Creamy Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup with Plant‑Based Chicken
This soup is warm and bright- perfect for a chilly winter day! It can be made either vegetarian or vegan.
Why You’ll Love This Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup
Who doesn’t love a warm, filling soup in the middle of winter? After spending all day outside clearing snow, that’s pretty much all my wife and I want to eat. It’s warm, it’s comforting, and it just makes you feel happy from the inside out. The problem is we didn’t just want plain old vegetable soup. So Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup was born.
This cozy vegetarian lemon orzo soup is quick, delicious, and perfect for a cold winter day. You can easily make it vegan, too, which makes it a great plant‑based weeknight dinner.
The lemon gives the broth a bright, fresh finish — definitely don’t skip it. It’s the little pop that makes the whole pot taste lighter and more vibrant.
Regular Orzo vs. Chickpea Orzo
You can use regular orzo, or swap in chickpea orzo for a protein boost. Chickpea orzo has 12g of protein per 2oz serving vs. 7g in regular orzo, it’s made with just one ingredient, and it’s delicious. It’s also a great source of fiber, nutrients, and is gluten-free. It’s hands-down my favorite option.
How to Make Lemon Orzo Soup Vegan
I’m already using a vegan plant‑based chicken here, and if you want to make the soup fully vegan, you can sub in coconut cream or any dairy‑free heavy cream alternative you like.
How to Make Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup:
Makes:
6 servings
Equipment Needed
A Dutch Oven or other large pot
Anything that’s big enough to cook 6 servings of soup in.
Ingredients for Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup
- 1 cup heavy cream- or a vegan heavy cream substitute like coconut cream
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms- I’m using Baby Bella
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme- Just wash them, toss them in there, and then fish them out at the end
- 3 cups spinach
- 2 carrots, sliced- You’re also welcome to dice them if you don’t like big pieces of carrot
- ¼ cup diced onion- You can use more if you’d like. We just don’t really enjoy onion very much.
- 6 cups vegetarian chicken broth- I use Better Than Bullion’s No Chicken Chicken Broth. It’s also vegan.
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup orzo (182g)-I use Barilla’s chickpea orzo for added protein
- 6 oz soy curl chicken, chopped up (or your favorite chicken substitute)
- Juice from 1 lemon
Preparation
First, cook your diced onion and carrots with a tiny bit of butter or oil in a large pot over medium heat for about 5 minutes. The onion should begin to become translucent and the carrots will soften a bit. Make sure to stir occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom of your pot or burn.
Next, add your mushrooms to the pot and cook until they start to turn a nice golden brown, stirring to make sure they brown evenly on both sides and don’t stick.
Make sure your get your broth and heavy cream (or cream substitute) ready.
Add your garlic and thyme to the mushroom and onion mix and cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn your garlic. It gets bitter if you burn it. Then stir in the broth and heavy cream and bring to a simmer.
Once your broth starts simmering, add in the orzo and cook according to the package directions. If you’re using a frozen chicken substitute, cook according to the package directions while your orzo is cooking. If not, move on to the next step.
Add in the soy curl chicken or your chicken substitute, then add in the spinach and cook until the spinach starts to wilt and the soy curls are warm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pot from the heat and add in the lemon juice, then serve warm.
Tips
If you’re using a frozen chicken substitute from the store, make sure you cook it according to the package directions before adding it to your soup. You don’t want to end up overcooking your orzo trying to get your chicken to dethaw. If you aren’t making this vegetarian or vegan and are using actual chicken, cook and shred it before adding it, or use shredded rotisserie chicken.
Get all your ingredients together before you start cooking! You want to have your broth and heavy cream ready to go so your garlic doesn’t burn and turn bitter.
Yes! You can use shredded rotisserie chicken if you aren’t worried about the recipe being vegetarian, or add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas. Add either option when you would add the plant based chicken in the recipe.
Whatever you’d like! This would be good with some zucchini or other squash in it as well.
You may also like:
Vegetarian or Vegan Orzo Soup
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Cook your diced onion and carrots with a tiny bit of butter or oil in a large pot over medium heat for about 5 minutes until it becomes translucent and the carrots are softened a bit. Make sure to stir occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom of your pot.
- Add your mushrooms to the pot with the onion and cook until they start to turn a nice golden brown, stirring to make sure they brown evenly on both sides and don’t stick.
- Add your garlic and thyme to the mushroom and onion mix and cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn your garlic.
- Stir in the broth and heavy cream and bring to a simmer.
- Add in the orzo and cook according to package directions.
- If you’re using a frozen chicken substitute, cook according to the package directions. If not, move on to the next step.
- Add in the soy curl chicken or chicken substitute, then add in the spinach and cook until the spinach starts to wilt and the soy curls are warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat and add in the lemon juice, then serve warm.
