Serves 6
Total time: 40 minutes || Active time: 15 minutes
See those sets of footprints in the snow? Now notice where one set disappears? That was when soup was carrying you.
It’s January (again? wtf!) in the midwest. The Christmas lights are coming down (well, they should be anyway), the Valentine’s hearts have not yet appeared, and the New Year’s Resolutions are just beginning to wobble. The only thing that’s keeping society from falling to pieces is soup!
Invite a friend over, break some bread (olive sourdough spoken here), and inhale big bowlfuls of comfort like this one. Chewy rice and succulent chickpeas, fragranced with rosemary, thyme and celery, pulled together by luscious cashew cream. And of course I throw in a little kale at the end for good measure. I chose lacinato because it holds its bite, but you, of course, can use whatever you like! Some green onions on top add another whiff of of flavor and even a hint at Springtime, which — hard to believe — is just around the corner. I promise.
Notes
~ If — for whatever reason — you don’t want to use cashew cream, unsweetened plain almond or soy milk will work. It doesn’t get as creamy, but it’s still yummy! Just please double and triple check that it’s unsweetened, or it’ll be awkward tasting.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 cup rice, rinsed (see note about rice)
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, diced chunky
5 cups vegetable broth
1 24 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups)
4 cups chopped kale
Thinly sliced green onion, for garnish
Directions
Add rice, celery and carrots and then pour in the broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring down to a simmer, add the chickpeas, and let cook for about 15 more minutes, until rice is cooked and carrots are tender.
Add the cashew cream and kale, and simmer until kale is wilted, 3 to 5 more minutes. You may need to add water to thin the soup if it seems too thick. Taste for salt and seasonings and let sit for 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to marry. Serve topped with green onions.
It thickens as it cools, so if you have leftovers, just thin with a little water when you reheat.
This was delish! I didn’t have any cashews on hand so I used almond milk and 1-2 tablespoons tahini. I also topped it with ume plum vinegar which was a nice addition. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this twice in one week, if you can believe it, it tastes better then it looks. Fantastic soup recipe thanks SO SO much!!
I made this last night and man was it delicious. Your recipes never disappoint – Thanks!!
Yum!!! Creamy goodness. Can’t wait for tomorrow when I can eat more. As an aside, the soup gets astonishingly thick! I was worried because it started out so thin. Thank you for sharing these great recipes with a new vegan; I just ordered your cookbook.
This soup is officially amazing. I shared some with my folks, and my father who dislikes both chickpeas and kale thought it was amazing. Major soup win!
So I am allergic to nuts. Would soy nuts work?
I haven’t used them in this recipes, but often sunflower seeds work! I think they work best if you have a great blender, though.
Wwwwwwwowww! Made this for dinner tonight for my honey who’s feeling under the weather. Earned massive husband points!!! Made it with Thai red rice and the BtB broth. This recipe is surprisingly easy to make. The hardest part was waiting for the flavors to marry. Wanted to eat the whole pot (that could have been problematic!). Alas, creamy leftover goodness for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Isa.
So sad. Just ate my last bowl of this:( Guess that means I get to make it again!!
Can I sub homemade almond milk for cashew cream?
Thank you. This recipe has made an awful week bearable. Simple favors from simple ingredients merged together to make a beautiful marriage of taste. The kale was a stark contrast from the rest of the soup, and it worked in that opposites attract sort of way.
Thank you, Isa. You never steer me wrong.
You have outdone yourself with this one! I can’t believe how utterly delicious this is. I could have easily devoured the whole pot. But I couldn’t bear the idea of no leftovers for lunch tomorrow. My husband, vegan by default (he says), couldn’t stop raving about it.
Before I went vegan, I used to love a certain brand of veggie lasagna with a white sauce. The cashew cream reminded me of this. Hmm….I see a new culinary creation in my future. Thanks Isa Chandra!
I think I did something wrong when I made this recipe. It was not very creamy. Any ideas how I could have messed it up?
Sorry to barge in (I’m normally a harmless lurker) – Made this exactly according to the recipe, including the BTB and this soup is FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS. My husband (a fearful and newly minted vegan of two weeks ((YAY, I don’t have to cook two meals anymore!)) carted his bowl out to the the coffee table & his TV obsession, and I heard – slurp, “WOW” slurp, ,”Oh, WOW, this is sooo good…” slurp, “WOW (moan) WOW!”. “Baby, you’ve outdone yourself!”, he yelled. I said, “Not me, thank Isa. She’s a goddamn genius!”. Also, I’m on a mission to learn to like cooked greens; I love them raw, but the texture of cooked really bothers me. This totally did it for me. Thanks, Isa, you are BRILLIANT!
I think I said, “this soup is amazing,” about 10 times during my first bowl, and atleast 7 times during my second.
I made this today and LOVED IT! I made one change, simply because my grocery store was out of raw cashews…imagine that! I took 1 of the 3 cups of chickpeas and pureed it in 1C almond milk, then added it w the kale as in the recipe. It was DELISH and creamy!!!
This soup is unreal good. And pretty easy to make. Added fresh mushrooms too.
My family and I are big soup fans around here, as we eat it at least twice a week, and this one of the best recipes we’ve ever had. Nothing beats a big bowl of tasty soup! Thanks!
We made this tonight. Followed you recipe exactly and it was amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Fan-freaking-tastic! Reminded me of creamy chicken and rice soup from the old days. Perfect dinner for a snowy day!
Just made this yummy recipe! I substituted zucchini for celery and used soy milk (unsweetened) in place of cashew milk. As I am a crappy cook, it was easy to make for me and tasted like a good hearty meal on a cold day. I bet it would be great with some vegan cornbread!
Thanks so much for this great recipe!
This is the second time I have made this soup and it is FABULOUS!!!! I used barley instead of the rice. It definitively gets more “stewy” as it thickens so you can compensate with more broth. I have made this for friends, both vegan and non-vegan and it is an absolute hit! I will try many more variations but this is a go-to recipe.
This soup is insane. I’m pretty sure I licked the pot.
This soup is ridiculous… as in ridiculously good. I made it when this recipe was first posted, used jasmine rice and soy milk (due to a my son’s wicked bad nut allergy). Tonight I have it on the stove again because it was such a hit. I only have brown rice though, and no celery to speak of, so we will see how it changes the flavour. This recipe is now a go-to for me — super easy and so yummy!
Just had this for dinner and it was AMAZING!
This soup looks so creamy and delicious. With it being winter, I’ve been craving thick comfort foods. I am looking forward to trying this one out!
I just made this soup with pre-cooked brown rice and white beans instead of chickpeas. I also used a regular vegetable stock (not broth). It came out absolutely delicious! Perfect for the after snow storm here in Iowa 🙂
Thanks.
I’m going vegan for February, in like 5 hours. Just made this, and it is delicious! I was skeptical of the cashew cream, but it was easy to make and really worked.
Thanks again. I highly recommend this for anyone going vegan for the first time.
I’ve been unable to stop hovering over the stove taking spoonfuls of this. Excellent recipe! I used brown rice that I precooked for a half hour, curly kale and was out of rosemary so I added celery seed.
this is so yummy! thanks!
Looks delicious.
I am so excited! I belong to the Tuesday Soup Group for the English Department, and I am bringing this soup!
Made this recipe tonight, it is the best new thing I’ve made in my 5 weeks as a vegetarian. (to answer another Ellen’s comments, I made it with black rice and it did not change the color of the soup) Great recipe, thanks!
I made this and it was incredible! The only thing I changed was subbing sage for the thyme since I cannot stand thyme. I do a weekly dinner swap with my non-veg(an) neighbors and they raved about it! The cashew cream is amazing. I love that trick. My 3 year old and 1 year old loved it too (except for the kale…still working on getting them to like it…one day I will win that battle!) Thanks for all the awesome recipes! I’m going to try the mango fried rice this week and am ordering 2 of your cookbooks!
I had this for lunch this week and it just got better the longer it sat! 🙂
My rice didn’t cook within the 15ish minute mark (it actually took 45 minutes to get the rice to actually be tender. this might have been my fault as I didn’t soak the rice first, as I read that’s what you should do with red rice before cooking).
I loved the cashew creme. next time I think I will strain it with some cheese cloth to get rid of some of the grit.
This is the bombdigity. Made it a few times since you posted. Loves!!!
WOWZERS! I couldn’t wait to make this soup so I subbed spinach for the kale, and it’s still amazing.
Agree with Aleks – wish nuts weren’t so expensive! Looks great!
– Stephanie
veganstate.blogspot.com
I finally got around to making this and I’m so glad I did. That is one tasty, hearty bowl of yum.
Thank you SO much for this recipe- whole family loved it… I’m going to be making this one over & over.
This was amazing! My boyfriend labors under the false belief that soup is not a meal. I believe this proved him wrong. This will be made again, so flavorful.
Absolutely lovely. My entire family enjoyed it, it is definitely going to become a regular winter dish. Thank you so much for posting it!
This is a fantastic comfort soup. Easy to make, absolutely delicious.
I started eating vegan a week ago. This is the second recipe I’ve made from this website and the second recipe that has completely exceeded my expectations. Totally awesome.
Does anyone know if this will freeze ok?
I love to keep a few servings of soup in the freezer for when I’m crunched for time, and things like Butternut Apple Soup (Ap for Reduction) work well but I’m not sure if the creaminess will ruin it when thawing.
Just made it! This was my first time making any sort of cashew cream and WHOOO I’m glad I did! I also used yellow carrots instead of orange. This soup is so deliciously creamy & rustic 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve made this twice already and I and my non-vegan boyfriend are obsessed. The second time I actually made it with black eyed peas instead of chickpeas and we liked it even more!