This delicious, vegan Healthy Mushroom, Orzo and Swiss Chard Soup is hearty and rich in flavor, but light on calories.
I officially entered the land of crazy this weekend. I am training for my first marathon. In fact, the marathon is less than two weeks away (cue the butterflies). There are times when this thought makes me want to close the blinds, wrap myself in a blanket and eat soup all day to comfort myself (this Healthy Mushroom & Swiss Chard Soup will do nicely, thank you very much). Thankfully for my morale, these days are overshadowed by the moments when I practically itch to lace up my running shoes and hit the road.
This past Saturday was one of those really good days. Okay, I admit that being faced with my longest run ever was a bit much to take on a Saturday morning. Luckily, my husband (a darn impressive marathoner) was there to give me the "Take it slow. Just check off the miles one-by-one" pep talk.
After a lot of mental games, a crash into the proverbial wall at mile 16 and a near-sprint up the hill at the end (I credit that burst of energy to sheer delirium), I finished at the 20.5 mile mark. Yep, I am an official citizen of the land of crazy.
The rest of the day? Oh, there was a lot of reclining, heaps of food consumed and an obscene amount of moaning and groaning over sore muscles. If I had the energy, I would have done a happy dance when I remembered that there were leftovers of this soup in the fridge. The light broth, earthy mushrooms and vitamin-packed chard nourished my body and brought some life back to my muscles.
A few days before making this soup, I stumbled upon some whole wheat orzo at my local supermarket. The texture was perfect for the soup and would work well in any dish that calls for regular orzo.
The recipe:
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, mushrooms, pepper and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
Add the vegetable broth to the onions and mushrooms. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the orzo and cook until the orzo is almost al dente.
Add the Swiss chard, cover the saucepan and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the Swiss chard is wilted. Serve it up!
Other healthy vegetarian soups:
French Onion & Endive Soup with Pancetta
Hearty Lentil & Black Bean Soup with Smoked Paprika
Healthy Mushroom Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons olive oil divided
- ½ large yellow onion diced
- 3 clove garlic minced
- 12 ounces crimini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 7 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- â…” cups whole wheat orzo
- 4 cups chopped Swiss chard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, mushrooms, pepper and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
- Add the vegetable broth to the onions and mushrooms. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the orzo and cook until the orzo is almost al dente.
- Add the Swiss chard, cover the saucepan and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the Swiss chard is wilted. Serve it up!
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Steve
First the soup. Outstanding. Thanks so much for that. I really enjoyed it. Second, your running. You are stepping into the running world exclusive club. Welcome. Hope you truly enjoy the experience. It is not easy, but very rewarding. The training is the hard part. I am running in the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon this Sunday. When fininshed I will enjoy another bowl of your soup (and a few cold beers!)
Gail
This soup is wonderful - light and fresh! I made my own vegetable broth, letting it simmer for hours to develop richness. I didn't have sage, but substituted some fresh rosemary. Very nice!!
Tara
This was wonderful! I came across the recipe while searching for a way to use chard from my CSA. I have now made this the past few times I have received chard. Even my one year old loves it!
Charis
Hi! Any clue if this soup would freeze well? I have a bunch of swiss chard that I want to use up... and with a baby on the way, figure it couldn't hurt to have a few meals in the freezer waiting. This one looks yummy. I'm sure you ate yours all right away so didn't need to freeze it, but as I'm new to cooking with swiss chard, am curious to how you think it may freeze. Thanks!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Charis. Ah yes, a well-stocked freezer is a new mama's best friend! I haven't frozen this soup, but have had success with freezing soups with spinach in them. I think this one should do just fine in the freezer.
Heather
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious!! I traded out the onion for a stalk of chopped leeks, and I didn't have any sage on hand so I used some fresh tarragon instead. The tarragon added a really unique flavor... it was super yummy!!
Thanks for the recipe!
unikorna
The combination of mushrooms and garlic could never go wrong. I shall definitely try your recipe however intricate it might seem :). Kisses.
Mushrooms Canada
If I were running a marathon, I'd want a bowl of this soup waiting for me at the finish line!! Good luck with your marathon (seeing as you don't need any in the kitchen) 😉
-Shannon
Abigail
Question: could you substitute the orzo for quinoa or barley?
I am making this tonight for dinner and would so appreciate an answer as quickly as possible.
Thanks,
Abi
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Abi, I don't see why you couldn't substitute orzo or barley for the quinoa. However, I'd probably lean more towards the barley because of the texture. I hope you enjoy it!
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com
Beautiful combination: mushrooms, orzo, swiss chard. Looks delicious!
sippitysup
I usually just lurk but I had to pop in and say. I recognize that bowl! Camp? Yes? XOGREG
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen
Your soup looks amazing and thank you so much for featuring my Mushroom Barley Soup. Good luck with the marathon!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
My pleasure, Carrie. It looks wonderful!