Lemon Rice Soup with Chickpeas (Vegetarian)

A nourishing bowl of vegetarian lemon rice soup overflowing with spring vegetables and an obscene amount of fresh dill. Light, healthy, and easy. Perfect for a light dinner or a nourishing lunch. 

If you are a soup lover like me then I know you will love this creamy carrot soup and my all-time favorite vegan creamy tomato soup

Before we get crushed by the heat of summer lets celebrate the beauty that is spring soups! It is still quite chilly in the mornings and evenings here in the Catskills, and soup remains the staple food that I crave over and over and over again.

I know you are going to flip for this nourishing lemon rice soup with chickpeas, dill, spring peas, and fennel. The lemon adds just the right amount of brightness to turn this soup into spring sunshine. Serve it with crusty bread or a tender leafy salad.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• One pot baby! One of the bazillion reasons I love soup recipes. Easy clean up! Just let all the spring goodness bubble away on the stovetop, serve it up and then wash one pot. Less washing = more time in my garden!
• Comfort food loaded with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
• Plant powerful recipe with protein. The addition of chickpeas and peas in this recipe provide a well balanced carbohydrate/ protein profile.
• Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a hearty snack. Yes, I said breakfast. I am a card carrying member of the #SoupForBreakfastClub

Let’s Get Cooking!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Carrots, onion, fennel – The flavor trifecta! These veggies make up the base of this soup and provide a ton of flavor! You can swap out fennel and use celery instead but I love that hint of anise flavor as the base of this soup.
• Basmati rice – I love the texture and flavor of basmati rice, nutty and fluffy rice perfection. I prefer purchasing organic rice and soaking it for an hour or so before cooking. This step is optional but helps to reduce the anti-nutrients in rice and reduces cooking time.
• Chickpeas – I used organic canned chickpeas in this recipe. If you have tricky digestion always rinse your beans very well to improve digestibility.
• Frozen sweet green peas – Did you know that peas are actually in the legume family and technically not a vegetable? I love that sweet pop that green peas offer in this soup, and the added protein is just a bonus.
• Baby spinach – Wilted into the soup in the last few minutes of cooking. You could easily use kale, but increase cooking time by 3 minutes.
• Stock/Broth – I typically use chicken stock in most soup recipes because I have a stockpile in my pantry. If you are vegetarain use vegetable stock, if you have good quality bone broth, use that. I have tested this recipe using both Pacific organic vegetable stock and Pacific organic chicken stock.
• Lemon – Necessary, don’t skip the fresh lemon in this recipe – it is, after all, LEMON rice soup 🙂
• Dill – An obscene amount, becuase that’s how I roll when it comes to dill. Stirred into the soup in the last minute of cooking.

Tools

• Large soup pot (this is my favorite, happy making, soup pot)
• Cutting board
• Good knife

Instructions

Most soup recipes start the same, and this is no exception. Begin by sauteeing your aromatic vegetables, in this case, finely diced carrot, onion, and fennel. Saute for several minutes in your choice of cooking fat (I used a combination of butter and olive oil). Once veggies begin to soften (3-5 minutes), season well with salt and stir.

Add cooking stock, water and rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes (partially covered) or until rice is tender. Check the rice at 20 minutes.

Add chickpeas, peas, and spinach. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted and peas are warmed through.

Add fresh dill and lemon juice and adjust seasoning (i.e. add more salt!)

Expert Tips

• If the chopping of the vegetables feels daunting take out your handy food processor and pulse the veggies a few times until chopped.
• The big hitting flavors in this soup are lemon and dill, these flavors are only enhanced with the addition of salt. BUT did you know that citrus can be perceived as salt by our taste buds? If you are salt sensitive simply add more lemon juice until your reach your desired salt level.

FAQ

Storage / Reheating / Freezing

• Storage – Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
• Reheating – Reheat in a small saucepan on the stovetop or in a microwave safe container.
• Freezing – Freeze for up to 2 months in an airtight container.

Dietary Modifications

This recipe is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and vegetarian, but is not easily modifiable to other dietary preferences.

For more tasty dishes like this one, check out my Spring recipes and June recipes roundups!

I can’t wait for you to try my new favorite soup! Lemon Rice Soup with Chickpeas!! When you make it, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @abrapappa or use the hashtag #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo! 

If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!