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.
Wow, looks great! I see in a lot of your recipes that you like to soak nuts over night or over several hours. Usually I just boil them. Have you ever tried to boil cashews or other nuts instead of soaking them? Have you noticed a difference?
I have! It works. Secret: I’ve also microwaved for 2 minutes. I’m a terrible person. For a long time, I thought that there was a difference, so I never mentioned it. But now I’m pretty sure there isn’t.
awesome! it must so tasty. A pity cashewnuts are so expensive cause I could to this every day!
Isa, you are so funny! I laughed out loud at the “soup was carrying you” part at the top. Oh, and your recipes are awesome too. Can’t wait to try this one.
Do you think boiling nuts instead of soaking will remove nutrients, etc compared to soaking?
OMG the footprints opener made the recipe worth it right there. I can’t stop chuckling…
Making the recipe too, of course. Continuing to enjoy Appetite for Reduction, made chocolate cherry bread for new years as a special treat. Next up: this soul-satisfying, head-cold butt-kicking chickpea soup!
This sounds fantastic. Love love love soups in the winter time.
This looks great! And so easy! Can’t wait to make this. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
YUM! I will use my soy-free Not-Chik’n broth cubes.
Any idea on how much cashew cream the recipe actually uses? I’ve already got some made and i’m not sure how what the equivalent measures are from cashews + water to cream.
I’ve got lentil, kale & potato soup simmering on the stove right now, LOL. This soup sounds like another great hearty winter soup, thanks Isa!
so yummy!
think will there be any difference if i replace the kale with collard greens and swiss chards? (have tons of that from CSA this week)
I’m making it right now and the cashews came out to 1 1/2 cups (to previous poster, kate).
This sounds wonderful! I apologize if this is a dumb question, but where is the note about the rice?
I’m always excited about the recipes that call for soaked cashews, but haven’t made any because I don’t have a blender…would thinning out tahini or a nut butter work in a pinch? Sorry if this is a dumb question….
FYI, I made this tonight because I had everything on hand except the cashews–and I’m here to say that tahini is a great sub. I also added a medium potato (little cubes) at the same time as the other veg to thicken/starch it up a little bit, and stirred in a couple tablespoons of tahini at the end.
Hi, if i was to substitute almond milk, how many cups would I use?
I just made this. ‘Twas quite wonderful.
Just made this tonight. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!
This looks awesome!
Oh. Em. Gee. This was so good. Thanks for another winner! I decided to make it with pearled barley instead of rice, because I prefer the texture in soups, so I added extra water and cooked it for longer. Perfect for the weather here in Denver!
I made this tonight but used white kidney beans instead of chickpeas- I already eat so much hummus made with chickpeas– it is an awesome, quick and nutriciouc recipe. Thank you!
Just made this and it was amazing! I used pearled barley instead and it was great – also used a but of fresh marjoram and doubled the garlic as my hubby and I are HUGE garlic lovers! Thanks for this great recipe!
I love your recipes – and this sounds great! In fact it’s going to work with where I’m at on the anti-candida diet, so I’m making it tonight. Hope I’m not out of my homemade bouillon, though! Did you know that Better Than Bouillon has added sugar in it? Just FYI… It might not bother most people, and I was shocked to see it in the ingredients because I used to use it all the time. Just thought you might want to know, as I never used to even check ingredients until a month ago.
Wow. Just made this and it was delicious! I ended up using a heapin 1/3 cup of cashew butter. Only had about 2 cups of garbanzos but added in about a cup of mushrooms too. Finished with a full firmly packed 6 cups of lacinto kale. The house smells incredible and this is going to be the perfect lunch tomorrow as we freeze our arses off here in Phoenix.
I just got some black chickpeas and will try this as it looks great! For nice vegi-stock, check out “more than gourmet”, it’s really just like home made 🙂
This was AMAZING, thank you! Even better with a bit of the red hot tahini sauce.
Kitchen Basics makes a much better stock for soups. And they make a no-salt version of most of them as well, so you can cook them down for more flavor without it getting salty!
I’m not sure if they make a concentrated one, though. I love the BTB brand because it’s yummy and so cheap since it’s concentrated. I think it comes out to like 25 cents a cup!
I probably shouldn’t mention that it was 81 degrees here in South Carolina yesterday, should I? Well, I’m still going to be eating this soup ASAP. Maybe alongside some of your amazing cornbread.
Just sit in front of the AC with it.
Just, thank you for the awesome caption.
Viva La Soup! That’s a combination of languages for “soup is awesome.” There’s no place on earth that doesn’t consider soup a beloved essential. And if there is… I’ll… teach em a thing or two!
Made this today, nailed it! Great recipe, thank you.
I’d love to try it with some yummy black rice, though I think it might turn the broth a creamy blue! Not so sure others would find it as appetizing as the originql, though I’m sure I would.
Made it and it was delicious! My kids really enjoyed it. 🙂
Fabulously delicious, creamy and filling. I made some biscuits while the soup was simmering and it was a fast and easy supper. Lots of leftovers for the week ahead, too. Thanks Isa!
De-licious!! My hubby’s first words, “this needs to be a staple!!” thanks for a yummy staple recipe!
Love it! I was so happy to have all the ingredients on hand. I added water, but it still came out more like stew. So tasty and even better reheated. And your footprint opener killed me. Funny lady.
OH YA! Another winter hit! I only had a 15 oz can of chick peas, but I did have a block of tempeh so I added that too. I cooked it with the onions in some beer. I also used pearl barley instead of rice and it has a really satisfying bite.
this soup is even more delicious than it looks and it looked darn good. the only modification i made was leaving out the celery. it’s the ONLY vegetable that i absolutely cannot stand. isa you have outdone yourself again. a great meal for a cold winter night in iowa.
Oh my goodness!! This was so delicious, I don’t even have the words to describe it! I used great northern beans tho instead of chickpeas cuz that’s what I had in the pantry. Yum!!
Thought it looked like it had milk or cream. Recipe calls for making cashew milk, which I’ve made. It’s made with raw, unroasted unsalted cashews.
I love soup and this recipe sounds delish. I make soup all year round. Almond milf is what I always use for cream bases but i will try the cashew milk on this one. Thanks for the heads up. I will share this.
Are there any vegetarian recipes that don’t include rice, potatoes, bread or pasta?
There are people that are diabetic or pre-diabetic that would be interested in that.
I actually have some MimicCreme that I need to use up and I was planning on making this. Could you give me an approximate measure of the amount of cashew cream that you end up with once it’s blended? I’ve got half a package left, about 8 oz, so I think that’d be about right to use that instead of homemade cashew cream.
I made this. As soon as I saw the recipe, I just had to try it. My hubby is a creamy soup kind of guy. I had never hoped to be able to make him something creamy that was vegan. I’ve tried soy milk, soy based creamers, and I just did not like the taste and frankly didn’t think a seriously processed food was all that much healthier than just plain old dairy. Kinda felt like I was just trading one evil for another.
This soup knocked his socks off! I will definitely make this again and I can’t wait to try this technique next time I make his favourite cream of wild mushroom soup!
Wow! This recipe looks fabulous. Must.Get.Some.More.Chickpeas.
(On another note, I made your Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup recipe from Appetite for Reduction though I subbed kale for the spinach as this was what I had, and love it!) Then again, Appetite for Reduction has become my go-to cookbook since I purchased it in April of last year.
Delicious!! I added about a cup of mushrooms, and as another reviewer suggested, 3Tbsp of tahini because I didn’t have cashew cream. Definitely more of a stew. But with the sweet onion and the savory tahini… O.M.G. this was amazing!
You know if a soup is good when your 5 years old son tells you “Dad, this soup is the best soup on earth” Thanks ♥
I just made this minus celery and green onions, add curry pita toasts, sub brown rice. So rich, comforting, and aromatic!
Made this for dinner this evening. We always keep cashews around for cream of broccoli and I just made some chick peas a couple days ago. Cup and a half of left over brown rice and some kale that needed to be eaten and WOW! Really really good soup and made some extra room in the fridge. We’ll be enjoying this again soon.