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March 25, 2015

Slow Cooker Italian Orzo Soup with Spinach and Parmesan

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 A perfect warm soup for your meatless Monday.  It’s chock full of goodness–carrots, spinach, orzo and Parmesan cheese.
Slow Cooker Italian Orzo Soup with Spinach and Parmesan

This recipe is a delicious blend of flavors that will warm you up on a cold day.  I love the bright green spinach for the color and the nutrition.  The carrots, onions, and celery are par cooked in the microwave to ensure that they are soft enough by the time the quick-to-cook orzo is done.  This is a terrific meatless soup but if you’re a meat lover you could easily add in some rotisserie chicken and it would be fabulous.

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Slow Cooker Italian Orzo Soup


  • Author: Karen
  • Cook Time: 2-4 hours
  • Total Time: 48 minute
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 2 tsp canola or olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 5 cups veggie or chicken broth
  • 1 cup orzo
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup half and half (optional)
  • 3 cups spinach
  • Salt and pepper
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, stir together the diced onion, garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, tomato paste, carrots, celery and oil.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring every 90 seconds. Add to the slow cooker.
  2. Add in bay leaf, tomatoes, broth, orzo and salt.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for about 2-4 hours, or until orzo is tender.
  4. Warm the half and half and add in, if desired (this just gives it a more creamy taste, but you can totally leave it out if you want).
  5. Stir in spinach and then salt and pepper to taste (I added in another 1/2 tsp of salt).  Ladle into serving bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Ideal slow cooker size:  5-6 quart

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11 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Meatless, Pasta, Soups, Slow Cooker Tagged With: orzo, All Posts, 2-4 hours, 4 stars

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Comments

  1. Rachel Schardt says

    July 14, 2020 at 8:54 am

    Is there a way to have freezer meal instructions? Thanks

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 14, 2020 at 7:43 pm

      Hi Rachel I would add
      1 medium yellow onion, diced
      2 tsp minced garlic
      1/2 tsp dried basil
      1/2 tsp dried oregano
      1/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves
      1/4 tsp dried thyme
      1 Tbsp tomato paste
      1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
      1 cup diced celery
      2 tsp canola or olive oil
      1 bay leaf
      1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
      5 cups veggie or chicken broth
      1 tsp salt
      to a ziplock bag.
      Freeze.
      Then add to slow cooker and cook on low for 5-7 hours. Add in the orzo and cook for another hour. Follow steps 4 and 5.

      Reply
  2. Heather says

    September 10, 2018 at 10:05 am

    Can I add some ground Italian sausage to this?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 10, 2018 at 12:57 pm

      Yes I bet that would taste amazing!

      Reply
  3. Tessa says

    June 7, 2017 at 5:52 am

    It would be helpful if the recipe indicated how many celery stalks or carrots are needed, not the measurements. Most people don’t know how many stalks of celery make up 1 cup.

    Reply
  4. Julie says

    January 26, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    Do you think it would be ok to substitute the half&half with heavy cream?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 27, 2017 at 11:09 am

      I’m sure that would be great!

      Reply
  5. [email protected] says

    March 26, 2015 at 4:16 pm

    I just got a slow cooker so am a novice on how to best use it. Did a chuck roast with onions, mushrooms and beer yesterday, and it was beyond delicious. Today, I'll try your gorgeous soup. 🙂

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      March 26, 2015 at 10:48 pm

      how exciting! you will love slow cooking. It is the best!

      Reply
  6. Catherine says

    March 26, 2015 at 6:44 am

    Dear Karen, This sounds wonderful! I would love a bowl of this. xo, Catherine

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      March 26, 2015 at 10:49 pm

      Thanks Catherine! You will like it 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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