Cozy and warming, this creamy vegetable orzo soup is packed with healthy vegetables and herbs. It's so easy to make as a tasty comfort food lunch or light dinner in just 30 minutes!
Do you ever have those days when you feel like you need to really up your vegetable game? If you do, then this vegan orzo soup is just the thing! As well as being so quick to make, you can easily use the vegetables you have to hand - it's very versatile!
This warming soup joins my creamy vegetable gnocchi soup and celery leek and potato soup as being both healthy and hearty, making them perfect for lunch or a light dinner.
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Cozy healthy comfort food. With so many vegetables and herbs, this vegetable soup with orzo is both a hug in a bowl and packed with nourishing ingredients.
Versatile. You can easily swap vegetables in and out for those you have to hand.
Quick and easy. All simple steps to make this one pot vegetable orzo soup, and it's ready in just 30 minutes!
🥕 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Orzo pasta - this is the small pasta (also known as risoni) that looks like a large grain of rice. It's quite readily available and there are gluten free versions too.
- Coconut milk - this gives us a creamy vegetable orzo soup and I suggest using the type that you purchase in a can rather than the pouring kind for coffee.
- Kale - I suggest using curly kale or lacinato kale for this soup.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap orzo for another small pasta. If you're out of orzo you can use another small pasta, just be mindful they may have different cook times. You can find lots of ideas in my post on alternatives to orzo pasta!
Leave out the coconut milk. If you aren't a fan, you can simply use extra vegetable stock to make the soup.
Add more coconut milk. I did try a recipe test of this soup with half a cup of coconut milk rather than a quarter cup. Personally it was a little too creamy for my taste, but if that's you thing then pour in a little extra!
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this orzo vegetable soup is so simple, with just a few steps.
The full recipe instructions are set out in the card below, but these photos should help guide you:
Step 1: Saute onion
Drizzle olive oil into a large pot and add the onion. Saute for a few minutes to soften (image 1).
Step 2: Cook the vegetables
Tip in the carrot, celery, zucchini, garlic and herbs and cook for 4-5 minutes (image 2).
Step 3: Pour in the vegetable stock and orzo
Tip in the orzo pasta and pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a very light simmer (image 3).
Step 4: Pour in the coconut milk
Pour in the coconut milk, then cook the soup for 10-12 minutes. Add in the diced kale and cook for a few minutes so it wilts (image 4). Remove the bay leaf and ladle into your bowls.
💭 Expert recipe tips and notes
- Dice the vegetables into small pieces of roughly the same size for an even cook time. If you do them a little more chunky, I would suggest to cook for a little longer before adding the orzo.
- This recipe makes a fairly thick vegetarian orzo soup. Add a little more vegetable stock if you prefer something lighter in texture.
- Try not to overcook the soup as the orzo pasta will go overly soft.
- Don't forget to remove the bay leaf!
📋 Frequently asked questions
Yes, this is a vegetarian and vegan orzo soup as we don't use dairy or eggs.
It's best to follow the packet instructions, but it typically takes 10-15 minutes to cook orzo in soup. Take care not to overcook it as it will go mushy in texture.
Adding flour isn't necessary as the orzo will thicken the soup.
I wouldn't suggest freezing this soup. I've tried and it was very thick due to the orzo absorbing the stock, and the orzo went overly mushy too.
🍽 What to serve with vegetable soup
- Serve with homemade pita chips or seed crackers on the side for some crunch!
- Pair with a healthy salad for extra vitamins! You may like to see my light kale and tahini salad or my asparagus caprese salad for spring.
- If you want a heartier meal you can serve with a side of my turmeric turkey or my air fryer boneless chicken thighs.
- Have a peek at my round-up of what to serve with soup for even more ideas!
🥣 More cozy soups
Find so many healthy soups here, including my butternut squash and red pepper soup and my broccoli and courgette soup. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Vegetable Orzo Soup
Equipment
- Soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup carrots diced
- ¼ cup celery diced
- ½ cup zucchini diced
- ¾ cup orzo
- 2.5 cups vegetable stock
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 cup kale shredded
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil in your skillet, and saute onion for 3-4 minutes until softened. Tip in the carrot, celery, zucchini, garlic, herbs and bay leaf and cook on a low to medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Tip in the orzo pasta and pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a very light simmer and pour in the coconut milk. Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the orzo has softened and is al dente in texture.
- Add the shredded kale and season with salt and black pepper. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, then ladle into your bowls and enjoy!
Notes
- You can dice the vegetables fairly small or more chunky to preference.
- Make sure to add the kale towards the end of cook time so it keeps it texture and just wilts a little.
- This makes a fairly thick soup. For a thinner soup add more vegetable stock to the pot.
- Remember to remove the bay leaf!
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- I suggest using white onion, which scores 0.
- garlic, which scores 1.
- orzo (for wheat) scores 1 with a ? as a liberator.
- vegetable stock will depend upon ingredients used.
- kale isn't rated. It is low histamine on other lists.
- bay leaf has a ? with a note, 'small amounts are well tolerated'.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
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