serrano, and potatoes, but it goes very quickly. And most of it can be done in advance or purchased pre-diced.

Jump to Recipe

Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
• 🔪 Recommended Equipment
• 📝 Instructions Overview
• 👩‍🍳 Using the Slow Cooker and Instant Pot
• ⏰ Tips for Success
• 🧊 Can I make this dish ahead?
• 💡Ideas for Possible Variations
• 🥩 Living With Meat Eaters
• 🥬 Make it Vegan
• Vegetable Rice Soup with Chickpeas (Vegetarian)

When I get knocked around a little by life, I head to the kitchen to make soup or to bake.

A vegetable soup is a great way to create a meal from bits a pieces of veggies you have on hand combined with legumes, pasta, bread, rice or other whole grains. Simple soups like this take little effort and the results are long-lasting. I always make a huge batch and freeze some for days that are too busy (and exhausting) to cook or when I'm feeling under the weather.

I created this soup years ago for someone who was writing for the Washington Post, and it's become one of my favorites. You can eat it as a main dish with some crusty bread on the side or roast some carrots for a side dish.

Other simple comfort soups I make often (I'm a big soup girl) include this summer farro soup with vegetables and white beans, or this vegetarian barley soup with potatoes and mint, or Persian yogurt soup (seriously, you must try this one!).

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

• Total comfort food.
• This is a hearty soup that's easily adjusted for meat eaters at the table (add shredded roasted chicken).
• Wholesome soup of fresh vegetables that's filling without weighing you down.
• No fancy ingredients since this soup uses primarily pantry staples.
• Keeps well in the refrigerator in airtight containers and freezes well.
• Easily adjusted for fresh herbs or other veggies you might prefer.
• Although there is some veggie dicing required, there are no fancy cooking techniques. Therefore I consider this an easy recipe to make. Plus many markets sell pre-diced celery, carrot, and onions in their refrigerator cases in the produce department.

---

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.

📝 Instructions Overview

Detailed instructions for making this vegetable rice soup are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview!

Step 1

Meal prep. Prep the onion, celery, carrot, and Serrano pepper.

Step 2

Sauté. Warm some olive oil in a large soup pot with a heavy bottom. Add the onion, celery, carrot and Serrano pepper and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 7-10 minutes.

Step 3

Simmer. Add the veggie broth, rice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes while you peel and dice the potatoes. Add the potato and continue to simmer until the rice is cooked and the potatoes are tender.

Step 4

Finish the soup. Mash the chickpeas leaving some whole or in pieces and about ⅓ of them are completely mashed. Mash the avocado and add both to the soup with the lime juice and Parmesan cheese.

The mashed chickpeas help to make this a creamy vegetable rice soup, but without the cream. The more mashed they are, the creamier the soup.

Simmer for 5 minutes to completely warm the chickpeas.

Step 5

Serve. Serve hot with crusty bread.

👩‍🍳 Using the Slow Cooker and Instant Pot

This soup is very adaptable to both the slow cooker and Instant Pot.

Slow Cooker Instructions:

• Sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and Serrano pepper on the stove top. Some slow cookers have an insert that can be used on the stove top and then re-inserted into the slow cooker. Otherwise, perform this step in a skillet.
• Add everything else except the lime juice and Parmesan cheese. Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 2 ½-3 ½ hours.
• Stir in the lime juice and Parmesan cheese and serve.

Instant Pot Instructions:

• Set your Instant Pot to SAUTE. Warm the olive oil and sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and Serrano pepper until softened.
• Add everything else and lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Set it on HIGH and cook for 15 minutes. Allow a Natural Release for 10 minutes.

⏰ Tips for Success

• Many markets sell pre-diced celery, carrot, and onions in their refrigerator cases in the produce department if you prefer to eliminate that meal prep work.
• The heat of the Serrano chile comes from its seeds and pith. For less heat, be sure to cut away all of the pith and remove the seeds.
• Use either a fork, immersion blender, or potato masher to partially mash the chickpeas.
• The cooking time will be faster using white basmati rice vs brown rice.

🧊 Can I make this dish ahead?

This soup keeps well in the refrigerator and freezes well in airtight containers.

• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Freeze in a freezer safe container for 2 - 3 months.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

• Swap out rice for quinoa, farro, or a wild rice blend.
• Use white beans instead of chickpeas.
• This is not a spicy soup, but if you're concerned about the Serrano pepper you can use ½ jalapeño pepper instead.

🥩 Living With Meat Eaters

Replace the chickpeas with 2 cups of shredded roast chicken for meat eaters at the table. I purchase them already roasted at my market for my husband.

🥬 Make it Vegan

Make this a vegan soup recipe by using a plant-based Parmesan style cheese. I like the Follow Your Heart brand.