Tomato Orzo Soup

Made with simple ingredients, this easy and quick to make homemade vegetarian Tomato Orzo Soup is a delicious, hearty and healthy meal.

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There's something so soothing about making a hot pot of soup on a cold stormy day. This Tomato Orzo Soup was just what we needed to warm us and re-energize us after shovelling several feet of snow off our steps this past week. And just like this simple Red Lentil Soup it is filling and nutritious.

What goes into this Tomato Orzo Soup

You don't need any complicated ingredients to make this delicious and simple soup recipe. Here's an overview of the ingredients needed.

You can see the ingredient amounts and detailed step-by-step instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Ingredients Overview:

This vegetarian tomato orzo soup starts off with aromatic vegetables such as carrots, celery, onion and garlic.

Crushed tomatoes or you can use canned diced tomatoes (fire-roasted ones are really delicious).

Typical Italian seasonings such as dried bay leaves, oregano and basil are used to flavour the soup.

Orzo pasta, which is a short pasta that resembles a large grain of rice, is used here but if you don't have it in your pantry, you can use macaroni or any other short-cut pasta, even broken up spaghetti works.

Fresh spinach is added near the end of cooking but can be omitted if you don't have it or just prefer to leave it out.

How to make this Soup

This soup couldn't be easier to make. Just follow the steps below for a delicious and heartwarming soup.

Steps Overview:

To make this soup, start by chopping and cooking the aromatics in a little bit of olive oil and butter.

Add the broth and crushed tomatoes and the seasonings.

Let the soup come to a boil and add the uncooked orzo. Lower the heat to a simmer and let the pasta cook in the soup until it's al dente.

Add the spinach, cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it wilts and the soup is ready to serve.

An alternative way of cooking this soup is to cook the pasta partway in a separate pot, then add it to the rest of the ingredients and let it finish cooking in the soup.

Doing it this way prevents the pasta from absorbing too much of the soup broth. Ina Garten uses this method in her tomato soup recipe.

How to Serve

Top the soup with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and if available a few thinly sliced fresh basil leaves would also be delicious.

If you've got some extra time on your hands, make a batch of these Sweet Potato, Parmesan and Rosemary Biscuits and serve them warm along with the soup.

How to Store

When at room temperature, poor leftover soup into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Enjoy!

More Delicious Soup Recipes

• Creamy Chicken Noodle and Vegetable Soup
• Creamy Asparagus Soup
• Easy Black Bean Soup
• Creamy Leek and Potato Soup
• Red Lentil and Cauliflower Soup