EASY Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans

Name: Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 yellow onion, diced; 1/2 cup carrots, diced; 1/2 cup celery, diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 6 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth; 1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes; 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon dried parsley; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta; 1 (15 ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed; 1 cup kale, roughly chopped with large stems removed; salt and pepper, to taste; freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

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This Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans is a quick and easy healthy meal. It's filled with seasonal vegetables, kale, and white beans, then simmered in a cozy tomato based broth.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

You're going to love this soup recipe! It's great for a weeknight meal since it's ready in just 30 minutes and is made in just one pot. This soup would also be perfect to meal prep for the week, since it's delicious when reheated. Perfect for almost anyone since you can make this Vegetarian, Vegan, or Gluten-Free.

Ingredients

Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans is made with simple ingredients. The best part is, it's super customizable!

Vegetables: Diced onion, garlic, carrots and celery. You could add in any additional fresh or frozen vegetables you like. (Peas, corn, or chopped green beans would all be great additions)

Broth: Low Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Broth.

Tomatoes: One can of petite diced tomatoes. Don't drain them, since the juice adds additional flavor to the broth.

Seasoning: Bay leaves, dried parsley, dried thyme, salt and pepper.

Orzo: Just ½ cup of dried orzo. I like Delallo Orzo Pasta. You could use whatever small pasta you prefer.

Kale: Fresh kale, roughly chopped with large stems removed. Baby spinach would also work well in this recipe.

Beans: One can of navy beans, drained and rinsed. You could use great northern or kidney beans if you prefer.

Step-By-Step Instructions

This Vegetable Soup with Orzo is super easy to make!

Sauté the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic, and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the broth and simmer. Stir in the broth, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high until it comes to a simmer.
Cook the pasta. Add in the orzo, and reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is al dente.
Add kale and beans. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Stir in the kale and navy beans. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until kale is softened.
Serve. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!

Variations

I love this soup as it is, however you can customize it to your preferences.

Make it Vegan: To make this soup vegan or vegetarian, just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. For vegan, don't serve with parmesan cheese.

Make it Gluten-Free: Either leave out the pasta completely, or swap it out for gluten-free pasta.

Add more vegetables: When you stir in the pasta, you can also add additional fresh or frozen vegetables. Other great options would be corn, peas, or chopped green beans. If you do this, you may want to add in an additional cup of broth.

Leave out the beans: Don't like beans? No problem! Just leave them out. If you do this, I would recommend adding in an additional ¾ cup of vegetables (corn, peas, or chopped green beans).

Serving Suggestions

For a simple meal, serve Vegetable Soup with Orzo with a side salad, like this Kale Crunch Salad, and some fresh crusty bread.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to store Vegetable Soup with Orzo?

The best way to store Vegetable Soup with Orzo is to separate the liquid from the pasta and vegetables and store in separate air tight containers. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

How do I add more flavor to my soup?

I like to keep soups simple, but there are many things you can do to add additional flavor to soup! Add dried herbs while the soup is simmering, like parsley, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Add fresh herbs just before serving. You could also simmer with a parmesan rind, just remove it before serving. A splash of vinegar or squeeze of lemon juice will brighten up the flavor. Seasoning with more salt and pepper will also enhance the flavor of your soup.

More Soup Recipes

If you like this recipe, you'll love these other cozy soup recipes!

Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans

Author: Nicole | Fresh Apron
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Soup
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

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Description

This Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans is a quick and easy healthy meal. It's filled with seasonal vegetables, kale and white beans, then simmered in a cozy tomato-based broth.

Ingredients

Scale

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ yellow onion, diced
½ cup carrots, diced
½ cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 (15 ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup kale, roughly chopped with large stems removed
salt and pepper, to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Sauté the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic, and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the broth and simmer. Stir in the broth, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high until it comes to a simmer.
Cook the pasta. Add in the orzo, and reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is al dente.
Add kale and beans. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Stir in the kale and navy beans. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until kale is softened.
Serve. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!