Brothy Tomato Rice Soup
Updated August 24, 2026
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 ounce guanciale or bacon, diced
½ medium yellow onion, diced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
12 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine
¼ cup jasmine rice
2 cups chicken stock, bone broth or dashi, preferably homemade
Salt
Fresh basil and toasted sesame oil, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
37 grams carbs; 17 milligrams cholesterol; 387 calories; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 1169 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein; 10 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a medium saucepan over medium, then add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom. Stir-fry the guanciale and onion until both start to brown at the edges, about 5 minutes, then scooch them to the side of the pan.
- Step 2
To the empty side of the pan, add a little more oil if dry, then stir in the crushed red pepper and oregano. Reduce the heat if the spices start to burn. Nestle in the tomatoes (with their vines still on) and cook them until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Step 3
Add the rice and stock and bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt. If your tomatoes had stems and vines, remove and discard them.
- Step 4
Serve immediately with a topping of fresh basil and a dribble of sesame oil, if using.
Private Notes
Comments
Hi all, A note on cooking with tomato vines: They lend a surprising tomatoey flavor to brothy curries and soups like this, accentuating the aroma of the fruit in a beautiful way, but they do contain plant defenses called glycoalkaloids (so don’t eat them). -Eric
@kathy I had heard about tomato leaves being poisonous so I decided to look it up. It seems it is vastly overstated. One would need to eat over a pound of leaves or stems to have ill effects. Apparently there are many myths about members of the nightshade family.
@Randi Perlman paprika works great as a pork substitute in this dish
soup is outstanding!! skipped meat and added 1/4 t. reg paprika. tastes like summer here in somoma.
This was truly delicious! I went a little heavy on the red pepper (in a good way) and added 1 tbl of maple syrup to get more depth to the broth. I also used pre-cooked rice and just added it in during the last minute of cooking because I usually overcook rice in soup recipes like this and wanted to avoid that! :)
The tomato vines definitely add some nice flavor but there's no reason at all (other than making a nice thumbnail image) to actually cook the tomatoes still attached to the vine. Do yourself a favor and remove the tomatoes before starting to cook. Spending 10 minutes attempting to pick soft, boiling-hot tomatoes off their vines after cooking wasn't the best time.