Prepare this healthy one-pot vegetable orzo soup for an easy, comforting meal to warm up on chilly days. It takes just 30 minutes to prepare, and it is loaded with delicious flavors.
In our home, December to April is the season of soups because of the cold weather here in North-East America. As a recipe developer, the creativity inside of me makes me try a variety of soups at home during this time. Whether it is cheesy broccoli soup in Instant Pot or oven roasted tomato soup, or slow-cooked barley soup, you will find a variety of soups on the website. Here, you will learn to prepare quick and easy vegetable orzo soup with pesto.
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What is special about this dish
- A warm bowl of this healthy orzo soup is perfect for a comforting meal.
- Prepared with healthy and clean ingredients and loaded with fresh veggies.
- It is quick and easy to prepare. Perfect one-pot soup recipe for busy days.
- Add some mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and kids will love it.
Ingredients
- Orzo - Use your choice of orzo. I use both whole wheat and regular semolina orzo, depending on availability at our grocery store.
- Vegetables - diced bell peppers, carrots, and spinach are the fresh vegetables in this soup. Use different colored bell peppers to get a nice color in the soup and for added nutrition.
- Beans - boost the protein content in the soup by adding white cannellini beans. It makes the soup filling. Or use your choice of beans, like pinto or kidney beans. Use precooked beans to make this soup. Sometimes, I soak and cook them in Instant Pot at home. When I don't have time, I use canned ones.
- Onion - I used green spring onions in this soup. However, you can use an onion bulb instead, dice it finely, and then use it.
- Garlic - I always prefer using fresh garlic in my recipes. Even a little bit of fresh garlic enhances the flavors of the soup.
- Pesto - If it is freshly made at home, then it's even better. But I am guilty of this as I buy it from a store sometimes, especially during wintertime when fresh basil is not available in my garden.
- Seasonings - Add black pepper and salt to season the dish. Always taste test and season the soup according to your liking.
- Toppings - Before serving, sprinkle some parmesan cheese, fresh chopped parsley or basil, and green onion to garnish the bowl of soup.
See the recipe card for quantities and more details.
Preparation tips
- Dice bell pepper into ½" pieces
- Peel, rinse and then dice carrots into ½" pieces.
- Trim the ends of green spring onion and thinly slice it into small pieces. Save some green parts to garnish the soup before serving.
- Roughly chop baby spinach leaves.
- Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Or you can finely chop it or even mince it using a garlic press. I just try to save some effort here by slicing it.
- Rinse and drain white beans if you are using canned ones. Divide the beans into two equal parts. Then, smash half of the beans using a potato masher or the bottom of a drinking glass. These smashed beans will help the soup to thicken and get a creamy texture.
How to make pesto vegetable orzo soup?
Step 1. Heat some cooking oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add garlic and cook it until golden brown and fragrant.
Step 2. Add spring onions, diced celery, carrot, and bell pepper and sauté for a couple of mins. Then add water and chicken or vegetable broth. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 3. Now add orzo, salt, and black pepper, mix, cover, and cook for 4 mins.
Step 4. Remove the lid, add chopped spinach and whole as well as smashed cannellini beans, mix, and cook for a couple more minutes.
Step 5. Turn off the heat, then add basil pesto and mix well to distribute it evenly. Cover and let it rest for a few minutes. Garnish with fresh green onion and some parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Serving suggestions
- A large soup bowl of this veggie orzo soup is sufficient for a filling meal.
- Serve warm soup with freshly baked whole wheat dinner rolls or homemade focaccia bread.
- Pair it with healthy ground chicken nuggets, crispy potato fritters, or these chicken drumsticks in Instant Pot for a wholesome and satisfying meal.
- Or make simple and easy lentil salad or avocado cucumber salad to serve with the soup.
Helpful tips
- Add extra broth - add more broth to get the consistency of your liking. Also, when you make the orzo soup way before serving, the orzo keeps soaking up the broth. Therefore, add extra broth when reheating the soup before serving to get the desired consistency.
- Taste test - at the end of cooking, taste the soup and add more seasonings and basil pesto if necessary.
- Do not overcook - orzo can get mushy and lose its texture if you overcook it in the soup. Therefore, slightly undercook it in the soup. The hot liquid will keep it cooking further once you turn off the heat.
- Add toppings - while serving, add toppings like parmesan cheese, crispy croutons, and some chili flakes to garnish the soup and make it look more appetizing.
Recipe variations
- Use different types of pasta - you can use any small-sized pasta to prepare this soup instead of orzo. Adjust the cooking time as given on the package. Or follow this vegetable pasta soup recipe, where I used smaller pasta and made it with tomato.
- Make it protein-rich - add leftover shredded chicken to the soup. Or cook boneless skinless chicken on the grill or the pan over the stovetop, cut it into bite-size pieces, and then add it to the soup towards the end of cooking orzo. Or make this lemon chicken orzo soup.
- More veggies - make this soup more nutritious by adding one or more veggies like diced zucchini, yellow squash, green peas, eggplant, etc.
- Choice of greens - use baby kale leaves instead of spinach or add both.
- Choice of beans - You can replace the white beans with pinto or kidney beans.
- Gluten-free soup - use gluten-free orzo or any other gluten-free pasta in this soup.
- Vegan/vegetarian orzo soup - Make the soup with vegetable broth and avoid using parmesan cheese. Also, use vegan pesto to prepare the vegan version.
Make ahead instructions
Peel the garlic and dice carrot, bell peppers, celery, and green onions, and store them in an air-tight container for about 2-3 days. On the day of cooking, follow the instructions to prepare the vegetable orzo soup.
Storage tips
Store leftover soup in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. Reheat it on the stovetop, add some chicken or vegetable stock, and just bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat, garnish, and serve warm.
FAQs
See the cooking time given on the orzo package. Mine says it takes eight minutes to cook. I cook it for 6 mins. I then turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it further cook for a minute or so.
Orzo is a kind of pasta that looks like rice grains. It is made up of semolina flour or wheat flour, just like regular pasta.
Yes, use smaller pasta sizes to make this soup. Pastas such as ditalini, patina, farfalline, etc., are perfect for this soup. I have used ditalini in this simple vegetable pasta soup recipe.
More healthy soups
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📖 Recipe
White Bean Pesto And Vegetable Orzo Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo
- 2 medium celery stalks diced into small pieces
- 2-3 stalks of spring onion thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots diced into small pieces save some green part for garnishing
- 1 cup diced bell pepper
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach use whole leaves or chop it
- 2-3 small garlic cloves peeled and sliced
- 1 can cannellini beans smash half of it
- 5 cups liquid veggie stock plus water
- 2 tablespoon basil pesto
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add sliced garlic and cook it for 30-40 seconds or until it turns golden brown.
- Add spring onions, celery, carrot, and bell pepper, and saute for 2-3 mins.
- Add veggie stock and water, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Then add orzo, salt, and pepper; mix well, cover, and cook on low heat for 5 mins.
- Now add cannellini beans (whole as well as smashed) and baby spinach, and continue cooking for 2 mins.
- Turn off the heat and then add basil pesto, mix well, cover, and let it rest for a few minutes. Garnish with some parmesan cheese and spring onion; serve warm.
Notes
- Using a potato masher or the back of a wooden spatula, smash half of the cannellini beans. This will help to thicken the soup and add creaminess to it. While keeping some whole beans will give a nice texture and color to the soup.
- If you do not have spring onions, you can use regular onions instead. Dice one medium onion into small pieces before using.
- Use different colored bell peppers to get more colors in the soup. Dice all the veggies into small pieces and as evenly as possible.
- I always use half water and half chicken broth/stock to prepare the soup base. You can use full broth/stock and skip using water.
- Taste test the soup and add more basil pesto, salt, and pepper if necessary per your liking.
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