Cozy and creamy lemon chickpea orzo soup recipe! A vegetarian soup inspired by Greek avgolemono. Perfect for a family weeknight meal!
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Hi, Rhubarbarians! Sharing a mega-cozy, mega-comforting lemon chickpea orzo soup today!
This has become a go-to weeknight family dinner for us lately and I just know you will love it as much as we do.
It's got all the cozy flavors of chicken noodle soup, but made vegetarian with chickpeas and chickenless broth. It's brightened up with lemon juice and made super creamy by incorporating eggs. You've got to try it!
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A vegetarian spin on Greek avgolemono
This soup is inspired by Greek avgolemono lemon and rice soup!
What is avgolemono? According to wikipedia, avgolemono or "egg–lemon" is a family of sauces and soups made with egg yolk and lemon juice mixed with broth, heated until they thicken.
Greek avgolemono soup is traditionally made with chicken and rice, but we put our own vegetarian spin on it! We swapped out the chicken for chickpeas, and used our favorite chickenless broth, Better Than Bouillon's No Chicken Base.
After testing this recipe several times with both orzo and rice, we prefer the orzo!
We love how the eggs and the pasta give this soup a luxurious and creamy texture without any dairy!
Here's what you'll need
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic
- Orzo
- Chickenless broth. Our favorite is the Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base.
- Eggs
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Chickpeas
- Salt
- Pepper
Equipment:
- A large dutch oven or soup pot to cook the soup in.
- A sharp knife for chopping the vegetables.
- A measuring cup for the broth.
- Measuring spoons for the garlic and lemon juice.
- A heat safe utensil for sautéing the vegetables.
- A medium sized bowl for whisking together the eggs and lemon juice.
- A whisk or large fork for whisking together the eggs and lemon juice.
- A ladle for tempering the eggs and serving.
- A can opener for opening the can of chickpeas.
- Bowls and spoons for serving.
How to make it
This soup is very simple and any beginner home cook will have great success! Here's how you make it (full instructions are listed in the recipe card below):
- Heat the oil in a large dutch oven and brown the onions.
- Saute the vegetables and then the garlic and orzo.
- Add the broth and boil until the orzo is cooked.
- Combine the eggs and the lemon juice and then temper the eggs.
- Add the egg mixture and the chickpeas to the soup.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Have you tried our quick and easy vegan pho recipe?
Recipe tips and substitutions
- The orzo: You can use short grain rice like arborio rice
- The eggs: You can swap the eggs out for a few splashes of heavy cream. Although, we don't recommend whisking the cream and the lemon together. Fully combine the cream into the soup and then add the lemon, stirring the soup constantly to avoid curdling.
- If you're looking for more of an herby flavor, add some fresh dill to your soup!
MAKE IT VEGAN: Replace the eggs with 3/4 cup of coconut milk. This will give you a creamy, vegan soup!
How to serve
We love this soup as a main dish for dinner. It's simple enough for a weeknight, but we think it's impressive enough to feed guests as well.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping and/or a simple side salad. You could also serve with lemon wedges, fresh dill, and croutons for topping.
Have you tried our secret ingredient healthy broccoli cheddar soup?
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Prep ahead, storing, and freezing
- Prep ahead: The vegetables can be chopped ahead of time for easy prep!
- Storing: Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Freezing: We don't recommend freezing this soup, as the orzo can become soggy and the egg doesn't keep well for very long.
FAQs
Yes. But we found that the flavor of chickenless broth was much better.
Yes. We like arborio rice for this soup.
We don't recommend using the pressure cooker function because the orzo will become overcooked. But you can certainly use the saute function!
You can swap the eggs out for a few splashes of heavy cream. Although, we don't recommend whisking the cream and the lemon together. Fully combine the cream into the soup and then add the lemon, stirring the soup constantly to avoid curdling.
Replace the eggs with 3/4 cup of coconut milk.
Recipe
Cozy and creamy lemon chickpea orzo soup recipe! A vegetarian soup inspired by Greek avgolemono. Perfect for a family weeknight meal!
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 3 large celery stalks, diced
- 1 heaping Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup dried orzo pasta
- 8 cups chickenless broth*
- 3 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 14.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 2-3 tsp pepper
-
Heat the 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and saute until it starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and saute until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and orzo and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
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Add the chickenless broth, loosen browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and increase the heat to high. Bring the soup just to a boil and rapid boil until the orzo is al dente. It took our soup 9 minutes to boil and then 4 more minutes for the orzo to be cooked.
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While the soup is cooking, whisk together the eggs and the lemon juice in a medium sized bowl. To temper the eggs, whisk one large ladle full of the boiling soup liquid directly into the eggs until everything is combined. Whisk in one more ladle full until everything is combined.
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When the orzo is al dente, remove the soup from the heat. Add the egg mixture to the soup, stirring the soup quickly while you add it until well combined into the soup. Then stir in the chickpeas.
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Season with the salt and pepper to your liking.
* We love the Better Than Bouillon no chicken base
More vegetarian soup recipes to try:
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Vonnie
The flavors in this soup is outstanding! We absolutely love this vegetarian version of Greek avgolemono lemon and rice soup. I serve it with toasted garlicky pita.
Nora Crane
I prepared this soup for lunch today and it is yum yum yum. Flavors are superb; subtle yet there. It's a wonderful soup for spring menus.