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This Creamy Golden Rice with Spiced Chickpeas is the best bowl of (healthy) comfort food. Kind of like soup, similar to a stew, but creamier with more rice. Turmeric infused golden rice made creamy with coconut milk and made “soupy” with a bit more broth than usual. Top each bowl of souper golden rice with spiced, extra crispy chickpeas, and a dollop of creamy yogurt. The perfect bowl of warming comfort food that’s also healthy and quickly made on the stove in less than an hour. Just be sure to serve with a side of fresh naan for a bowl of (easily made vegan) comfort food.

overhead photo of Creamy Golden Rice with Spiced Chickpeas

Starting the week off on a healthy, but still cozy, note with this Indian..ish inspired recipe. Somehow it’s already the second week of February and I know many of you have spring on your minds. Here in Colorado, it’s still very much winter, and very, very much comfort food kind of weather.

That said, we’re coming off a weekend of enjoying way too much ski resort food, meaning lots of french fries and cocktails, after watching my younger brother, Red, compete (and win!!!) at the Dew Tour on Saturday. I will share more details and photos in Sunday’s Favorites post, but I will say that it was such a special weekend and everyone soaked up the time together. I know I’ve said it before, but being able to watch both Malachi and Red achieve their goals, and do it together, makes me the happiest, proudest sister.

Anyway, a fun weekend spent snowboarding and eating with family means that colorful recipes full of food with all things good for us are very much needed today.

Enter this “souper” creamy golden rice. This is the ultimate bowl of healthy comfort food that’s truly just as delicious as a bowl of cheesy pasta. That’s saying a lot coming from the girl who loves both cheese and pasta more than most.

It. Is. SO GOOD. Creamy, herby, perfectly spiced, and topped with addictingly delicious crispy chickpeas…and served with naan. Of course.

photo of Spiced Chickpeas

The inspiration.

Growing up my mom would make what she called “souper rice”. Basically, it was cream of chicken soup plus a whole lot of rice. So much rice that you really couldn’t call it soup anymore…enter “souper rice”.  To this day she still recalls it as one of her favorite childhood comfort foods.

I drew inspiration from mom’s souper rice and created a more Indian inspired version, made with coconut milk for extra creaminess. It’s not quite the same as mom’s canned soup version (thankfully), but it’s just as delicious. Different, but delicious.

Creamy Golden Rice cooking in pot

Here is how you make this creamy golden rice.

First up, the rice. GOLDEN RICE, I’m all about some golden rice. It’s simple. Just melt a little butter, add in some turmeric, crushed red pepper, canned coconut milk (preferably full fat for extra creaminess), and water. Once boiling, stir in the rice, then add plenty of greens, cover and let the rice steam until cooked.

For the greens, you can really use whatever greens you love most. My top choices are kale, spinach, or chard. The greens steam with the rice, so you don’t even have to worry about cooking them. It’s so easy.

While the rice is cooking, you should make the chickpeas, and trust me, you do NEED the chickpeas. They add not only heartiness but a nice crunch and plenty of good flavor to this creamy rice. They’re salty, savory, and just a little hard to stop eating. Kind of like a healthier chip with crispy shallots, nutty coconut, and toasty sesame seeds too.

overhead close up photo of Creamy Golden Rice with Spiced Chickpeas and spoon in bowl

 

The secret to souper golden rice?

Once the rice is cooked, stir in a splash more broth to make the rice on the soupy side. As you are stirring, smells of turmeric, coconut, and butter will quickly hit your nose.

It’s wonderful.

Remove the rice from the heat, and simply top with a dollop of yogurt, those spiced crispy chickpeas, and plenty of fresh mint or cilantro. At this point, you should eat immediately. This dish is meant to be on the soupy side, meaning there should still be broth around the rice. The rice will soak up the broth if it sits too long. So enjoy it right away, it will be just perfect.

So much flavor. Extra creamy. A touch crunchy. So delicious.

overhead photo of Creamy Golden Rice with Spiced Chickpeas with spoon in bowl

How are the leftovers?

The leftovers are just as good, but a little different. Even though this is best right off the stove, the leftovers are still so delicious. The rice becomes more like risotto and when heated up, makes for the perfect lunch the next day. Love a dish that you can enjoy for dinner one night and lunch the following day!

If you’d like to make this a little heartier, try adding a fried or soft boiled egg. Or serve alongside last week’s lemon garlic chicken. That would be so good.

And that’s it. The simplest, healthy bowl of winter comfort food. Hope you all enjoy!!

overhead photo of Creamy Golden Rice with Spiced Chickpeas and hands on bowl

If you make this creamy golden rice with spiced chickpeas, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Souper Creamy Golden Rice with Spiced Chickpeas

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1080 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 1. To make the rice. Melt the butter, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium pot over high heat. Add the rice and toss to coat. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of broth, the coconut milk, and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the greens on top of the rice, but do not stir. Place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook ten minutes on low and then turn the heat off completely. Let the rice sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.
    2. Meanwhile, make the chickpeas. Heat a large, high sided skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, chickpeas, garlic, shallots, ginger, and a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the chickpeas are crisped all over, about 8-10 minutes. Add the coconut flakes and sesame seeds, tossing to combine. Cook 2 minutes, until toasted, remove from the heat.
    3. When the rice is cooked, switch the heat onto low, add additional broth 1/2 cup at a time until the rice is creamy, but with just a touch of liquid. Taste, adding salt as needed.
    4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and spoon the chickpeas overtop. Serve with naan, yogurt, and fresh mint or cilantro. Enjoy!
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was genuinely one of the best recipes I’ve made in a while!!! The rice-OMG so delicious! I’m going to make it again and again. (I used brown basmati and cooked for 40 mins with normal amount of broth in recipe and it turned out great) The spiced chickpeas complement the rice so well and topped with mint it’s a flavor party in my mouth!! I am obsessed with how good this is you better bet I will be sharing it with everyone I know! Thank you so much 🙂

    Reply

  2. 4 stars
    I made this tonight and I would definitely make it again! I may cook 1/2 amount of rice and x2 amount of greens next time 🙂

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I made this the night before a big snowstorm and ugh it was perfect. Made it with brown rice (used 2cups of broth like she said here in the comments) and skipped the coconut because I didn’t have any and it still turned out super flavorful. I will say though I roasted my chickpeas for about 15 minutes in the pan and it was no where near being crispy like mentioned in the recipe. Ate then soft but it was still so good!

    Reply

  4. Hey I was wondering if you think it’d be alright if I used toasted sesame seeds and sweetened coconut flakes. I happen to have both of those already and would like to use up what I have instead of buying something slightly different.

    Reply

    1. Hey Katie,
      I think those will be fine to use, just note the recipe will have a sweeter flavor using sweetened coconut flakes. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    This was amazing!! My husband and I loved it. I made it with vegan butter and vegetable broth. I think I’ll add more red pepper flakes next time as I went pretty light to start. It was also very quick to make. 10/10!

    Reply

  10. 5 stars
    All I can say is yessssssss to this dish. I’ve made this before and woke up craving it. I saw it on HBH’s Instagram and took that as a sign it needed to be tonight’s dinner. So comforting, so creamy, so flavorful. The chickpea mixture is heavenly. I follow this recipe to a T and top it with greek yogurt, harissa & mint. The combination is perfect. I used vegan butter and next time I’ll try dairy free yogurt as well. I’m not very quick in the kitchen but this recipe came together VERY quickly. Would be a great dish if you’re cooking for company and really want to wow them with something different. Thank you HBH!

    Reply

  11. This was FANTASTIC!! I’ve been using your recipes for a couple of months now and every time I cook one of them the family flips!! So easy and so delicious!!

    Reply

  12. I made this tonight for my family and it was a huge success. It is light, fragrant and flavorful. Filling but not to the point of bloat. The presentation is very impressive for the a relatively simple meal to throw together. Putting this on the repeat list.

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    I just made this for dinner and even my fussy husband loved it. I made it in a rice cooker (because I’m lazy) and it worked just fine. Will be making this again soon!

    Reply

    1. Hey Miranda,
      Thanks a lot for giving the recipe a go, I am so delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  14. 5 stars
    Excellent dish!! Couple tweaks I made—
    Brown basmati, so the cooking time for the rice is about double. And for toppings I opted for yoghurt, fresh chopped cilantro and Moroccan tomato jam. It was HEAVENLY! I used 1 tsp of the pepper flakes for the rice and that gave me ample spice for the entire dish (I didn’t prepare the chickpeas with more because that would’ve been too much). Thanks again— this will be made often in my house. Even the 19month old enjoyed a bowl!

    Reply

    1. Hey Amanda,
      I am so glad that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  15. I made this tonight. So yummy!! However I didn’t see in the recipe where I add the greens. I assumed, based on the photo, that it goes in the finished rice. Made your homemade naan with it and it was insane!! Thank you.

    Reply