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!
Brimming with chickpeas, orzo, carrots, kale (or spinach), lemon, dill, and made creamy with tahini, this is my vegan version of Greek avgolemono soup and it’s 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 up the soup adding pure comfort in 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, then simmered with orzo, chickpeas, spinach, veg broth, and tahini creating a bright and flavorful, creamy vegan soup soup perfect for a healthy lunch, dinner or weekly meal prep.
Here is everything you will need:
- olive oil – use water for oil free
- onion
- carrots
- garlic
- vegetable broth – or combo of water and veg broth
- orzo – whole wheat pref
- chickpeas – aka garbanzo beans
- tahini – store bought or make 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!
Top Tips
The tahini adds a delicious buttery creaminess. If you don’t have tahini on hand, this soup will still be fantastic without it! 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, 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.
How To Make Chickpea Orzo Soup
(Note – The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post)
- Saute. Saute the onion and carrot, saute for about 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 heat off and stir in the tahini and lemon juice.
- Add leafy greens. Add the baby kale or spinach, give a good stir, 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.
Serving Suggestions
- Bread: Serve in individual bowl with your favorite crusty artisan bread or Vegan Naan for soaking up the wonderful juices.
- Salad: Serve with a simple leafy green salad with Creamy Ranch Hemp Dressing, Vegan Ranch or Healthy Flax + Evo Balsamic Vinaigrette. Would also be nice with this Green Salad + Lemon Tahini Dressing.
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container.
- 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.
- Meal prep: It makes a great meal prep idea for the week with homemade Naan or Artisan Bread on the side for soaking up the juices.
More Soup Inspiration
Get cozy with these other flavorful vegan soup recipes. They’re great all year round!
- Vegetable Quinoa Soup
- Lemony Kale, Leek & White Bean Soup
- A Very Good Split Pea Soup
- Spicy Thai Curry Corn Soup
- Creamy Broccoli & Red Lentil 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.
PrintLEMON 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!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- 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
- 1/3 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 bowl with your favorite crusty artisan bread for soaking up the wonderful juices.
Serves 4
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.
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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
★★★★★