Instant Pot Chickpea Orzo Soup

Instant Pot chickpea orzo soup is a healthy and delicious soup made with loads of veggies, chickpeas and orzo pasta. It's just the perfect warming and comforting meal for the cold weather!

This Instant Pot chickpea orzo soup is true goodness in a bowl. Loaded with chickpeas, orzo and veggies, the soup has layers and layers of flavour from garlic, herbs and lemon to create a complex meal that's still deceptively easy to make.

The soup is naturally vegan and super easy to make in the Instant Pot. It's an excellent soup to prep ahead and it's even better the next day.

Why you'll love this Instant Pot chickpea orzo soup

• It's super easy to make. Once you have chopped all your veggies and prepped the rest of the ingredients, it's just a matter of sauteeing the onion, aromatics and herbs a bit, then adding all the rest of the ingredients to the Instant Pot and pressing a button to start cooking.
• It's extra nutritious. Besides being hearty and extra flavourful, this soup packs a nutritional punch, with lots of protein from the chickpeas and vitamins from the veggies.
• It's hearty and filling. Since it's loaded with chickpeas and orzo, this Instant Pot chickpea soup makes a complete meal that will keep you full and satisfied for hours.

Ingredients and substitutions

Olive oil — Sauteeing the onion in a dash of extra virgin olive oil sets an excellent flavour base for this soup. Use some veggie stock or even water if you don't cook with oil.

Red onion — Any kind of onion works in this Instant Pot chickpea soup. I used red onion, but yellow onion or shallots work just as well.

Garlic and red chilli pepper — Fresh garlic and red chilli pepper are always best in soups like this.

Herbs — I use a mix of oregano and fresh rosemary in this vegetable orzo soup. You can substitute them with a tablespoon of Italian seasoning mix.

Chopped tomatoes — Choose the best quality chopped tomatoes you can for this soup because it really makes a difference.

Chickpeas — Canned chickpeas are perfect here because of convenience. You can use chickpeas that you've cooked from scratch too.

Zucchini — You don't have to peel your zucchini before adding it to this soup. You can also add some other veggies, like bell peppers, carrots, celery or sweet potatoes.

Orzo — Even though it looks like grains of rice, orzo is actually a type of pasta and it looks like one. If you don't have orzo, you can use another type of small pasta, like stelline or ditalini, for example.

Lemon juice — This is optional, but I highly recommend it because it adds extra brightness to the soup, plus a boost of Vitamin C.

Fresh basil leaves — A handful of shredded basil leaves infuse this vegan orzo soup with extra flavour.

How to make chickpea orzo soup

Set the Instant Pot to "Saute" and heat the olive oil for a minute. Add the red onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until it softens.

Stir in the garlic and red chilli and continue to cook for another minute.

Next, add the oregano, rosemary, and tomato puree and continue to cook, stirring, until the tomato puree starts to brown.

Add a bit of vegetable stock and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping with your spoon to remove any browned bits. Cancel the Sauté function.

Next, add the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, orzo and the rest of the vegetable stock.

Stir to combine, then lock the lid and set the Instant Pot to High Pressure for 5 minutes.

When the timer is done, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure manually.

Remove the lid, stir the soup, then add the lemon juice and fresh basil leaves. Season to taste, then divide into bowls and serve with extra lemon wedges on the side if you like.

Leftovers and storage

• The soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
• Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave over medium heat. Since the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid, you may need to add some veggie stock or water when reheating.
• This soup freezes well for up to 3 months, but it's best to make it without the orzo if you plan on freezing it. That's because the orzo is likely to become mushy when thawed.

Recipe notes and tips

• This chickpea orzo soup is perfect on its own, as it's hearty enough from the orzo. However, you can also serve it with your favourite crusty bread.
• You can substitute the chickpeas in this soup with white beans or simply use both for an extra boost of protein.
• If you want to add some greens to this soup, stir in some baby spinach or chopped kale after pressure cooking. Turn on the "Saute" mode for a couple of minutes to allow the greens to wilt.

If you liked this Instant Pot chickpea orzo soup, you might also like some of my other easy Instant Pot vegan recipes:

• Zuppa di Farro (Instant Pot)
• Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup
• Vegan Instant Pot White Bean Soup
• Vegan Wild Rice Soup (Instant Pot)
• Instant Pot Vegan Taco Soup

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