Easy Vegan Chicken Rice and Lime Soup Recipe

I’ve been making this vegan chicken rice and lime recipe for about three years.

This recipe takes about 30-minutes and is very family-friendly.
The measurements below is enough soup for 3 people. 
You can easily double the ingredients to serve up to 6 people.

Check out the full recipe tutorial below…

Tag me on Instagram when you make this dish!

Easy Vegan Chicken Rice and Lime Soup

by Brown Vegan

Cook Time: 30

Keywords: saute vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (serves 3)

• 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 9 oz vegan chicken (you can find @beyondmeat brand in the frozen section at Target)
• 1/2 juice of lime

For serving:

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• Red chili flakes (if you want a little heat)
• Cooked rice (about 4 cups)

Instructions

In a medium pot, sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir in celery, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and salt.

Cook for 3 more minutes.

Next, add diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil.

Chop vegan chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Once boiling, mix in vegan chicken, cover and cook for 5 more minutes.

-The vegan chicken is already cooked, so you only need to warm for about 5 minutes.

Don’t overcook it.-

Squeeze in lime juice (about 2 teaspoons) and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Serve soup with chopped avocado, cilantro, red chili flakes and rice.

Inspired by Laura in the Kitchen

Powered by Recipage

Recipe adapted from Laura in the Kitchen's recipe

Realistic Vegan Grocery Haul for Families

I spent about I spent about $300 at Wegmans on this vegan grocery haul for my family and the food lasted about 2 1/2 weeks.

Watch the full video here…

Resources mentioned:

• JUST chocolate chip cookies

• One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese Recipe Family-Friendly (VIDEO)

• Field Roast sausage

• Beyond Meat crumbles

• Miyoko’s cream cheese

• Daiya cheese

• Minimalist Baker’s Korean-style Brussels Sprouts

One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese Recipe Family-Friendly (VIDEO)

The older my kids get, the more I have to work to keep them interested in eating vegan meals at home.

You know how teenagers can be!

I was happy to get Elijah’s input on this recipe and made several adjustments based on his suggestions.

This recipe is simple, delicious, filling and takes less than 40 minutes to put together.

I usually serve it with salad and garlic bread, so there’s enough for leftovers the next day.

Check out the full video tutorial here…

Vegan crumble brand options:

Beyond Meat crumbles

Gardein crumbles

Wegmans store brand (used in the video)

Vegan shredded cheese brand options:

Field Roast chao slices (featured in the video)

Follow Your Heart Gourmet Shreds

So Delicious Dairy-Free Shreds

Daiya

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil (olive or grapeseed)

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 28 oz can diced tomatoes

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon basil

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 1 lb elbows pasta

• 10 oz vegan beef crumbles (Beyond Meat & Gardein are options)

• 1 1/2 cups vegan cheese, divided

• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

• In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil and saute onion and garlic for about 6 minutes on medium heat.

• Mix in diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, basil, cayenne, black pepper, and salt and simmer for about 8 minutes.

• Then add kidney beans, vegetable broth, and pasta.

• Bring to a boil.

• Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and cook until pasta is done (about 13 mins), stirring occasionally.

• Then mix in vegan beef crumbles and 1 cup of cheese and continue to warm for about 3 minutes.

• Add the remaining cheese to the top of the dish and melt in the oven (if using a dutch oven) or replace lid until cheese melts.

• Garnish with parsley (optional) and season to taste with salt.

Inspired by Damn Delicious’s recipe

4 Vegan Meal Planning Tips for Busy Folks

One of the major keys to vegan success is to have a meal plan.

I literally just sat here and planned a few days of meals in my notebook to go to the grocery store tomorrow (I order groceries from Instacart often too).

When I started my own vegan journey in 2010, I wasn't used to meal planning at all. I would go into the grocery store and shop based what was on sale for the week.

If you're new to this, it may take time to get used to vegan meal planning and grocery shopping, but I promise it will get easier once you get into a routine.

HOW TO START MEAL PLANNING RIGHT NOW

*Think about meals you're already eating and how you can make those meals vegan.

Here's a quick example using this chicken enchiladas recipe from Food Network
These are ingredients you would need to switch out to make the meal vegan:
-Replace the chicken breast with a vegan chicken alternative from a brand like Beyond Meat or use black beans.
-Replace the dairy cheese with a vegan cheese or use more sauce instead of vegan cheese.
-Replace the sour cream with a vegan version (you can make one out of coconut cream, salt & lemon juice).
Everything else in the recipe is naturally vegan (no other meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.)

*Keep a food journal - As you move forward, get a spiral notebook and jot down:

-vegan recipes you have tried with your family
-their reaction
-where you got the recipe from
Using this method will help you establish some go-to recipes and save time when you're too busy to meal plan.

*Keep breakfast and snacks super simple - Dinner is enough to worry about, so try to keep your breakfast and snacks on autopilot. Start off by planning two vegan breakfasts each week, then buy enough to last several days to save both money and time. 
For snacks, you can enjoy pretzels, trail mix, fresh fruit, kale chips & smoothies.

*Establish go-to recipes and consider vegan options/convenient meals near you. When I meal plan, I always build in meals that are convenient for those days I don't feel like cooking (it happens so always include convenient meals). Simple meals like spaghetti, a local takeout place that has vegan options on the menu, or even a pre-packaged option like the Gardein Skillet Meals (I reviewed this product on my YouTube channel).

What you should do right now...
I want to encourage you to start meal planning today.
Even if you're only adding one vegan meal to your meal plan this week, I promise this first step counts!
You don't have to be a gourmet chef every night.
Keep your meals simple, so that you can gain confidence to move forward.

You can (and should) do this!

Gardein Skillet Meals Review(Video)

When I started my vegan journey back in 2010, I didn’t cook from scratch much, so I wasn’t sure how to put a vegan meal together for the fam.

I appreciate brands like Gardein, because they make super convenient options for folks who don’t cook or those who don’t feel like cooking.

I’m all for making this journey simple, delicious, long-term, and fun!

When I heard released Gardein’s four flavors of skillet meals, I had to review it on my YouTube channel.

Check out the full video below...

**The actual review starts at 1:32**

I tested out all four flavors after picking them up at Target & Harris Teeter.

The current options: Chick’n & Fried Rice, Chick’n Florentino, Italian Style Rigatoni n’ Saus’ageChick’n & Fiesta

Cost: $7.50 at Target & $7.99 at Harris Teeter

Overall thoughts: The package says it serves two but the serving size seems much smaller than that. I love that each skillet only takes about 10 minutes to make.

Is there a favorite one? I enjoyed the Chick’n & Fried Rice the most.

Will I buy it again? Probably not. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the skillet meals, I’m excited this option is available. Plus, since it’s a new concept for Gardein, I know they will improve it like so many of their other products.

Visit gardein.com to see where you can pick up these vegan skillet meals near you. 

Have you tried the Gardein skillet meals yet? What did you think?

FTC: Not sponsored -- I spent my own coins and this is my honest review.