Lemon Herb Soup (Print)

A bright, Mediterranean soup with fresh citrus and herb medley, ready in 40 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 2 medium carrots, diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced

→ Broth

06 - 5 cups vegetable broth, low sodium

→ Citrus & Herbs

07 - Zest of 1 lemon
08 - 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
09 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
10 - 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
11 - 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
12 - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

→ Finishing

13 - ½ cup cooked rice or gluten-free orzo, optional
14 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, approximately 3 minutes.
02 - Add minced garlic, diced carrots, and diced celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
03 - Pour vegetable broth into the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
04 - Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, dill, chives, and thyme. Simmer for 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
05 - If using cooked rice or orzo, add to the pot and heat through for 2-3 minutes.
06 - Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs and lemon slices if desired.

# Top Tips:

01 -
  • It's ready in under 45 minutes, which means you can make this on a Wednesday night without any fuss.
  • The lemon and herbs do all the heavy lifting flavor-wise, so you're tasting clarity instead of heaviness.
  • It freezes beautifully, making it perfect for batch cooking when you're feeling ambitious.
02 -
  • Add your herbs in the final five minutes, not at the beginning, because they lose their delicate brightness if they simmer too long in the hot broth.
  • Zest your lemon before you juice it, or you'll be struggling with a slippery half-lemon and probably end up with scraped knuckles like I did the first time.
03 -
  • Invest in a microplane zester if you don't already have one, because it makes zesting lemon so much easier and gives you finer, more aromatic zest than a box grater.
  • Make an extra batch of lemon herb oil by blending softened butter with lemon zest and herbs, then dollop it on the soup at the end for a restaurant-quality moment that takes ninety seconds.
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