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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Lemon Rice Soup (Vegan)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
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!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 1 cup small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp)
- 1 cup celery, diced (~2 stalks)
- 1 ½ cup carrots, sliced into rounds (~2-3 large carrots)
- 1 15oz. can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth, divided
- ½ cup dry arborio rice
- ¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups spinach
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot over medium. Add butter and onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until translucent.
- Add garlic, celery and carrots and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add cannellini beans and one cup of vegetable broth to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add remaining 5 cups of broth, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, puréed beans, rice, salt, pepper and bay leaves to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-25 minutes until rice is almost tender.
- Stir in herbs, spinach and remaining lemon juice. Let cook for additional 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
You can also use jasmine, basmati or wild rice in place of the arborio.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 312
- Sugar: 7.3 g
- Sodium: 2488.2 mg
- Fat: 11.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.7 g
- Fiber: 8.9 g
- Protein: 10.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: vegan lemon rice soup
patricia
Oh La La just made this recipe, it is wonderful, flavorful and creamy.. Will definitely be making this soup again. I did cut back on the oregano as it is not my favorite, added a little extra dill.
Lexi
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed!
That Linda
Yet again, I made a big impression by taking this soup to a sick friend. Her comment was, "So delicious. I need that soup recipe!" She's allergic to onions and garlic, so I went heavy on the celery, made sure my broth had no garlic/onions, and added baby bella mushrooms. Success, and now you have a new Crowded Kitchen follower! I'm just sad that I gave it all away. None for me to enjoy ....
★★★★★
Stephanie
This lemon rice soup is the bomb. The unique method of incorporating protein into the flavor with puréed beans is healthy and satisfying. I also like the use of arborio rice versus traditional as it add texture. The recipe comes together perfectly as written.
★★★★★
Jeanne Rademacher
I’ve made this a few times
Delicious!!
And it freezes well
★★★★★
NMHR
I was very excited to find this recipe. I've been vegetarian for 18 months. Was craving a chicken lemon rice soup. This was surprisingly delicious. I used better than bouillon no chicken base and vegetarian base. I didn't have fresh Oregano, but used dry. I think I'll omit it, or use less next time. The texture and the creaminess was on point!! Can't wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Lexi
I'm so glad you enjoyed, thank you so much for your comment!
Olwyn
I made this soup for supper last night and it got two thumbs up from hubby who said it was perfect in its seasonings! He has never said that before but he was quite specific about how much he liked it! I thought it was delicious and I have so often wanted a vegan replacement for the Greek lemon soup with chicken! Here it is! This will go into rotation as my favourite soup - thank you so much!
Lexi
That is the best feedback ever! So glad you and your hubby enjoyed and really appreciate your comment. Have a great day!
Victoria
One of the best vegan dishes I have ever made! The fresh herbs and lemon really brighten up a cold day. I made this a few weeks ago, but I will be coming back to this comforting soup again and again!
★★★★★
Jen
Delicious, light, and so healthy! I made this today with extra lemon and an extra can of beans that I added with the herbs to up the protein. Very satisfying on a cold winter day! It serves as a stand alone meal, but also would be great paired with a Greek salad.
★★★★★
Shelley
I made this soup on a snowy, cold day and it hit the spot! It was lovely! I substituted dry oregano and dill for fresh (2 tsp. each) and added the zest of the lemon in addition to the juice. I used no-chicken broth and omitted the salt since my broth wasn't low sodium. I like my soup a little more lemony, so gave each bowl a wedge of lemon to squeeze in. It was perfect! I'll make it over and over and over again!!
★★★★★
Lexi
Yay, thank you so much! I love the idea of adding in lemon zest - going to try that next time!!
Tina
This was soooo good! Never thought I would love lemon in a soup so much! Highly recommend it!
★★★★★
Lexi
Thanks so much, Tina! So glad you enjoyed!
Lori Megdall
I LOVE the traditional Lemon Rice Soup, but went vegan a couple years ago. This recipe is different, but DELISH! I used dried dill and oregano at half the fresh amount, and frozen spinach. Serving with warm pita and hummus...Thank you!
★★★★
Tessa
I love this recipe! I made it a couple weeks ago and am craving it already! I didn't have any of the fresh herbs last time because the store was out, but this time dill was in stock, so I'm excited for the new edition. It was so delicious with even just salt and pepper!
★★★★★
Lexi
I'm so glad you enjoyed! It's even better with dill – I'm actually having a bowl right now for dinner:)
Cynthia
We had this soup last night and it was delicious! I have wanted to try Avgolemono soup for some time, but couldn't get past the eggs in the traditional recipe. The white beans are a perfect way to add protein and the creamy texture. Now I am thinking about in what other soups I could use that great idea! Thank you!
★★★★★
Lexi
Hi Cynthia, thank you so much for your comment, I'm so glad you enjoyed!
Jillian
I miscalculated on the number of meals I needed and was scrambling for something to make. This used all things I had in my fridge and pantry. We eat really healthy but my husband and step kids always doctor things up, they didn't mess with it and gobbled it up. I only had dried herbs and some already cooked brown rice and it was still turned out so yummy.
★★★★★
Elena
I did the thing where I'm pretty sure I made an entirely different soup considering all the substitutions (covid-19 times mean you gotta improvise sometimes), but can't deny that it's amazing.
Though have to say my soup didn't thicken like at all even though I didn't change the amount of stock, rice, or beans. I don't see others having the same issue so that could be something I did.
★★★★★
Samantha
This is so tasty! I’m a vegetarian, but the Greek lemon chicken soup always sounded soo good. Thanks for posting this amazing recipe! I followed the post exactly except I didn’t have any oregano. Amazing! Can’t wait to make it for my family 😀
★★★★★
Lexi
Oh yay, love to hear that! Thank you so much for your comment!
Laura
simply delicious! My whole family of 6 ate this! That never happens. Yum!!
★★★★★
Lexi
That's the best feedback ever! So glad you and your family enjoyed 🙂
Chrissie
This soup was simply delicious. So easy and so so good. Definitely a keeper.
★★★★★
Lexi
Thank you so much, Chrissie! So glad you enjoyed!
Linda Kurkechian
This soup is heaven in a bowl! The flavors are fresh, bright and bold. I don’t even miss the chicken and eggs from its traditional counterpart. I could literally eat this every day. Way to go, ladies, for crafting this stellar recipe. I can’t wait to try your next brilliant creation!!
★★★★★
Lexi
Thank you so much!!
Erin
I've made this soup at least 3 times! I really love it with zucchini in addition to the carrots and celery. We can't get enough of it - comforting and healthy. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Lexi
Thank you so much, Erin!! Such a great idea to add zucchini, I'll have to try that next time!
Mikayla
We made this last night and really enjoyed it! The beans made it just creamy enough. I didn't have celery so we left that out, and we used a few pinches of dried parsley and oregano because I didn't have fresh. We also didn't add the last bit of lemon because it was just perfect for us without it. Really good recipe, we will definitely make it again in a larger batch for freezing! Highly recommend!
★★★★★
Lexi
So glad you enjoyed, thanks so much for your comment!
Nivah
I added all the vegetables in my fridge (mushroom, celery, asparagus) and it tasted so good. Tried to stick on my plant based diet😉. Thank you.