Thanks for joining Sarah and me for Meatless Monday today. We have had a few dreary, rainy days the past few weeks and I find myself craving warm bowls of goodness. This Smokey Tomato Orzo soup with chick pea croutons kind of came together one day from what I had in my pantry. I’ve always found something so comforting about tomato soup but I couldn’t give you all just any old tomato soup could I?
I love spicy foods and wanted to bring some more complex flavors into my tomato soup this week. I’ve added in some Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce and mmmm I know you all are going to love it. You can easily tone the spice up or down by playing with the amount of peppers. Another one of my soup secrets is that I use V-8 juice as the broth instead of vegetable broth. I find it brings much more flavor and also adds some more vitamins and fiber from the vegetables.
This Smokey Tomato Orzo Soup is easy to throw together and does not require a lot of simmering time. I’ve prepared the orzo in a separate pot and prefer to keep it separate so it does not soak up all of the liquid and get soggy. When you are ready to enjoy some, simply add it to the bottom of the bowl and then spoon in the soup. Rice can easily be substituted for the orzo if looking for a gluten free option. It’s vegan as well so everyone’s happy!
I was roasting up some chick peas for snacking and then had the brilliant idea to use them as croutons for the soup. It’s easy to make a big batch and have them for snacking for the week. I also like to throw them onto salads.They are so versatile and it’s easy to switch up the seasonings on them. Today I used garlic powder, kosher salt and smoked paprika. They are also great with a little basil and oregano.
This smokey tomato orzo soup with chick pea croutons is an easy weekday meal to whip up and have left overs for lunches all week long.
Smokey Tomato Orzo Soup with Chick Pea Croutons
Ingredients
- For the soup:
- 1 48 oz bottle of V-8 juice of choice
- 2 15 oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2-4 Chipotle peppers in adobe (minced)
- salt, pepper to taste
- 1 Tbl garlic powder
- 1 tsp chopped fennel
- 1 C of orzo -cooked according to package and set aside
- Optional topping: Parm cheese
- Chick pea croutons:
- 1 can of chick peas rinsed, drained
- garlic powder, kosher salt, smoked paprika
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Cook orzo and set aside
- In a large stock pot add all soup ingredients
- bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 min
- Note: adjust level of spiciness by using less or more of the adobe peppers and sauce
- Spoon soup into bowls and add orzo to serve.
- For chick pea croutons:
- preheat oven to 400
- Arrange chick peas on baking sheet
- spray with cooking spray
- add spices
- bake for 20-30 min until crunchy turning a few times
- Sprinkle on top of soup or snack on
- store in closed container for a week
Loading InLinkz ...Also linking up with What’s for dinner and Sunday Fitness & food w Angela & Ilkas blog
Chick pea croutons?! What a great idea!
Thanks I thought they gave a great crunch and thanks for joining us today
Yum!! I need to try these chickpea croutons ASAP! Thanks for hosting!
I think you will like them thanks for linking up today
My issue is that there would definitely not be any “Croutons” left over for the soup, lol
Well there may have been fewer after my quality control tastings 🙂
Chickpea croutons, brilliant! I’m not sure they would actually make it in the soup though. 😂
Well there was a lot of quality control tasting 🙂
I like the idea of the chickpea croutons! Pinning!
Thanks so much hope you give them a go!
Love the idea of chickpea croutons! Yummy!
Thanks I thought they turned out great too
It sounds weird, because it’s naturally vegan, but I haven’t had tomato soup for years! And those roasted chickpeas should be on my snacking menu all the time!
I am always excited when you love my recipes! Let me know if you give it a try
This looks so good! And thanks for the V-8 tip!
I love the V-8 for a soup base it’s very tasty and healthy
I love your take on tomato soup. And chickpea croutons, what a unique idea. A lot healthier than regular croutons.
Thanks so much and super easy too!
I love the idea of chickpea croutons. So creative!
Thanks so much hope you try them out
This sounds great! I love orzo and a great tomato soup. I would love the spiciness but the last time I made something super spicy my son told me it was five million alarm chili. Haha!
ha ha you can certainly tone it down if you’d like
Thanks for the invite! I’m sharing my Moroccan Red Lentil Soup. Have a great week!!
Great wonderful to have you have a great rest of your day
Ooh chickpea croutons sound really good! I love how you made really power packed croutons for a spicy soup!
Thanks so much!
This soup looks amazing!! Love the use of chickpeas as a crouton alternative!
Thanks so much I will be making them again for sure
Thank you for the invitation to join – i have linked a recipe and may come back with another. Loving the smoky tomato orzo soup esp. the chikcpea croutons.
Thanks so much and great to have you!
Your soup looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it! My family won’t eat soups unless it’s taco soup but I LOVE them!! Have a great week!
Well you might have to make it just for yourself!
OMG that looks so good! I love tomato soup!
Well thanks so much I hope you try it maybe your girls will like it too
I LOVE tomato soup and haven’t had it in so long. Thanks for the recipe and the link up!
I always forget about tomato soup but it is so good isn’t it?!
Looks so good! I have never baked chickpeas and I really need to try this. Do you rinse and then dry them, or do you put them on the baking sheet wet?
I rinsed and dried them on a paper towel then put onto the baking sheet. Good luck!
This looks so good! I love putting spicy chickpeas on my soup. I think I may even have some orzo in the cupboard to use up! Happy Meatless Monday!
Oh great! Hope you enjoy happy meatless Monday to you as well
This sounds delicious– I love the chickpeas!
Thank you for hosting! 🙂
Thanks for joining us! The chick peas were a great topping
I’ve been on a huge soup kick, but have never tried making a tomato soup. This one looks so good – thanks for sharing!
It is soup season indeed! Hope you try it out
Chickpea CROUTONS are intriguing the crap out of me right now!!
I think you are going to love them!
This looks so amazing!!!! Need to try it one day. 🙂
Great thanks hope you do!
I never thought to use V8 that way!
I use it as a base all the time it’s fabulous
I can’t handle all these food posts! 🙂 lol they look just amazing. And orzo is so fun to make and so fun to eat – I love how little it is! I’ll be trying this!
Oh good! Really hope you enjoy it
You have some great soup recipes! Love the idea to use the roasted chickpeas as croutons!
They were a fun addition and thanks!
I love everything about this recipe! I love tomato soup, love chilis in adobo and chickpeas as croutons is genius- Great post!
Thanks so much I love the spicy chile peppers too
The idea of chick pea croutons is freaking brilliant. Roasted chick peas are delicious and I bet they would be amazing in soup!
Well thank you so much! I hope you try it out
Mmm this looks so tasty!! I’ll have to try it this week.
Yay hope you enjoy 🙂
I am with you on the spicy food! 🙂 Your addition of the baked chick peas is brilliant! I can’t wait to try that.
Thanks so much hope you enjoy it
This is a super kicked up tomato soup! YUM! Very creative!
Yes kicked up indeed!
I love the idea of using chickpeas as croutons!! And all these meatless monday recipes look awesome!
I am having so much fun with all the meatless Monday creativity we are seeing
serving soup with chickpea croutons sounds like a perfect idea!
Hope you try them out
You always have great recipes. I love the added use of chick peas for croutons. Way to keep it super healthy.
Thanks so much on both!
This looks so warm and comforting! It just got really gloomy and rainy here so I’d love a bowl of this! <3
We have had a spell of gloomy and rainy days for a few weeks
What a yummy soup! I think I have all the stuff to make it already in my pantry too! Yummy!
Thanks let me know how it goes!
Yum, this looks good. Another one to add to my list to try! I like that this can be vegan if you want it to, which my husband will love!
Yes can definitely leave out the parm cheese on top
This is a brilliant recipe! I wouldn’t have thought to use tomato juice for tomato soup. And I’m all for chickpea croutons 🙂 Delicious!
I use the V-8 juice a lot for a base it’s very tasty
Yum, that looks great! I made soup last week and this week. Can’t get enough this time of year!!
I know it’s perfect for this time of year when you just want to feel warm inside
I love tomato soup, and this version looks delicious!
Thanks! So many ways to mix up tomato soup
You had me at “smoky” and “chickpea.”
ha hope you enjoy!
This looks unbelievably delicious!!! MUST TRY!!! Thanks for the awesome recipe dear! <3 – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Well thanks for stopping by!
Another interesting twist on tomato soup…who would have thought you could do so much with such a “boring” starter? 😉
ha have to keep you coming back for more each week!!
Do you know I haven’t been a fan of chick peas just until recently? I know right, where have I been? I love them. I also just tried cauliflower rice too.
I really need to get better with cooking outside the box!
What really?! See how much you have to eat now?
I was literally just saying I’m craving tomato soup. Roasted chickpeas as croutons is genius. Can’t wait to try this!!!
Oh good hope you really enjoy it!
This is definitely not plain ‘ol tomato soup! I gotta make these for my boys who love tomato soup AND orzo.
fabulous hope you all enjoy it!
chick pea croutons?? That sounds so good! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up! And thanks for hosting this party!
Thanks the croutons were the icing on the cake
This looks great… tomato soup is a favorite. Love the add ins!
Thanks so much hope you try it out
The colour of the soup is awesome. I love chickpeas, they are tasty as well as healthy.
Thanks for the party.
thanks so much it’s perfect for this weather too
Hi Deborah, I like using V-8 juice in soups, too! I like your idea of using roasted chickpeas for croutons – very clever! Thanks for sharing your recipe! Blessings, Janet
I know V-8 is my secret ingredient! Thanks so much for stopping in and I hope you give it a try.
This soup looks so yummy, I love roasted chickpeas!
Thanks so much hope you give it a try!
wow love the idea of chickpea croutons! So much healthier! will definitely have to try this especially since now on my new nutrition plan I can’t eat anything bread related lol
Well I am not giving up carbs anytime soon but yes they are a great alternative! Hope you enjoy