Vegetable orzo soup is a hearty and healthy vegan soup recipe. Rich tomato flavored broth is packed with your favorite veggies and orzo pasta. The whole family will love this fast and easy weeknight dinner.
This vegetable orzo soup recipe can be prepared and cooked from scratch in only 50 minutes.
Simple soups like this one appear regularly in my weekly meal planning for the family. Aside from tasting fantastic, they are an easy way to boost the amount of vegetables we eat.
This soup tastes even better the next day when all the flavors have intensified. Making this an ideal make ahead meal prep dish.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Orzo Vegetable Soup
- Vegetable Orzo Soup Ingredients
- How to Make Vegetable and Orzo Soup - Step-By-Step
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Variations & Substitutions for Vegetable Orzo Pasta Soup
- Tips & Tricks For Making Vegetarian Orzo Soup
- Pin This Vegetable Orzo Soup Recipe For Later
- What Do You Think?!
- More Easy Soup Recipe Ideas
- Printable Recipe
- Vegetable Orzo Soup
- Reader Comments & Ratings
Why You'll Love This Orzo Vegetable Soup
- This is one seriously hearty vegetable soup - perfect for a chilly day.
- It's a perfect lunch or dinner option with a side of crusty bread.
- Leftover soup can be heated up and packed into a thermos next day for an easy lunch on the go.
- Double or treble this recipe and it's a delicious meal for feeding a crowd.
- Try some of my other great tasting vegan soup recipes:
Vegetable Orzo Soup Ingredients
Find the full list and quantities in the recipe card below.
Orzo - I've used orzo pasta, which is the perfect soup pasta. It cooks quickly and is just the right size. You can use any other pasta shape, although I recommend going for a small bite-sized pasta as it is easier to eat. You could also substitute orzo pasta for rice.
Vegetables - I've used yellow onion, celery, carrot, leek, garlic, corn and kale, however, this is a really adaptable recipe so add the vegetables you enjoy eating yourself.
Broth - I've used a vegetable stock as this is a vegetarian/vegan soup recipe. If this isn't a requirement for you or your diners, chicken broth is a tasty alternative.
Toppings - I like to garnish the soup with some red pepper flakes, adding just a touch of chili heat.
I also like to grate over some Parmesan cheese. If serving to vegetarian diners use a vegetarian Parmesan alternative. For vegan or dairy free diners, use a dairy free vegan cheese.
How to Make Vegetable and Orzo Soup - Step-By-Step
Find the full printable recipe below.
Fry the diced onion, celery and carrots in olive oil on a medium-low heat stirring occasionally until soft. This should take around 10 minutes. Add the sliced leek and cook for another 5 minutes.
Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Stir in the minced garlic and tomato paste or puree then the orzo.
Add the canned diced tomatoes and broth. Stir everything together well.
Bring the soup to a boil then turn down to a simmer for around 8 minutes. It should be barely bubbling. Stir occasionally to stop the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Taste and season again if required then stir in the corn and the kale until just wilted.
Serve hot sprinkled with grated parmesan and/or red pepper flakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is orzo?
Orzo pasta is a short cut pasta shape that looks a bit like a large grain of rice! It is commonly made with durum wheat flour.
What can I use as a substitute for Orzo?
White rice makes a great substitute for regular orzo pasta. It's ideal for a gluten-free diet if you can't lay your hands on gluten free orzo.
Variations & Substitutions for Vegetable Orzo Pasta Soup
- You can buy gluten-free orzo for those following a gluten-free diet.
- If you can find it in your local stores, whole wheat orzo is also a healthier option.
- The vegetables can be easily adapted in this soup recipe. Red bell pepper, zucchini, green beans or broccoli are all great options.
I've used kale, but baby spinach, chard, collard greens or turnip greens would work equally well.
- Add a burst of fresh herbs to garnish the soup, try fresh parsley, basil or chives.
- For more vegan protein cannellini beans are delicious in this soup, as are garbanzo beans.
- To add meat, leftover or rotisserie shredded chicken works well here.
- You could also add some Italian Sausage and red chili flakes, to give a spicy kick!
- For a creamy vegetable orzo soup, add a splash of coconut milk to the soup. If you are not cooking for vegan or dairy free diners, then cream will work here too.
Tips & Tricks For Making Vegetarian Orzo Soup
The sliced leek adds a lovely flavor and a mellow sweetness to the soup, so try not to skip this step or replace the leek.
Take time to properly season the soup with salt and black pepper, it will make all the difference to the finished dish.
Be sure to keep stirring this soup, especially once the orzo goes in. If not it can stick to the bottom or the pot.
As this soup sits it will thicken up so add a splash of broth or water to loosen it when warming the soup up again.
As with most soups, it will taste better the next day as the flavors will have intensified.
How To Serve Vegetable and Orzo Soup
This is a great one pot meal, as this is a hearty bowl of soup. If I would add anything it would be some garlic bread, focaccia or crusty bread to help mop up the soup.
How To Reheat Vegetable Orzo Soup?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days.
To re-heat place the soup in a saucepan and place over a medium heat to warm to piping hot.
How to Freeze Vegetable Orzo Soup?
Once cooked and cooled, store this soup in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, remove the soup from the freezer and defrost in the refrigerator.
Pin This Vegetable Orzo Soup Recipe For Later
What Do You Think?!
I'd love to know what you think about this recipe! I'd be so grateful if you scroll down to the bottom of the page and leave a star rating and comment.
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More Easy Soup Recipe Ideas
Printable Recipe
Vegetable Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 large Onion - diced
- 2 ribs Celery - diced
- 2 medium Carrots - peeled and diced
- 1 Leek - sliced into half moons
- 2 cloves Fresh Garlic - finely minced
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste - or puree
- 1 cup Orzo
- 14 oz Canned Diced Tomatoes
- 6 cups Vegetable Broth - gluten free if required
- 1 cup Corn - frozen, canned or fresh
- 2 cups Kale - stemmed and shredded
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper
To garnish - Optional
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Grated Parmesan or Vegetarian Alternative - or vegan alternative if required
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pan over a medium-high heat.
- Fry the diced onion, celery and carrots in the oil stirring occasionally until soft. This should take around 10 minutes.
- Add the sliced leek and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Stir in the minced garlic and tomato paste or puree then the orzo.
- Add the canned diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir everything together well.
- Bring the soup to a boil then turn down to a simmer. It should be barely bubbling.
- Simmer for around 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Taste and season again if required.
- Stir in the corn and the kale until just wilted, around minute or two.
- Serve hot sprinkled with grated parmesan and/or red pepper flakes (optional).
Claire says
This was so easy to make!!! The perfect food for when you need something warm and comforting but still want something healthy.
I made it as you wrote it, except I didn’t add any green veg. My middle son is going through a “hating green veg” stage! 🤦🏻♀️ so I decided that a whole bowl of veg soup without kale was better than two spoons of soup with kale. He even had some for lunch today as well!!!
Thank you
Jo Keohane says
So glad you liked this - and the kids did too! Thank you for commenting.
Madison says
We looove orzo and adding vegetables and orzo to soup is the perfect combination. We will definitely be making this again!
Jo Keohane says
We love orzo too! Thank you so much.
Rose says
I love orzo and I'm always on the look for different ways to use it! We loved this hearty soup, it was also surprisingly very simple to prepare with so much flavor!
Jo Keohane says
Hi Rose - thank you for commenting...so glad you found that it had good flavor.
Rosanna Stevens says
I’m always looking for more ways to use orzo, and this is definitely a new favorite. Thank you!
Jo Keohane says
Thank you so much for commenting - we love orzo in our house!!
Gina says
This was so filling and delicious, everyone loved it and no one missed the meat.
Jo Keohane says
So pleased to hear you liked this - thank you so much for your comment.