After-Thanksgiving-detox, this one’s for you. There’s not a bad thing about this soup. I didn’t even slip in half and half like I usually do. It’s vegan and vegetarian friendly to boot. Besides chopping up some veggies, this soup is simply effortless. Dump the ingredients in a dutch oven and step back. Fit in a quick workout. Pack a lunch for tomorrow. Pluck your eyebrows. Throw in a load of laundry. Or bake healthy chocolate chip cookies. Just let it be. It’s that kind of soup.
If you’re having a déjà vu moment—this soup has made an appearance on the blog before. You’re not going crazy. It’s since received a minor recipe makeover, which of course requires an updated photo shoot from Glamour Shots by Mel (that’s me). I’m contemplating a blog name change. What do you think?
Enough crazy talk. Guaranteed, this soup will add some healthy sanity to your life (and mine for that matter).
Tomato Chickpea Soup
serves 6; adapted from Whole Living
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 roma tomatos, diced
3 bay leaves
2 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 qt. vegetable broth
1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
3/4 c. whole grain rice blend*
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained
sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)
1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat oil over medium and saute onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add carrots, celery, and tomatoes to dutch oven. Allow to cook for 10 minutes.
2. Add crushed tomatos, bay leaves, paprika, cumin, chili powder, broth, rice, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. (Soup will thicken as it cooks.)
3. Taste and add spices as needed. Discard bay leaves. Garnish with chopped parsley before serving.
*I use a mixture of short grain brown rice, pearl barley, and spelt berries found in the bulk section at Whole Foods.
I love vegetarian soups…especially after the food coma that follows Thanksgiving. I hope yours was great. This soup sounds fabulous!
Ya see, now THIS is the kind of recipe I need in my life right now! Detox being the key word.
I’m going to go pick up some of that whole grain blend from Whole Foods. Sounds perfect for all sorts of soups!
This looks so delicious. Would love for you to share this with us over at foodepix.com.
This sounds absolutely wonderful, I love all the whole grains you’ve used.
This soup sounds classic and delicious. Love this!
Your photos just kill me! As in, I’m dead right now.
But my ghost REALLY wants this soup. In a mega momma way.
Stay with me Casper! For real though, thank you for your kind words. PS—you put a smile on my face every time I read your comments.
This looks so fresh and hearty and perfect for this time of year. I like the addition of the chickpeas, too.
Seriously this looks like a perfect bowl of soup! It’s raining, like buckets, here in Michigan and could really use this to warm up… I don’t even care that it’s 9 am! GIVE ME SOME SOUP!
It doesn’t get any easier than this! Sounds wonderful.
This sounds like a great recipe, really easy to make, and while it cooks I can work on something else. And, since “the eating” already begun, I really need something healthy to eat.
Looks divine. The fact that it’s *healthy* is the perfect cherry on top! I may just live on this for a week.
We live on this for a week too. Love not having to cook a meal every night. Shhh! Don’t tell
Your photos are always perfection! I wish I could shoot like that.
Love this soup. And as far as changing the name of your blog goes, I say keep it.
Blushing big time. Thank you Bobbi!
Perfect soup for a cold day like today. Thank you so much!
amazing
just lovely
i doubled the receipe and not a drop left
This makes me happy! So glad you liked it!
This looks delicious, and I totally admire your soup photography skills. My soups always look entirely unappealing and never end up getting posted. This however, looks stunning and healthy and amazing. Can’t wait to try it! I’ll probably even wilt in some spinach or kale for added healthiness. Yum!
This soup looks so comforting and yummy! Thinking this might be lunch next week.
Hey Mel – great site!
We made this soup beauty yesterday. Just used 100% brown rice instead of your blend and will maybe drop it to 2 carrots next time (as those we can buy at the market Farmer’s Market here in Switzerland are just huge!), but no major changes otherwise as it was just delicious… I loved it, my wife loved it, and her Italian parents – who are here visiting – both managed, between mouthfuls, to utter the always-nice-to-hear word, “Buono!”.
So well done you! Next time I think I’ll give it a bash with tiny mararoni/ditali pasta in place of the rice maybe, for this monster cupboard full of pasta won’t eat itself!
