The absolute most delicious and flavorful vegetable soup out there! This Tomato Rice Vegetable Soup has a rich tomato broth and hearty rice texture to fill you up. It is oil-free and incredibly healthy and good for you.
Meet my new favorite soup! I’ve made this several times already before posting it and I’m here to tell you, this is the best vegetable soup I’ve had. I have found many vegetable soups to be too watery or have a really bland broth, do you know what I mean? The broth part of a soup tends to be my favorite part because it imparts so much flavor (if done well). I really want to slurp up flavor, not boring bland liquid. Every single bite of this soup is absolutely a party for your taste buds.
So, I didn’t want just plain broth as my soup base. I amped it with serious tomato flavor and another unexpected ingredient in vegetable soup…rice. It makes it more hearty and filling. This soup has the perfect balance of broth and ingredients…not too watery/brothy and not too chunky. Just what you want from a vegetable soup…to be able to enjoy slurping the delicious broth but also getting some yummy veggies in every bite. Seriously, my favorite vegetable soup to date.
FULL OF FLAVOR
This Tomato Rice Vegetable Soup is undeniably full of flavor, a warmth that screams comfort and the perfect acidity from the tomato sauce. To make the flavor even richer, I added chili powder, oh my, so warming. I also added just enough cayenne to give it subtle spiciness to make it even more exciting. The perfect amount to feel in your throat, but not so much that you are reaching for water or it is overpowering everything. But since many people don’t like cayenne or may be feeding to kids, I made it an optional ingredient. Although, if it’s just for you, I’d highly suggest adding it because it makes it so delicious!
THE BEST INGREDIENTS FOR VEGETABLE SOUP
For this vegetable soup, you’ll need 8 easy ingredients:
- tomato sauce
- low-sodium vegetable broth
- Italian seasoning
- chili powder
- mixed veggies (corn, peas, green beans, carrots)
- garlic
- onion
- cooked brown rice
Don’t let that simple ingredient list fool you, this soup is so full of flavor and incredible. It won over my hubby big time, too.
Seriously, my favorite vegetable soup to date. I hope you all love it as much as we do!
Other Vegan Soups:
- Lazy Day Vegan Tomato Bisque
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Lazy Red Lentil Curry Soup
- Smoky Sweet Potato Black-eyed Pea Soup
- Low-fat Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup
Tomato Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 packed cup 80g finely diced red onion
- 5 x-large cloves garlic minced OR 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 5 cups 1,200g low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cups 720g tomato sauce/puree (this is just pureed tomatoes into liquid)
- 2 tablespoons 6g Italian seasoning*
- 1 tablespoon 8g standard American Chili powder
- 5 cups 575g frozen mixed veggies (I bought bags containing a mix of corn, peas, green beans and carrots)
- 1/2 teaspoon 3g fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional (see Note)
- 1 1/2 cups 240g cooked brown rice (I buy the frozen rice packets for easy quick rice in 4 minutes)
Note: For the Italian seasoning, make sure it is one without any added salt or red pepper flakes. If you cannot find this, sub with 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1 teaspoon dried rosemary.
For the cayenne pepper, a 1/4 teaspoon gives a subtle but perfectly, delicious kick of heat. It is just enough to really enhance the overall soup and feel it in your throat, without it overpowering the soup. It is optional, so you can leave it out or reduce to 1/8 teaspoon for sensitivity or for kids.
Instructions
- Have all of your ingredients measured and ready to go, as this soup comes together very fast.
- Add the onion, garlic (if using the garlic cloves) and 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt to a large pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until softened and all the water is gone. Once the water is gone, lower the heat to low and stir constantly for a couple of minutes to caramelize the onions a bit. Be careful not to burn them.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the cooked rice), including the garlic powder (if using in place of the garlic cloves) and cayenne (if using) and stir well. Turn the heat to high and bring to a high boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. The veggies should be perfectly tender, but still have a slight bite to them. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked rice. My flavor was spot on but if your tomato sauce did not have added salt, you may need another pinch. If you want it spicier, add more pepper or cayenne. The 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne was the perfect level of heat for me so it wasn't overpowering. The soup should have a nice amount of broth to it still but will definitely thicken up well as it sits a bit (from the rice) so don't be tempted to add extra veggies. I found it to be the perfect mix of veggies and broth so both could be enjoyed. Not too soupy and not too chunky. Serve with bread.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition per serving: 193 calories | 1.6g fat | 5.8g protein | 40.2g carbs | 5.6g fiber | 7.6g sugar | 733mg sodium
My kids say I’ve never met a tomato soup I didn’t like. Tried this & absolutely loved it. I did add a little extra cayenne simply because I like spicy food. Thanks for the recipe.
Yay! Thank you so much Valerie for making it already and so very happy you loved it!
Wow this recipe looks amazing. And it certainly sounds like it will have a ton of flavor. I am definitely making this next Friday. I am wondering could I sub fresh veggies in this recipe? Or would it not work cause of the timing? I don’t mind doing a frozen mix but they always tend to have peas in there and sadly I can’t stand peas. But I can pick the peas out I suppose. 😛
Hi Christina! Omg, I’m so sorry for the delay…I’m trying to hard to keep up with comments, haha. You could certainly add fresh veggies, but they will definitely take longer to cook, maybe 5-10 mins, which should be fine. Just use whatever you like, I wouldn’t do potatoes or anything too big though, unless it’s already cooked.
As I sit bundled up in my apartment warming myself with a glass of red wine, I wish I also had this soup to warm me up! Love how easy it is, can’t wait to try it out!
My first thought when I saw that label shot on instagram was BREAD! This soup looks like it was born to soak into some crusty bread, so I am happy to see we agree and that baguette made it to the scene. The consistency looks spot on, I can’t stand a super watery soup either, but too far the other way and it’s tomato stew (which doesn’t work nearly as well with the whole bread soaking thing). The perfect balance of plenty of broth but plenty of chunky veggies–that’s what’s up! I love that you amped up the tomato here compared to a typical veg soup, like two of my fave classic soups in one 🙂 And fine okay, I’ll be adventurous and add like 1/24 of a tsp of cayenne since you say it makes all the difference. Ha! So so cozy, and it will warm me up just enough for ice cream after I think 🙂
Haha, oh yes, gotta have the bread to dip into the yummy soup! Haha, 1/24th! The 1/4 really does add some nice warmth, but not overpowering, it is so so good! Thank you Natalie!
OH, BRANDI……I can hardly WAIT to try this soup…..I trust and believe your words in describing it, and am CERTAIN that I will love it just as much as you do!……I’ve got A LOT on my calendar right now (retesting/perfecting my cookbook recipes!), but I am SOOOOO excited to try this…..I ADORE a good vegetable soup, and looking at the GORGEOUS photos of your new recipe is making my salivary glands work overtime!!….I PROMISE I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I MAKE IT!!!…..Thanks again, for yet another STUNNING recipe!!!!……love, Daryl
PS: Brandi, may I ask what BRAND of vegetable broth you used for this soup? I find the flavors the vary from brand to brand, sometimes not much, but sometimes QUITE significantly, and I’d like to use the very one YOU used! Thanks!
Hi Daryl! Hope you are doing well! For the broth, I use either the HEB brand here locally or the Sprouts low-sodium veggie broth. I don’t really use any others. They are light broths but I wouldn’t be too concerned about using a correct brand because the flavor from the tomato sauce and spices are front and center anyways, so I think you are safe no matter which you choose in this particular case!
For the chili powder, I always use a no-salt brand. It is just spices, no salt. Any brand is fine as long as there is no added salt.
Thanks so much Brandi! I somehow missed your reply (even though I’ve been set up to receive comment notifications on this thread…..got all the others EXCEPT for yours….soooo many “mysteries” in life, huh?…haha!)….anyway, thanks again for the info….I can’t WAIT to make this soup!!!…..YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!….(I’ll let ya know….You KNOW I WILL…hahahaha!!)
As soon as I saw this recipe on Instagram, I knew I wanted to try it. I made it the same day and I was not disappointed. It is super quick and easy and SO good! I know my family, both the vegans and non vegans will love this recipe.
This will be added to my regular rotation of homemade soups!
So very happy you loved it Denise! Thank you so much for taking the time to come leave a review! I really appreciate it!
PPS: Ooops! Sorry!…I forgot I had ONE more question: Is the “standard American chili powder” you used for this recipe SALT-FREE or a salted one?? (I generally just use McCormick, which does have salt, but other brands vary with the salt and/or other additives, and, once again, I REEEEALLY wanna use the one YOU used! I like to reproduce your recipes as closely as possible to YOUR original, whenever possible!)…Thanks again!
SOUP there it is! SOUP there is is! Not quite sure why this song came to my head when reading this but now I can’t stop singing it! Looks like a great easy and quick recipe for those crazy nights! But I know nothing about those. My life is super chill and I have more time than I know what to do with so…..BAHAHAHA! Yeah right…need to get on this soup train.
Haha! I often hear songs in my head too, lol. See, then this IS the perfect soup for you because it’s ready in mins, seriously so darn fast and delicious which is perfect for busy moms like us!
Simply, absolutely delicious, and quick &easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
Yay! Thank you Jwiltz so much for the lovely review! So glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this for lunch and it was perfect for the cold rainy day we’re having. Thank you for a healthy hearty addition to my FAVORITE tomato soup of yours, Brandi – Tomato Bisque! Both are deliciously different and satisfying. Of course, there’s also some cocoa chili and roasted poblano pepper and potato chowder in my fridge, too. 🙂 Thank you for always keeping my family and me well fed, Brandi!
Yay! Thank you so much Colleen, I always look forward to hearing from you! So happy you loved this AND all of the other soups, you are the best!
Can this be made in the instant pot?
Hi Julie, I wouldn’t recommend doing this in the instant pot. If you look at the directions, you’ll see the soup basically cooks in 15 minutes, it is that fast, so an instant pot is totally unnecessary 🙂 If anything, you could just saute the onions in it, but again, they only cook like 5 minutes, so it’s just not needed for such a fast recipe already. This is the fastest soup on my entire blog.
This soup is so fast to throw together and it’s Soo yummy with a little heat that makes it seem like you’ve cooked for hours. Both my boys liked it too. Thanks Brandi..great lunch for the rest of the week.
Thank you Estee! Glad it was a hit all around!!
My family’s homemade soup has always been vegetable. It’s been 30 years since I used a chicken for the broth, veggie broth is much better and healthier. About 6 months ago my sister and I decided to change it up a bit by adding a can of chopped tomatoes. We love the addition and it makes it a new soup. With the addition of the chilli powder and cayenne it takes it to a whole new level. I love spicy food so this made me very happy. I also added barley in with the cooking process as I didn’t have cooked rice on hand and as I was cooking my soup in my Instant Pot, no need to presoak the barley. The IP makes the flavours sing. It was so delicious. I just loved the spice and will continue to use them. Even my 87 year old mother loved it too. We had the leftovers tonight, it had thickened up very nicely. Thanks for your great recipes, like you, this is now my favourite soup. Take care, keep up the great work….. 🙂
Thank you so much Sharon! I’m so happy to hear how you and everybody else are loving the spices addition that aren’t typically in a regular veggie soup! Thank you so much for making it and barley sounds like a great sub for rice!
This sounds really good. I like the idea of ‘beefing’ up vegetable soup with rice. I will use olive oil to saute the onion and garlic to add extra flavor. Also because fat is needed to absorb fat soluable vitamins.
Excellent soup. I abused the recipe a little bit from lack of the perfect quantity of Some ingredients. I only had 2 cups of mixed vegetables, but then I was able to get rid of some small amounts of veggies that I had in the freezer. I also used 2 cups of rice, some fresh basil and rosemary that I have growing on my windowsill. The chili powder mixed with 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper worked fine for me. I only had one carton of veggie broth, so I made up that 5th cup with water. Also my tomato purée had little chunks of tomatoes in it which I loved. So the recipe is very forgiving of little boo-boos. What makes the soup is that you came up with the right herbs and spices to make the tomato taste delicious. Thanks from a big soup fan.
Thank you so much Angela, I’m so happy you loved it! I agree too that the spices and tomato really take it up a notch from the average broth based soup. So glad you made and loved it, thank you!
I wanted to make this the night I saw it, but was missing the frozen veggies and couldn’t do it until last night! My husband was blown away at how good this was, and kept praising me about what a great meal I had made. I told him that all I did was cut up some things and throw those things and some other things in a pot, otherwise I had NOTHING to do with this fantastic-ness we were eating, and then I stared at him. You know…that uncomfortable stare that makes someone feel awkward? Yeah, THAT stare!!! I think he thought I was going mad, and I said WHO do you think was ultimately responsible for this, and without skipping a beat, he said “Vegan8”. hahahaha. A bit later I was gushing about Brandi, and he said “who’s that?”. You’re Vegan8 to him and probably always will be, LOL. Thanks, as always, for this amazing recipe. My lawn chair is currently first in line at the bookstore to get your cookbook! ;-D
Awww, thank you so much Marlene for such a fabulous review! That is the cutest story and made me smile! Thank you so much for sharing and making this recipe!
This soup looks so delicious Brandi! I agree soups can be a little bland, but this one looks so bursting with flavours and I love that it’s packed with vegetables 😀
Thank you so much Nadia!
This does look more hearty. I like to make a meal of my soup so this is perfect. And I love that it has flavor. This may become my favorite too. I’ll let you know.
Okay..first of all, I love all of your recipes but this one really had my attention. I already spend a lot of time in my kitchen so this was a perfect recipe to make while working on other meals for a few friends..
WHAT A FANTASTIC RECIPE. Very flavorful and tons of leftovers for my husband and I!
The ONLY thing I changed- well, added- was a vegan ground beef while cooking the onions and garlic.
MMmm! Thank YOU for this recipe, I have already passed it along to a colleague of mine.
Aww, thank you so much Kim for such a fantastic review and your kind words! That sounds delicious!!
As you know, I LOVE your soups!….haven’t made one i didn’t absolutely love yet….came across this beauty this Super Bowl Sunday and I know what I’m heading into the kitchen right NOW to make! I love how I always have all the ingredients to all your recipes on hand. That’s what’s so awesome about your site!…cannot wait for your cookbook!!!!
Looks yummy. You think quinoa would work in place of the rice? Nothing against rice, just looking to mix it up once in a while. Thanks.
Sure! Just make sure it’s already cooked.
Did you throw the veggies in frozen or should I defrost them first. Dinner tonight. Can’t wait. 🙂
Just threw them in frozen!
Fantastic recipe, Brandi. Thanks.
So glad you loved it Shellie, thank you!
Wow you were not kidding when you described this soup as flavorful. Man there is so much flavor packed into this soup it is absolutely fabulous and delicious. I love the little kick of heat to this soup it is an unexpected surprise and brings such interest to the soup if that makes sense. This is definitely not your regular boring veggie soup. The flavor was bold and I seriously loved this soup. It had so much flavor you would think I spent all day making it but this recipe came together so fast and easy it is as effortless as cooking can get. I even used the standard frozen veggie mixed that had peas in it (I hate peas, yuck) but the soup had so much flavor I actually didn’t mind the peas so much. I served this with a salad and had your Best Vegan Ranch and it was a perfect meal. Yum!!! Girl I don’t know how you do it. You are magical!!!
Dear Brandi . . . Well, I am FINALLY getting around to writing and telling you that I made your soup, and OH BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY!!!! In my (seldom humble) opinion, you were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about every single thing you said in your intro to this recipe!! Honestly, I wasn’t really sure as I was preparing the soup, because, well, the truth is, although I DO like substantial amounts of spices and flavorings in foods, depending on the recipe, I also often really love just the simple, natural flavors too, like of the veggies and rice, garlic and onions, tomato sauce, etc., WITHOUT a lot of seasoning. So I thought to myself as I was gathering everything together to make this soup, “Hmmm….I wonder if I’m gonna like all these herbs and spices, or if I’ll think it’s too much for my taste?” But then I said to myself (by the way, Ummm…is it a sign of INSANITY to be asking myself questions and then ANSWERING THEM myself too??..hahaha!), I said, “No, no, NO, Dar-Dar! Brandi KNOWS what the heck she’s talking about with food and flavors, so just TRUST IN THAT LITTLE GENIUS OF A “RECIPE-GODDESS”, MISS BRANDI!” So that’s what I did! I went with PRECISELY the amounts of EVERYTHING you listed, including the full 1/4 tsp. of cayenne, and made the recipe EXACTLY as you gave it to us…..and guess what??!!…….I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS SOUP!!!! I made it 2 nights ago, slurping it up like a crazy starved glutton both nights, and then TODAY, I was out on a gig most of the afternoon and evening (I’m a performer!) and it was FRRREEEEEZING cold out. But ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT ALL DAY was getting my butt home so I could have another great big steaming bowl of your WONDERFUL soup. As a matter of fact, I’m sitting here as I am writing this, skarfing it down like a mad-man in-between typing. I have a recipe for a delicious, rich & creamy “mock tuna” which I also prepared the other day. So after I got home, I heated up the soup and toasted up a couple of slices of my favorite store-bought healthy bread (Ezekiel Bread, the sesame variety!), spread each with a hefty serving of the “tuna” and WOW!!! What a combination!!! As a VERY special treat, I also allowed myself to have several of those “Ritz-type” crackers which I love. I don’t often indulge in flour products which are mostly white flour, but I just KNEW those little round, golden, “buttery” delicacies would PERFECTLY compliment my soup & “tuna” sandwich. (And besides, after playing the WORST piano in the WORLD at my gig, I REEEEEALLY NEEEDED AN EXTRA TREAT TONIGHT!…hahaha!…..actually, I’ve played a LOT worse, but this one is pretty bad!)
Anyway, so, Brandi…….THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH for this recipe!! It’s yet ANOTHER delightful gift from your symphony of delectable creations, and since this pot of soup is just about finished now, I can’t WAIT to make another pot, especially since I still have LOTS of “tuna” left over…..Do ya think it’d be too much if I have it for breakfast, lunch AND supper tomorrow???….hahaha!……YOU’RE THE BEST DARLIN!!!!….In fact, as the great American Songbook songwriter from the early 20th century wrote in his famous song, “You’re The Top!” (and you ARE!!!!!)……THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!…….with love and admiration……….Daryl
Made this soup. We love it! I’ve never been a fan of tomato-based veggie soups until now. This will be a regular at our house. Thanks!
Oh, my! What a perfect hearty bowl of coziness!! This looks amazing! I love the seasoning combination you have here…Italian seasoning has been my go-to these days (especially for soups), but the addition of chili powder sounds so good. We’ve had a really weird winter – not cold, no snow, and more like spring weather, BUT I’m still making 1-2 pots of soup a week. I think this needs to be added to my rotation! Hope you’re having a great week, my friend!
This is my third recipe of yours and it is awesome! I did substitute elbow macaroni for the rice only because I had it on hand and needed to use it up but it still came out the perfect consistency and reheated well with no problems. I am really looking forward to your cookbook!
I cannot believe how easy this soup is – and it’s delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
Wonderful Amy, so glad to hear that!
This looks yummy and tasty! I added other veggies like peas, mushrooms and red pepper.
Hi Brandi!
I made your soup tonight and it was fantastic!
I made 3 changes: Instant Pot, potatoes instead of rice, decreased broth amount because I was not using rice.
I chose to use the Instant Pot, even though stovetop would have been faster, because I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen and also wanted to be able to walk away and do things while it was pressure cooking.
I made the potatoes first, and added them to the soup after the soup part was finished (pressure cooking times were different so I chose to do it this way).
Thank you for this delicious soup, your recipes never let me down! So simple to throw together, definitely a keeper, going to make this for an upcoming brunch with friends. I know they will love it.
So, as before, another brilliant recipe that is a huge win in my house…THANK YOU 🙂
Stacy
Hi Stacy! Oh wow, so great to hear that!! Definitely sounds delicious with potatoes too and I will have to try that next time. Thank you so much for your wonderful words and kind feedback, so nice to hear!!
Since i learned the ingredients for this soup i am making it like craaazy! it’s sooo hearty! I looove it! I make a big batch just for myself and saves me the trouble of cooking dinner when i get home from work. Thank you very much for sharing this! And all your recipes. So challenging to find tasty recipes with no oil and sugar. You have a beautiful purpose on this earth and i am grateful you like what you are doing.
Hi Mona! What a wonderful comment to read this morning! Thank you so much for your kind words, I’m truly touched. So happy you love this soup too!!
I never love vegetable soup because they always seem bland and too brothy (if that’s a word). I looooved your pumpkin chili so thought I’d give this a try. I used barley instead of brown rice, upped the cayenne pepper and added a little bit of sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo. Sooooo good. My boyfriend had seconds and he is not a vegetable soup fan ether. I am excited for lunches this week with this on the menu!
Wow! At 200 calories a serving, I might just have 1/2 the pot. This was absolutely delicious! Paired it with a yummy side salad and this was legit!
I do have a off the recipe question:
Are the recipes in the cook book the same as on the site? Just curious. Either way I’m going to buy it!
Yay! So glad you loved it Michael!
No, my Cookbook is all new recipes with the exception of around 10 from my blog, the really popular ones and a few staples. But mainly all brand new! Thank you!
Thanks to a snow day, today with food prep day. I wanted a new soup recipe and picked this one. I used wild rice instead of brown rice, and my vegetables were broccoli, peas, corn, green beans, spinach and kale. I’m fairly certain I added too many vegetables, but to me that’s never a problem. I used canned whole tomatoes and puréed them for the tomato purée. When all was said and done, I thought it tasted too much like Italian seasoning. I must’ve been heavy-handed when I measured that. Since I made the pumpkin chipotle chili earlier today, I had an open can of chipotle peppers on hand. I diced two up and threw them in. After cooking an extra five minutes, the soup was outstanding. My daughter who complained “why did you have to make tomato soup, I hate tomato soup“ had two bowls. I’m looking forward to having more for lunch tomorrow. My only issue is that somehow all the broth disappeared. I don’t know if the rice soaked it up. Or my daughter just ate it all. If you have any suggestions on what to use for broth, that would be great. If not I’m happy to eat stew the rest of the week.
Hi Karen! So glad it was outstanding! If you tasted the Italian spices too much and you didn’t have much broth, that would be why. You can see in my photos there is plenty of liquid left over and I probably make this weekly and it never has too much of an Italian seasoning, but we always have broth. Since you added a bunch of extra veggies, and changed the rice as well, it sounds like it simply soaked up too much liquid. I would try using less veggies and just simply add more broth at the end if you want it soupier!
Hi Brandi – Getting ready to go to the store for some frozen veggies. Dying to make this soup! Coupla questions – can tomato sauce in a jar be used in this recipe? Is there a particular brand of sauce/puree that you use? I have found that all your other suggestions, like Sari brand for nutritional yest, are really worth while. Thanks, Pat
Yes, in a jar is totally fine! That is what I use. I use either the brand from Sprouts or the one from Heb, here in Texas called “Central Market” 🙂
One word – PERFECT.
Yay, thank you Patricia, that is the “perfect” feedback, too, haha!