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.
This was unique and delicious! I didn’t have any Rosemary, so added more thyme and some oregano. Decided to add more lemon after tasting – ended up doubling. Love the what the lemon adds! Better than Chicken Soup for a winter cold!! Thank you!
So glad you liked it! Thanks Julie!
What type of onion? And what size can of chickpeas? I can’t wait to try! Looks delish.
Medium onion and a 15 ounce can of chickpeas! Updating the recipe now. Thanks!
Thanks for that, I was unsure of the size of can for the chick peas. I am making this tonight! I have always loved the avgolemono soup (Greek. egg, lemon and chicken soup) so I I’m sure this will be great!
Yes! I love that one too- hope you enjoy it!
One of my all-time favourites! I know this makes 8 servings – how big would you say a serving size is though?
Hi Connie- roughly 1 cup. Thanks!
Just made this! With some slight alterations due to limited ingredients. But SOgood! And the lemon juice gives it that perfect kick!
So glad you liked it!
I am making this soup for the second time now. My whole family loves it and it just tastes so fresh and healthy. I’m looking forward to trying more of your dishes! Thank you ☺️
Just wanted to thank you for this wonderful vegan soup recipe. We as a family had a get together over the past weekend, and my vegan daughter-in-law used your awesome recipe and prepared this as one of the soup dishes we enjoyed. We had a soup day, due to the inclement weather here at present.
We also made a non-vegan soup for the other family members. I will post this on my blog (with our own image) but with full credit to you and link back to your recipe. I hope that this will be acceptable to you. Again, thanks for this wonderful recipe. We will for sure use this again in future.
Before publishing it I await your response at your earliest convenience. Thank you again.
So glad you liked it! Yes, please feel free to post it with a link back to the full recipe.
Thanks, Alex for your response. Just to clarify, am I permitted to post the full recipe on my blog and just linking back or only linking to the original post. Please clarify
Could you send a link to the directions on my blog? That way SEO won’t be affected! Thanks!
Alex, sorry I do not understand which link you refer to. If you prefer, I will just list ½ of the ingredients, and then just link to your post for the rest. Would you rather prefer that?
Oops, late on a Friday evening, I got it! Sure I will do that.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this soup! So simple and cheap, but very tasty! Orzo is difficult to find where I live, so I substituted ordinary macaroni noodles, but other than that was able to follow the recipe. Never added lemon into a soup before, but you’ve convinced me it really brightens up the dish!
So glad you liked it!
This soup is so delicious! I was intrigued by the lemon in it and had to try. Success! My husband loves it too! He usually insists on soup with meat in it but he gobbled up a bowl and got seconds! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Adding salt truly brought this recipe to life.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Interesting recipe. Mine came out juicier looking than your photos. I think I’ll add more veggies next time. The flavor was just ok. A tad flat. More spice? I used fresh thyme. There are only two of us here, so I have the leftovers in the fridge. I’m thinking it’s going to make a wonderful leftover! Will definitely make this again, just might change it up a bit. Thanks!!!