Lemon Rice Soup (Vegan)

This vegan lemon rice soup is the perfect cozy, nutritious dinner. It's thickened with puréed white beans for a texture similar to traditional Greek avgolemono soup, but 100% vegan!

If you've made any of our soup recipes before, you're probably pretty sick of reading all about how much I'm obsessed with soup.

But if this is your first time here, let me reiterate. From October to March, soup pretty much consists of at least 40% of my diet. Is that an exaggeration? Honestly, I don't think so.

Soup is easily my favorite weeknight dinner. It's easy to make, requires very little clean up, and always provides plenty of leftovers for the next day's lunch.

Plus, there are literally thousands of incredible soup recipes on the internet, including here on Crowded Kitchen. Some of my favorites include White Bean & Kale Soup, Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup and Coconut Curry Squash Soup.

This Vegan Lemon Rice Soup is just the best. There's no other way to say it. It's the perfect balance of lemony, buttery, peppery, fresh, herby deliciousness. Best served with warm, crusty bread for dipping!

How to make

This recipe differs from traditional Greek avgolemono soup in more than a few ways, but we still wanted to get that creamy, rich texture. If you've never heard of it, avgolemono is a lemon rice soup with chicken and thickened with an egg yolk mixture.

How to thicken the soup

In place of eggs, we used puréed beans to add that rich, silky texture. We were so happy with how it turned out, and it couldn't be easier!

White beans are the best option for this soup. They're tender, easy to blend into a smooth purée, and don't change the color of the soup. We used cannellini beans, but navy or Great Northern beans will work, too.

Simply add the rinsed and drained beans to a blender with some of the broth from the soup and blend until it forms a smooth mixture. Then, just pour it into the soup and let it thicken up!

If you'd prefer a more broth-y soup, feel free to halve the amount of beans, or leave them out altogether. If you leave them out completely, decrease the amount of salt in the recipe by ¾ teaspoon. You can always add more at the end!

What rice should I use?

In my opinion, arborio is the best rice option for this soup. It's a short-grain Italian rice often used in risotto, and it soaks up a ton of flavor.

Just be warned – don't add more than ½ cup of dry arborio rice. If you do, you'll end up with risotto. Believe us, we tried! It may not look like it at first, but after sitting for about an hour, it will soak up a ton of liquid.

If you don't have/don't want to use arborio, jasmine or basmati rice would work, too. You could even use wild rice – we tried it once and it added a nice earthy, nutty flavor.

Fresh herbs = fresh flavor

My favorite part of this soup is all of the fresh herbs. Parsley and dill are my two all-time favorite herbs – nothing else beats their fresh, crisp flavor. I could honestly just eat a whole bunch of parsley on its own (note to self: make this quinoa tabbouleh!).

We add fresh dill, parsley and oregano to this soup. Plus, a big handful of spinach adds some extra green. Can't hurt, right?

It's best to add the herbs towards the end of the cook time. If you add them too early, they'll lose a bit of their flavor. Stir them in just a few minutes before serving. I always add an extra handful right before eating, along with an extra squeeze of lemon juice.

Meal prep, freezer and other tips

If you meal prep this soup and refrigerate it for use later in the week, we suggest adding a bit more broth or water to the recipe. Another cup should do the trick.

As the soup sits in the fridge for a few days, the rice will continue to soak up liquid. By the time you go to eat it, it will be more like risotto. Still delicious, but not really soup!

If you want to freeze this soup, let it cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. To prevent freezer burn, the best option is to use a vacuum sealer.

When you're ready to eat, defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. Add to a saucepan to heat all the way through, along with an extra cup of liquid to loosen it up.

Not vegan or vegetarian, or have a family member that's not? Make some shredded chicken on the side and they can add it in to their bowl. (That's what I do for my husband and he absolutely loves it!)

More favorite vegan soup recipes

• Vegetable Minestrone Soup
• Lentil Sweet Potato Curry Soup
• Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
• Super Green Vegetable Soup
• Creamy Red Lentil Soup
• Homemade Ramen with Tofu

If you make this vegan lemon rice soup recipe, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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