35 minutes

Simple Creamy Vegetable Rice Soup

Delicious and simple, this creamy vegetable rice soup recipe is perfect for fall. This hearty soup is one of those easy meals that will make everyone happy, and be on the table in only 35 minutes!

Fall has officially arrived. There was frost on the ground in my backyard this morning, which is my cue to start putting away the citrus squeezer and popsicle molds, in favor of the dutch oven and slow cooker. This is exactly the time of year when only a soul-warming bowl of soup will do.

Thankfully, my whole family loves soup. As long as it is served up with a Caesar salad and some crusty bread, everyone is happy on soup night. Creamy vegetable rice soup is one of our favorites. It’s an easy recipe that is quick on cooking time and heavy on flavor. The creamy broth is hearty and delicious. It’s a versatile soup that is accepting of lots of variations, and is a great way to use up the leftover proteins or veggies in your fridge.

Add this simple soup to your weekly meal plans, and I promise you will not regret it. If you, like me, are a baby about cold weather, you will probably also want to make some hearty crockpot cowboy soup, turkey bell pepper chili, and butternut squash carrot ginger soup this week. There is simply no better way to warm up.

A white bowl of creamy vegetable rice soup on a marble background. A spoon is in the foreground over the bowl, with the focus on a spoonful of soup.

You Will Love This

  • One of our favorite simple and delicious soup recipes for fall!
  • This is a great recipe to customize. Make it your own with leftover proteins like chicken or turkey, or additional veggies like green beans or kale.
  • A one-pot meal means fewer dishes and more time to curl up by the fire with your favorite book!

Ingredients

Ingredients for creamy vegetable rice soup on a marble background.

Gather up your ingredients. For this soup, you will need:

  • Butter: For sautéing the vegetables and giving the soup a rich and creamy flavor. You could substitute olive oil for half the butter, or cut the butter down by half if you want to lighten up the soup. It will just be a little less creamy.
  • Onion, celery and carrot: Chopped onion, celery and carrot is also called mirepoix, and is used as a base for tons of soups and stews. If you are short on time, check your grocery store’s produce section for pre-chopped mirepoix – many stores sell it! I’ve also seen frozen mirepoix in my store’s frozen vegetable section.
  • Mushrooms: I used baby bella mushrooms, but you could also use white mushrooms. Buy the pre-sliced mushrooms to save on prep time!
  • Garlic: Use 1 tsp jarred minced garlic, or 2 cloves of fresh garlic.
  • Broth: Use chicken broth, or vegetable broth for a vegetarian soup.
  • Half and half: You can use milk for a lighter soup, but it will not be quite as creamy.
  • Corn starch: My favorite way to thicken soup!
  • Rice: I used white rice, as it cooks the quickest and is my family’s favorite. You could substitute another kind of rice like a wild rice blend, or brown rice for an extra serving of whole grain. If you are using a rice that has a long cook time (like brown rice), I suggest cooking it separately so that it doesn’t soak up all the broth and make your soup too thick. Also, if you are using a rice blend beware of blends with black rice in them. Black rice will turn your soup purple. Even my kids who love soup are skeptical of purple soup… speaking from experience here!
  • Italian seasoning: You can substitute fresh basil, fresh thyme or rosemary and fresh parsley for the Italian seasoning. Just remember that when you use fresh herbs you need a little more to get the same flavor you get from dried herbs (which are more concentrated). You typically need one tablespoon of fresh herbs per one teaspoon dried. When using dried herbs, add them in earlier in cooking to develop their flavor. When using fresh herbs, stir them in at the end.
  • Kosher salt and black pepper

Make it your own!

This recipe is a very versatile one. Make it your own by:

  • Adding leftover cooked chicken breast or turkey for extra protein. This is a perfect recipe for that leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
  • Adding more veggies for an extra healthy dinner. I have tried green beans and baby spinach – and both were great! Other add-ins that I think would be yummy are kale, butternut squash, yellow potato or sweet potato.

Instructions

Step One: Wash all vegetables, and peel the carrots. Dice the onion, celery, and carrot into small bite-sized pieces.

Step Two: In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm the butter or olive oil. Add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Season the vegetables with the dried Italian seasoning and a small pinch of salt.

A white soup pot on a marble background. The pot contains sautéed onions and mushrooms. More ingredients are in small bowls to the side.

Step Three: Add the carrots, celery, broth and white rice to the pot. Bring the soup to a low boil. Reduce to medium heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked al dente.

A white soup pot on a marble background. The pot contains sautéed onions and mushrooms, with celery, carrot and rice, floating in vegetable stock.
A white soup pot on a marble background. The pot contains cooked vegetable rice soup in broth, before cream is added.

Step Four: In a small bowl, make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch and the half and half and whisking until no clumps remain. Pour the slurry into the soup pot, and stir well to combine. Allow the soup to simmer for another 5 minutes, until thickened and heated through. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

A white soup pot on a marble background. The pot contains creamy vegetable rice soup, garnished with salt and pepper, with a stack of bowls and soup spoons to the side.

Storage

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The rice will continue to soak up broth as it sits. You can add some additional chicken broth to the soup to reconstitute it as you reheat it.

Two white bowls of creamy vegetable rice soup on a marble background. Soup spoons and a pot of soup sit to the side, along with a parsley garnish.

Simple Creamy Vegetable Rice Soup

Delicious and simple, this creamy vegetable rice soup recipe is perfect for fall. This hearty soup is one of those perfect easy meals that will make everyone happy, and be on the table in only 35 minutes!
 
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Soups and Stews
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Calories 289 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 3 carrots
  • 3 stalks celery
  • 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms sliced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 4 tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup white rice
  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Wash all vegetables, and peel the carrots. Dice the onion, celery and carrot into small bite-sized pieces.
  • In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm the butter or olive oil. Add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Season the vegetables with the dried Italian seasoning and a small pinch of salt.
  • Add the carrots, celery, broth and white rice to the pot. Bring the soup to a low boil. Reduce to medium heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked al dente.
  • In a small bowl, make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch and the half and half and whisking until no clumps remain. Pour the slurry into the soup pot, and stir well to combine. Allow the soup to simmer for another 5 minutes, until thickened and heated through. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Substitutions: Feel free to substitute brown rice or wild rice in this recipe, but I suggest cooking it before adding it to the soup. Whole grain rice takes a long time to cook, and your veggies will be mushy and your soup overly thick if you simmer the soup for as long as needed to cook the rice from raw.
Top Tip: Beware of rice blends that contain black rice! Certain types of black rice can turn your soup a yucky brown, almost purple color. 
Storage: Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The rice will continue to soak up broth as it sits. You can add some additional chicken broth to the soup to reconstitute it as you reheat it.

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 8gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 274mgPotassium: 453mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4223IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 1mg
Keyword creamy rice soup, vegetable rice soup
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