Easy Vegetable Rice Soup

This easy recipe for vegetable rice soup is simple yet full of flavor.  This gluten-free homemade soup is packed with fresh vegetables, broth, seasonings, diced tomatoes, and cooked long-grain rice. You can make fresh rice or use leftovers that you add to the soup at the end. 

This recipe is vegetarian recipe thanks to vegetable broth instead of beef or chicken broth.   I used my homemade VEGAN MUSHROOM BROTH when making this vegetable tomato rice soup to keep this vegetarian.  In fact, it is vegan thanks to this broth swap and this recipe has no chicken or beef in it.

This healthy and hearty vegetarian rice soup is dairy-free, gluten-free, low-fat, and low-calorie. Homemade soup is an economical recipe great for anyone's budget.  This vegetable rice soup is perfect for the thrifty cook that needs to make a quick cheap meal and watch their wallet. 

This recipe is great when you have only a few fresh vegetables and some pantry staples but need to make lunch, a side dish, or dinner. Serve with homemade fluffy rolls or your favorite gluten-free crackers.

Jump to:

• Ingredients for this Vegetarian Soup
• How to Make Vegetable Rice Soup
• Serving and Storing Vegetable Rice Soup
• Variations
• Easy Vegetable Rice Soup (vegetarian & gluten-free)

Ingredients for this Vegetarian Soup

This vegetable rice soup calls for a base called mirepoix (French term) is a combination of onion, carrot, and celery generally cut to the same size. I cut it a bit bigger for a chunkier soup that is more stew-like.  It feels heartier that way.  The addition of cabbage and tomatoes gives the rice soup some more flavor. This makes it similar to minestrone only it is a gluten-free version without the pasta.

The vegetable rice soup calls for VEGAN MUSHROOM BROTH but you can also use vegetable broth or a bouillon cube. I do highly recommend making this homemade broth from leftover mushroom and vegetable scraps since it is so good.

How to Make Vegetable Rice Soup

After you have cut and prepped all the vegetables, you are ready to start adding ingredients to a large pot to begin cooking the vegetable and rice soup. In a large stockpot, heat the oil on medium. Add the chopped vegetables and stir to combine. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes until they start to shrink and start to cook.

Next, add the garlic and seasonings to the pot with the vegetables that are cooking. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are all soft and have been cooked down.  They should not be browned but soft and tender.

Then slowly pour the broth into the soup pot and turn the heat up to medium-high to bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low. Add the canned tomatoes and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Add the cooked rice to the vegetable soup and stir to combine. Let it cook for 3 minutes so that the rice absorbs a bit of the soup flavorings but not too much so that the rice becomes mushy.  You can remove the bay leaf at this point in the soup-making.

When ready to serve, ladle the vegetarian rice soup into bowls and enjoy it immediately.

Serving and Storing Vegetable Rice Soup

If you do not plan to eat all of the soup immediately, I recommend keeping the soup and the rice separate until ready to eat. When storing these leftovers, place the soup in an air-tight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For the rice, store it in a separate air-tight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days also.

When you want to eat, spoon a bit of both together and reheat. If you store the rice and soup together, the rice will absorb most of the broth and become soggy and the soup will have very little liquid.

You can freeze this soup to enjoy later. When storing in the refrigerator, I recommend storing the soup and the rice separately. Or better yet, store the south and make fresh rice when you are ready to eat it. Rice soup will store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Defrost the soup in the container for 1-2 days in the refrigerator before reheating it in the microwave or stovetop.

Variations

This simple soup can be made in many ways to your liking. The combination of vegetables that can be used is endless in this easy soup recipe. Here are some ideas to help change up this soup so you can enjoy it often and never get bored of it.

• Carrots - instead of carrots use parsnips or potatoes.
• Can Tomatoes - use fresh when they are in season.
• Long Grain Rice - use precooked wild rice or brown rice instead.
• Extra Veggies - add any other of your favorite veggies - cauliflower, broccoli, peas, corn, etc.
• Spicy - add your favorite hot sauce or double the number of red pepper flakes.
• Grain-Free - use cauliflower rice instead of regular white rice; low-carb too.

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