Today, I’ll share how I make this delicious Italian white bean chicken orzo soup, also known as pastini, in Italy.

Chockful of nutritious vegetables and white beans in a light chicken broth with orzo pasta. It is simple Italian comfort food in a bowl.

The soup has no chicken meat as it’s a peasant soup made with stock and ready in under 30 minutes.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

What Is Orzo?

Is orzo rice or pasta?

Orzo is a short-cut, slow-dried pasta that resembles rice and is made with semolina flour from durum wheat.

Our favourite brand of orzo is the blue box, De Cecco no.74, but there are many brands at local Canadian grocery stores.

Chicken orzo soup is a family staple in Italy and is widely used in dishes around the world.

Cooking Orzo Pasta

To avoid having mushy orzo pasta, do not overcook it by putting it into a soup too early.

For example, I heated the broth, spices, and veggies until medium-tender with my white bean chicken orzo soup.

Once the veggies were partially cooked, I added the 1/2 cup of orzo pasta.

You don’t need to add lots of orzo pasta as it does expand when it cooks.

Orzo takes about 9-11 minutes to cook, but I always taste test to ensure consistency.

Depending on the recipe, orzo pasta can cook faster, so don’t leave the stove.

How To Make White Bean Chicken Orzo Soup

Ingredients Chicken Orzo Soup

• 1/2 cup orzo pastini
• 5 cups of water with two chicken bouillon cubes or chicken stock
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1 cup white kidney beans (cannellini)
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley
• 3 carrots peeled and diced
• 2 celery ribs diced
• 1/2 white onion diced
• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Instructions

• Add chicken stock or 5 cups of water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes in a medium pot.
• Bring to a boil until the cubes or broth are heated thoroughly, then add one bay leaf.
• Add chopped parsley, salt, pepper, diced onion, carrot, and celery to the pot and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high until partly cooked.
• Pour 1/2 cup of orzo pasta into the broth and cook on medium for 9-11 minutes or until just tender.
• Remove the bay leaf.
• Serve hot and top with grated Parmigiano Regianno cheese

Notes:

• Do not overcook the orzo pasta. Taste as it cooks until just tender.
• Add cooked shredded or chunks of chicken if desired.
• Add 1 teaspoon of freshly grated lemon to the broth for extra pizazz.

White Bean Chicken Orzo Soup Printable Recipe

If you like this Italian white bean chicken orzo soup recipe, please consider sharing it on Pinterest.

Thanks for stopping by Canadian Budget Binder.

Mr. CBB

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