Pesto Lemon Orzo Soup
Comforting 15-minute lemon orzo soup recipe with pesto! You can also make this orzo soup your own by adding other vegetables or throwing in shredded cooked chicken for a mean chicken orzo soup. If you don't have orzo, another tiny pasta or pearl couscous will work. Homemade basil pesto is best here, but if you don't have the time to prepare it in advance, use a quality store-bought one you like.
Servings: 6 people (up to)
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups dry orzo
- 6 cups broth
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups packed baby spinach
- Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup pesto, homemade or quality store-bought pesto
- Grated Parmesan cheese, to finish
- Crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until shimmering. Add the dry orzo and toss around until toasted to a nice golden brown (1 to 3 minutes)
- Pour in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Turn the heat down and let the orzo soup simmer for 8 minutes or until the orzo is cooked to al dente.
- Stir in the tomatoes and baby spinach.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, milk, and pesto.
- To finish, add about ¼ cup grated parmesan (or to your liking), and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if you want some heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Substitutes for orzo: Another type of small pasta or pearl couscous will work if you can't find orzo.
- Gluten-free option: Replace orzo with your favorite tiny gluten-free pasta, or swap pasta for already cooked rice (just stir it into the boiling broth and add the rest).
- Serve it with: I like to start off with a big salad and some garlic bread. Try my Mediterranean bean salad, cucumber salad, Panzanella salad, or Shirazi salad.
- Leftovers and storage: Lemon orzo soup is best enjoyed on the day you make it. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits in the creamy lemony broth, and it will become thicker. You can always add a little more broth and heat the leftovers gently, but the pasta will be quite done at that point.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including extra virgin olive oils (like our Nocellara Italian EVOO).
Nutrition
Calories: 322.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.1g | Protein: 13.4g | Fat: 10.5g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Cholesterol: 4.1mg | Sodium: 285.4mg | Potassium: 454.9mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 3.9g | Vitamin A: 1508.7IU | Vitamin C: 8.5mg | Calcium: 90.9mg | Iron: 1.7mg
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