Vegetable Soup with Pesto – Once Upon a Chef
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Whip up a simple, garden-fresh vegetable soup with pesto and Parmigiano-Reggiano — perfect for cool summer nights or rainy day comfort.
Broth-based vegetable soup can sometimes feel a bit “meh,” but this one is far from it. It’s filled to the brim with fresh garden goodness — zucchini, peas, carrots, and celery — and the addition of zesty pesto sauce and Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese at serving time really ramps up the flavor. The soup also includes a bit of orzo, a tiny, rice-shaped pasta, ensuring it is not only wholesome but also satisfying. You can serve the soup as a light standalone meal with a side of garlic bread or pair it with gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. What’s really great is how quick and easy it is to prepare. Once you’ve got your veggies chopped, you’re only 25 minutes away from a comforting meal. And if making your own pesto isn’t on the agenda, no worries — a good-quality store-bought version works just fine.
What You’ll Need To Make Vegetable Soup with pesto
Step-by-Step Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery.
Cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and translucent and the vegetables are partially cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste.
Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes more, then add the chicken broth, salt, pepper and bay leaves.
Bring to a gentle boil, then add the orzo. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes.
Add the zucchini and frozen peas.
Adjust the heat to bring back to a simmer and cook until the orzo is cooked and all the vegetables are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more. Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Ladle the vegetable soup into bowls and garnish with a heaping tablespoon of pesto and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Pass more pesto and cheese at the table.
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Vegetable Soup with Pesto
Whip up a simple, garden-fresh vegetable soup with pesto and Parmigiano-Reggiano — perfect for cool summer nights or rainy day comfort.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small yellow onions, chopped
- 2 carrots, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- ⅔ cup orzo
- 1 small zucchini, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup homemade or store bought pesto
- Hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating over soup
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and translucent and the vegetables are partially cooked, about 10 minutes. Do not brown; lower the heat if necessary. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes more.
- Add the chicken broth, salt, pepper and bay leaves and bring to a gentle boil. Add the orzo, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and frozen peas. Adjust the heat to bring back to a simmer and cook until the orzo is al dente and the vegetables are all tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more. Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (keep in mind that the soup will taste a bit bland before the pesto and Parmigiano-Reggiano are added).
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a heaping tablespoon of pesto and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Pass more pesto and cheese at the table.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. (The orzo make soak up much of the broth while in the freezer; if necessary, thin the soup out with a bit of water or broth while reheating.)
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 215
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 11g
- Sodium: 727mg
- Cholesterol: 1mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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