Tomato Orzo Soup

5 from 1 vote

Made with a creamy tomato based broth and a few pantry staples, this Tomato Orzo Soup is an instant favorite!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Soups & Stews

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 411kcal

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small sweet yellow onion diced
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ teaspoon table salt
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dry basil
1 teaspoon dry parsley
¼ teaspoon fennel seed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth see note #2
½ to 1 teaspoon minced Calabrian chilis in oil or ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes; see note #1
¼ teaspoon black pepper
15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 cup orzo
½ to 1 cup whole milk see note #3
freshly ground black pepper and Asiago cheese for serving

Heat a 4-quart or similarly sized stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion and salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6-8 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, basil, parsley, and fennel seed. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is golden and aromatic.
Deglaze the pot with the balsamic vinegar, stirring to remove any stuck-on bits. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, ½ teaspoon Calabrian chilis, black pepper, and drained and rinsed chickpeas.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo and reduce to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally to keep the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the orzo is cooked. This typically takes 10-12 minutes.
Once the orzo is cooked through, transfer about ½ cup of soup to a small bowl and whisk with ½ cup of milk. Add this to the soup. Add the remaining ½ cup using the same method for a thinner, creamier soup, if desired.
Taste the broth, adding remaining ½ teaspoon of chilis, if desired. Enjoy!

Broth: Any broth works here. I like to use Better than Bouillon vegetable base, which typically calls for 1 teaspoon base per 1 cup of water. I add the base directly to the soup instead of adding it to boiling water as the package instructions recommend.
Chilis: Calabrian chilis can be tricky to find, so feel free to use red pepper flakes instead. ½ teaspoon adds a gentle heat, while 1 teaspoon makes the soup subtly spicy. Can be omitted entirely, if desired.
Milk: This adds a bit of creaminess to the soup. I typically use whole milk for the richest body, but an equal amount of unsweetened, unflavored oat or soy milk would also work well. For an even richer soup, use ½ cup half and half or heavy cream in place of milk.
The milk is mixed with part of the soup instead of adding it directly to the soup so that it doesn't curdle due to the high soup temp.