I like to make this lemon orzo soup on busy weeknights! A comfy, wholesome one-pot meal, it has a lemony broth stuffed with tender orzo and veggies.
Let’s make lemon orzo soup! This recipe has rapidly change into a favourite in our home this winter, a brand new go-to dinner for busy weeknights. I like that it’s cozy sufficient to really feel warming and satisfying on a chilly day, however that it’s nonetheless wholesome and contemporary. A shiny lemon broth surrounds tender orzo pasta, flavorful greens, and creamy white beans. A sprinkle of dill or parsley takes it excessive.
Like all one of the best weeknight dinners, this lemon orzo soup is simple to make. It comes collectively in a single pot with easy substances and cooks up in about half-hour.
I hope this recipe is as massive a success in your own home because it has been in ours. Even Ollie, my four-year-old, can’t get sufficient of it. He loves to assist make it too. His favourite job is manning the pepper mill, which signifies that our soup is all the time very, very nicely peppered. 🙂 Hey, if he’s excited to eat greens, I’ll take it!
Lemon Orzo Soup Substances
Right here’s what you’ll must make this lemon orzo soup recipe:
- Orzo, in fact! Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta. Its fast cooking time makes it excellent for utilizing in soups like this one!
- Onion, garlic, carrots, and celery – These greens create the soup’s flavorful base.
- Vegetable broth – Make home made vegetable broth, or use store-bought.
- Contemporary thyme – It provides woodsy, earthy depth of taste to the soup. Be happy to substitute dried thyme when you don’t have contemporary available—1 teaspoon will do the trick.
- Cannellini beans – Full of fiber and protein, they make this soup a satisfying meal.
- Contemporary spinach – For an additional veggie punch. I like the silky texture of the leaves on this soup.
- Contemporary lemon juice – It provides shiny, citrusy taste to the broth.
- Contemporary parsley or dill – Elective, however advisable! They make this soup really feel particularly mild and contemporary.
- And salt and pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the whole recipe with measurements under.
Recipe Variations
I like this soup as written, however there are all types of the way you possibly can change it up! Be happy to fluctuate the substances primarily based on what you’re craving or what you will have available. Listed here are a couple of concepts to get you began:
- Change the celery with fennel.
- Use a leek as an alternative of the onion.
- Use rosemary or dried Italian seasoning as an alternative of thyme.
- Change the spinach with kale or Swiss chard.
- Substitute cooked lentils or different white beans for the cannellini beans.
- Change the orzo with one other small pasta, like ditalini or small elbows, and even cooked rice.
Let me know what variations you strive!
The best way to Make Lemon Orzo Soup
This lemon orzo soup recipe is a straightforward one-pot meal. Right here’s a fast overview of the way it comes collectively:
Begin by sautéing the onion, carrots, and celery in a soup pot over medium warmth. Cook dinner till they soften, 6 to eight minutes. Stir within the garlic.
Subsequent, simmer the soup. Add the orzo, beans, thyme, and broth and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or till the orzo is tender.
- One thing I like about this soup: Because the orzo cooks within the soup, it releases starches into the broth. They thicken it barely, giving it a very comforting, nearly creamy texture. So good!
End the soup with the lemon juice and contemporary spinach. As soon as the spinach wilts, season to style with salt and pepper. Serve topped with contemporary herbs!
- Tip: For an additional-lemony soup, prime your bowl with lemon zest too.
What to Serve with Lemon Orzo Soup
We frequently take pleasure in this soup for dinner by itself, with some crusty bread on the facet for sopping up the lemony broth.
For a bigger meal, pair it with a easy arugula salad or a inexperienced veggie like roasted inexperienced beans or roasted broccoli.
Storage Ideas
Retailer leftover soup in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. The orzo will take in the broth because it sits within the fridge, so that you’ll doubtless must skinny the soup with water while you reheat.
Extra Soup Recipes to Strive
If you happen to love this lemon orzo soup, strive one in all these cozy soup recipes subsequent:
Lemon Orzo Soup
Serves 4
This lemon orzo soup recipe is a contemporary, wholesome, and comfy one-pot meal! Certainly one of our favourite weeknight dinners, it has a shiny lemon broth stuffed with tender orzo and veggies.
Forestall your display from going darkish
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Warmth the olive oil in a big pot or Dutch oven over medium warmth. Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt, and several other grinds of pepper and cook dinner, stirring often, for six to eight minutes, or till softened.
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Stir within the garlic, then add the broth, thyme, orzo, and beans and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or till the orzo is tender.
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Add the spinach and lemon juice and stir till the spinach is wilted. Season to style and serve topped with freshly floor black pepper and contemporary herbs, if desired.
