Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup (Vegan Avgolemono)
Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup (aka Greek vegan avgolemono soup) features soothing citrus, chickpeas, orzo, refreshing dill, and fresh baby greens with tahini for added creaminess!
Wrap your hands around a bowl of this hearty, Greek-inspired Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup! It’s bursting with flavors and made with simple, everyday ingredients.
This is my vegan version of Greek avgolemono soup, brimming with chickpeas, orzo, carrots, kale (or spinach), lemon, and dill. It is made creamy with tahini and is so delicious! Plus, it’s healthy, super easy to make, and ready in 30 minutes!
One of my favorite parts about this soup is the freshly squeezed lemon juice. The lemon brightens it up, adding pure comfort to a bowl with a hint of refreshing, lemony broth. This is a hearty and satisfying soup that I know you’re going to love!
Without further ado, let’s make a pot of delicious, healthy soup!
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, onion, carrots, and garlic are sauteed and then simmered with orzo, chickpeas, spinach, vegetable broth, and tahini, creating a bright flavorful, creamy vegan soup.
Here is everything you will need:
- Olive oil – use water for oil-free
- Onion
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Vegetable broth – or a combo of water and veg broth
- Orzo – whole wheat preferred
- Chickpeas – aka garbanzo beans
- Tahini – store-bought or homemade Tahini
- Lemon juice (about 3 – 4 large lemons)
- Baby kale or spinach
- Dill – use fresh, as much as you like
- Salt + pepper – lemon-pepper would be great too!
How To Make Chickpea Orzo Soup
Making Chickpea Orzo Soup is easy as can be! The measurements and complete recipe are below.
Saute. Saute the onion and carrot for 5 – 7 minutes, add the garlic, and saute for 1 minute more.
Simmer with chickpeas and orzo. Add the broth or water, bring to a boil, add the orzo and chickpeas, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a gentle boil for 7 – 8 minutes.
Add brightness + creaminess. Once done, turn the heat off and stir in the tahini and lemon juice.
Add leafy greens. Add the baby kale or spinach and give a good stir. The greens will soften and wilt within a few minutes.
Stir in herbs + season. Add as much dill as you like, and season well with salt & pepper.
Top Tips
The tahini adds a delicious buttery creaminess, but without it, this soup would still be fantastic! The inspiration for using tahini comes from the Greek soup called avgolemono, which adds eggs stirred in at the end of cooking to thicken the soup. The tahini does this well, making a vegan version of this classic Mediterranean recipe. Soup thickens upon standing.
For the broth, I prefer to use a combo of half broth and half water. To keep the sodium to a minimum, source out low-sodium vegetable broth. I almost always use this vegetable broth concentrate (affiliate link), and for this recipe, I would add about 1 teaspoon to 4 cups of water, along with 3 – 4 cups of plain water. It works well without losing out on too much flavor.
The herbs can be changed up to suit your taste. If you don’t care for dill, try using rosemary or oregano.
Replace the orzo with white rice for a gluten-free soup, using the same measurements and cooking as directed, adding 10 – 15 minutes to the cooking time or until the rice is tender.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve this orzo soup with crusty artisan bread or Vegan Naan for soaking up the wonderful juices. You can even try this gluten-free Socca flatbread.
You can also pair it with a simple leafy green salad with Creamy Ranch Hemp Dressing, Vegan Ranch or Healthy Flax + Evo Balsamic Vinaigrette. It would also be nice with this Green Salad + Lemon Tahini Dressing (maybe minus the chickpeas since there is plenty in the soup).
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator in a covered container. It’s great for meal prep!
- Freezer: This chickpea orzo soup is freezer-friendly and freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer-safe containers (affiliate link), leaving 1/2-inch head space for expansion. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags (remove as much air as possible before zip locking). Let thaw before reheating.
- Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. Alternatively, reheat in the microwave using 30 – 60 second intervals, stirring after each, until warm.
More Easy Soup Recipes!
Get cozy with these other flavorful vegan soup recipes. They’re great all year round!
- Vegan Tortellini Soup
- Vegetable Quinoa Soup
- Lemony Kale, Leek & White Bean Soup
- A Very Good Split Pea Soup
- Hearty Chickpea Noodle Soup
- West African Peanut Stew
- Easy Lemon Rosemary White Bean Soup
- Vegan Minestrone Soup
If you try this vegan avgolemono recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
LEMON CHICKPEA ORZO SOUP
This Greek inspired lemon orzo soup recipe (aka vegan avgolemono) with chickpeas and dill is super easy to make and will be ready in 30 minutes! It can be made in a slow cooker, too (see notes).
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Soup, Entree
- Method: simmer
- Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water (for water saute)
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 – 8 cups vegetable broth or water (or combo)
- 1 cup whole wheat orzo
- 2 cans (15oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 – 4 large lemons)
- a large handful fresh baby kale or spinach
- chopped fresh dill, to taste
- mineral salt, to taste
- fresh cracked pepper or lemon-pepper, to taste
Instructions
Heat oil or water over medium heat, add onion and carrot, saute for about 5 – 7 minutes, add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
Add the broth or water, bring to a boil, add the orzo and chickpeas, reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a gentle boil for 8- 9 minutes, orzo should be tender.
Remove from heat, add tahini and lemon juice (start with the smaller amount of juice, adding more to taste), stir well. Add the baby kale or spinach, give a good stir, greens will soften and wilt within a few minutes. Add as much dill as you like, and season well with salt & pepper. Soup will thicken upon standing, add more liquids as needed.
Serve in individual bowls with your favorite crusty artisan bread for soaking up the wonderful juices.
Serves 6
Notes
The tahini adds a delicious buttery creaminess. If you don’t have tahini on hand, this soup will still be fantastic! Replace the tahini with 100% cashew butter, as it will be free from additives such a sugar, salt, and/or flavorings.
For the broth, I prefer to use a combo, usually half broth and half water. To keep the sodium to a minimum, source out low-sodium vegetable broth. I almost always use this organic vegetable broth concentrate – for this recipe I would add about 1 heaping teaspoon to 4 cups of water, and then use 3 – 4 cups of plain water. It works well, without losing out on too much flavor.
The herbs can be changed up to suit your taste. If you don’t care for dill, try using rosemary or oregano.
To make this soup gluten-free, replace the orzo with white rice, using the same measurements and cooking as directed, adding 10 – 15 minutes to the cooking time or until the rice is tender.
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS:
Add everything to the insert – except the tahini, spinach, lemon, and orzo. Cook on LOW for 6 – 8 hours or HIGH for 4 – 5 hours. 30 – 45 minutes before the soup is done, add the orzo, tahini, lemon juice, and spinach, and give a good stir.
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I’ve made this many times, it’s a lovely soup and so refreshing! Today I substituted a 1lb bag of frozen riced cauliflower for the orzo. I’m trying to cut calories and up the nutrition and my substitution is a winner! I can’t bear to leave out the tahini, it gives the soup a silky broth.
Oh so loved this wonderful easy soup recipe! Bursting with flavors and I especially liked the addtion of tahini for even more! The only change I did was I soaked dried chick peas overnight and simmered 2 hours alone first before adding to the soup recipe as I feel they have more flavor. A real keeper! Thanks
This was so good! I had everything on hand expect the tahini, so I picked some up and made it tonight. My kids both liked it too. Will definitely be making it again. Thanks for the recipe!
Wow!!! This is amazing!
I’m not going back to making avgolemono soup the way I used to make it…DELICIOUS!!!
I made this tonight for supper and my 13 year old looked at it and said what is that? He seemed not impressed but as soon as he tasted it, he said that it was delicious, in fact so delicious that he wants me to make again. This was a different flavour combination that I have ever used and thought it was fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing.
This is so very simple and oh so good. We are not fans of tahini, so I just added vegan butter and I think that added to the flavor. Will make this again for sure. We are new to the vegan way of life and your website is my go to for delicious food.
Made this last weekend and it was SOOOOOO GOOD and SOOOOO EASY!!
So delicious! Next is Corn chowder over the weekend… :)
Can’t wait – plus nothing beats soup leftovers (maybe some will be left lol) for the week.
You’re truly a creative cook. :)
Subbed beets for carrots, love it!
BEYOND expectations, I’ve never made a soup with either lemon or tahini before, and this recipe proved to be absolutely amazing. Such simple and affordable ingredients too <3 Hearty chunky soup good for the soul and tummy