Chickpea Wild Rice Soup

Chickpea Wild Rice Soup

Our family loves soup any time of year, but of course it’s absolutely crave-worthy in the winter.  We wanted something that would warm us from the inside out, especially after coming into the house from doing our farm chores on a cold, blustery winter’s evening.  Enter this creamy, hearty, and veggie packed soup.

The wild rice adds a chewiness to the texture of this soup that we love, but brown rice will work nicely too.  The trio of onion, carrot, and celery – in addition to the poultry seasoning – makes this reminiscent of Chicken Noodle Soup (only without the chicken OR the noodles ).

Surprisingly, our kiddo likes to fish out all of the whole chickpeas and gobble them up.  In the past, he wasn’t so sure about them.  Another testament that we must keep offering foods over and over again, even if they’re regularly rejected.  He happily scoops spoonfuls up and eagerly eats this soup, so it is all in all a super successful meal (notice we didn’t say it wasn’t messy – let’s be real here).

Servings: 4 to 6

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbs. avocado oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 c. chopped carrot

• 1 c. chopped celery

• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

• 1 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

• 1 tsp. ground mustard

• 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground turmeric, to taste

• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste (our Roasted Garlic & Herb Salt works great here)

• 1/2 c. uncooked wild rice (can sub brown rice, see note at bottom)

• 2 cloves garlic, minced (if you’re out of fresh garlic, consider our Raw Garlic Powder)

• 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed & drained, divided

• 3 tbs. nutritional yeast

• 1 tbs. coconut aminos 

• 2 bay leaves

• 3 1/2 c. water

• 2 c. vegetable broth

• 1-2 c. chopped kale

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat large soup pot over medium heat. Add avocado oil, then the onion, carrot, celery, oregano, poultry seasoning, ground mustard, turmeric, and sea salt. Stir to combine, cover, and let cook for 4-5 minutes.

2. Stir again, then add rice and garlic. Cook for another minute or two.

3. Set 1 cup of chickpeas aside. Add remaining chickpeas to the soup pot along with the nutritional yeast, coconut aminos, bay leaves, 3 1/2 cups of water, and vegetable broth. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45-50 minutes, until rice is completely cooked.

4. Remove bay leaves. With an immersion blender, slightly blend soup to add some thickness, but not enough to totally puree. A chunky texture is desired. Stir in reserved chickpeas and kale, cover, and cook for 5-10 minutes more. Add a little more water to thin, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

NOTES:

Brown rice can be substituted for the wild rice. Cook time will be reduced to 30-35 minutes.