Mediterranean Lemon Orzo Soup (vegan)
This easy and delicious vegan Mediterranean Lemon Orzo Soup is abundant with bright citrusy flavor. Made with all plant-based ingredients like orzo, chickpeas, carrots, celery, onion, dill and spinach in a lemony broth.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker 4-quart or larger
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil quality stuff makes a difference
- 1 cup onion peeled and diced, usually half a brown or yellow one works best
- 2 cloves garlic minced nice and fine to spread the flavor around
- 0.5 cup carrots peeled and diced about two small ones or one big carrot
- 0.5 cup celery diced roughly two stalks for that fresh crunch
- 4 cups vegetable broth make sure it’s flavorful 'cause it’s the soup base
- 0.67 cup uncooked orzo pasta your star ingredient here
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed to get rid of canned taste
- 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice about two to three lemons freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped for a punch of herb freshness
- 2 cups baby spinach rinsed roughly a handful to toss in last
Instructions
Instructions
- Heat up your pressure cooker on medium and pour in the olive oil.
- Add the diced onion and sauté till it’s see-through and soft, like 5 minutes or so.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook about one minute until you smell that garlicky goodness.
- Throw in the diced carrots and celery, cook for another 5 to 7 minutes so they start to soften a bit.
- Pour in all 4 cups of vegetable broth and crank the heat to bring it to a boil.
- Once boiling, stir in your uncooked orzo, then seal the lid and set to high pressure. Cook for 3 minutes because orzo cooks super fast under pressure.
- When time’s up, let the pressure do a natural release for about 5 minutes, then you can do a slow release on the valve to finish it off.
- Open the lid carefully, add in the drained and rinsed chickpeas and lemon juice. Give a good stir then toss in fresh dill and baby spinach right before serving.
Notes
Spinach Tip - Add the spinach just before you serve the soup, as it will continue to wilt and cook in the hot soup and eventually become soft and mushy. Unless you plan to eat all the soup in one meal, reserve some fresh spinach leaves to stir in when you're ready to eat.