Vegan Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup + Video
You are going to love this vegan lemon chickpea orzo soup! It’s like chicken noodle soup for grown ups, a plant-based twist on Greek avgolemono soup.
A one pot soup filled with vegetables, garbanzo beans and orzo pasta. Finished with a generous squirt of lemon juice for a bright + bold fall soup.
The moment chilly weather starts to roll in, I make a big pot of this soup. It’s one of my favorite recipes, and one of yours too! Originally published in 2014, this soup has been a big hit with everyone who tries it.
If you’re looking for a simple, healthy, hearty plant-based meal then you’ve gotta try this lemon chickpea orzo soup.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it from mostly pantry ingredients. And, it’s customizable depending on flavor preference. Some
- Orzo Pasta: As a dietitian, I feel like I constantly need to remind people that pasta isn’t a junk food. With 7-8 g of protein per serving, it can be a nutritious part of a balanced diet. That said, I like whole-wheat when I can find it! I’ve only seen the DeLallo brand, but others may exist.
- Garbanzo Beans: The garbanzo beans (chickpeas) in this recipe are my favorite but white beans will also work, they just don’t have the same toothsome texture as garbanzo beans.
- Rosemary: I know rosemary sounds odd, but it tastes great in this soup. You can omit if you don’t have it, but I like the woodsy flavor profile.
- Lemon Juice: You can add lemon juice to taste, but don’t be afraid of the lemon juice in this soup. It really makes the soup!
That’s it! Less than 10 ingredients to create a delicious soup rich in plant-based protein.
Things to Know Before Making This Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup
This soup is designed for weeknight cooking. You’ll start by simmering chopped onions, carrots and celery in olive oil over medium heat until tender. This is known as a mirepoix, a flavorful soup based made from diced vegetables cooked in fat. It’s what gives this soup so much flavor!
Since the broth you use makes a huge difference in the flavor of your soup, I’d highly recommend tasting your broth before adding it to the soup. My favorite brands are Orrington Farms Not Chicken Broth, Veggie Better than Bouillon and Pacific Food’s vegetable broth.
For additional flavor, I add in a small sprig of fresh rosemary and dried bay leaves to the pot as it’s cooking. You can omit the fresh rosemary if you don’t have it, but I don’t like dried rosemary as a replacement.
Right before the soup is finished, add in a generous splash of fresh lemon juice. A squirt of lemon juice at the end is transformative and is the is secret ingredient that gives this soup so much flavor and makes it really special.
The secret for making good soup great
My number one tip for incredible soup? Add some acid, like lemon juice. A small amount of an acid like lemon juice or vinegar added at the end of cooking a soup really brightens the overall flavor. I do this for most of my soup recipes and it’s a chef’s tip that makes good soups taste great.
Start with a little bit of lemon juice, taste and adjust, until your soup tastes balanced and bright.
How to store leftovers
​If you have any leftovers, you’ll place the soup in an airtight, freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3-4 months. Soups make a fantastic freezer meal and this one is no exception.
For easier meal prep, I often double a batch of this vegan soup. One batch to enjoy that night and the other to store in an airtight container in the freezer for dinner in a few weeks.
How much protein does this soup contain?
Chickpeas are a good source of plant-based protein, with 1/2 cup containing 8g of protein and 7g of fiber. It’s this combination that makes a vegan soup like this one incredibly satisfying! Protein, fiber (and fat) help to improve fullness and satiation.
If you want to learn more about plant-based protein, including 40+ free plant-based protein recipes, make sure to grab my free 7-day course here.
Can you add spinach or kale to this soup recipe?
Yes, you can add finely chopped kale, spinach or baby spinach to this recipe if you’d like. I recommend a cup stirred in during the last 5 minutes of cooking to just wilt slightly before serving.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Video
Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white or yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 cups vegetable broth + 1 cup water
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 small sprig rosemary
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- First, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Then, add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for 10-12 minutes until vegetables are soft, stirring often.
- Next, add the thyme and pinch of black pepper; stir together.
- Then, add the vegetable broth and water and bring to a boil.
- Add the chickpeas, rosemary, orzo and bay leaf. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes until orzo is cooked through.
- Finally, reduce heat to low and stir in lemon juice.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2021.
Silly question perhaps, first time soup maker here. When cooking these vegetables for 5 minutes while waiting for them to get soft, is this in a different saucepan? After adding the thyme and a pinch of pepper, do you add the vegetable broth and water to a different pan and then throw in the vegetables? I’m a bit confused.
You would start out cooking the veggies in a soup pot and then add the broth and the rest of the ingredients to the same pot. Hope that helps!
Yes! Wow, NMS I am SO sorry that I missed your original comment. Thank you Tallya for responding! it’s all in one pot. Hope you liked it!
This was so tasty and easy! I was more generous with the lemon juice and pepper and finished it with a bit of sriracha sauce. Definitely will make this again!
You had me at sriracha! Is there anything that sauce doesn’t taste good on? So glad you liked it! Thank you!
Love love love this soup! I didn’t have orzo but I had pearled cous cous and I also added a spoonful of homemade chili oil. Perfecto! Can’t wait for my sick husband to try it. This will cure him right up!! Thank you for this recipe.
THANK YOU so much for commenting! So glad you loved it!
Good morning! Had everything on hand, but the lemon juice. That didn’t stop me, though! Simmered veggie trimmings, smashed clove of garlic, and thyme and rosemary sprigs in 5 cups water while prepping veg. Strained broth while sautéing veg, adding 2 small peeled, diced potatoes on impulse. Used Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base. I held back several cups of liquid initially and after tasting, was missing something, decided to add 1 can chicken broth. I realize that addition totally took this soup out of the vegan realm, but this confirmed to me that I can reduce the desire to use all poultry based stocks (nearly all of my soups contain homemade poultry stocks, with the occasional canned version in a pinch ) and still make a flavorful soup! Had a nice big bowl for breakfast. 😉 Can’t wait to pick up some lemons to use on the leftovers! Thanks
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your version!
Made this tonight as the vegetarian part of our dinner. It was delicious, served with garlic bread. Can’t wait for leftovers. Thanks!
Thanks Vivian! Glad you liked it!
Up above you state 1 c. orso in soup makes 8 servings but down below the recipe (has 1 c.) says it serves 30 I’m totally confused how many this really serves!
Whoops! That was supposed to be 30 minutes 🙂 This soup serves 8!
Aw man! I LOVED ORZO SO MUCH! I don’t know what it is about that shape of pasta! It was awesome, right up there with the bow ties! 😉
I’m always looking for new recipes for my vegetarian husband, and this one would definitely hit the spot. Great recipe using orzo 🙂
How many calories are in each serving?
ooh that looks good. I wouldn’t have added lemon to soup. Already pinned. You and I would make great lunch companions!
Yum! I love lemons in my soup! 🙂 This looks excellent, one can never go wrong with pasta and chickpeas!
This looks really good. I never would have thought to put some lemon juice in a soup.