Cozy Up With a Bowl of This Comforting Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup!
Upgrade your chicken noodle soup to this easy and flavorful chicken lemon orzo soup recipe!
Need a nice bowl of comforting soup?
This easy and delicious recipe is not your grandma’s bowl of chicken noodle soup, but it will give you all of the same warm and cozy feelings! The star of this chicken lemon orzo soup is its lemony broth, which really adds a layer of bright, zesty flavor to this satisfying recipe.
I have been recovering from having Covid and this soup comforted me!
As we start thinking about fall, it’s great to have an arsenal of fool-proof soups. This one is great to think about for cold/flu season. I personally found the broth and ingredients to be especially comforting while recovering from being sick as it tastes fresh and so delicious.
The noodles that you might find in traditional chicken noodle soup have been swapped out for orzo, which is a type of pasta shaped like a large, flat grain of rice. The chicken and veggies round out this dish to make it a complete and comforting meal in a bowl!
Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup
yield: 8 SERVINGS
prep time: 15 MINUTES
cook time: 35 MINUTES
total time: 50 MINUTES
Warm up with a cup of this comforting soup that comes together quickly with fresh and satisfying flavors.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 64 oz. chicken broth (8 cups)
- 1 cup orzo, uncooked
- juice & zest from 1 lemon (plus additional for garnish)
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- handful chopped fresh parsley
- 3 oz. baby spinach
- garnish idea: freshly grated parmesan cheese and extra sliced lemon
Directions
1
In a large pot, heat the butter and cook carrots, celery, and onion until softened and translucent. This will take about 5-10 minutes. Also, add the garlic and cook for a couple of additional minutes.
2
Pour in the broth and dried orzo. Let boil for about 10 minutes to soften the veggies.
3
Turn down the heat to simmer. Add in lemon juice, zest, shredded chicken, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley, and cook until heated through about 10 minutes.
4
Stir in the spinach right before serving. Ladle soup into bowls or serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add lemon slices for garnish if desired. Enjoy!
Additional Notes
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com
Tips for making Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup:
- For added convenience, I shredded and used part of a leftover rotisserie chicken. You could also use chopped chicken breast meat as well. If you wanted to cook a couple of raw chicken breasts, I would add them when adding the broth and boil until tender/cooked. You may need to add a cup or two of additional broth.
- If you don’t have orzo, consider subbing in some rice instead for a similar result. Wild rice would taste delicious.
- The orzo does tend to absorb the broth, so you may prefer to include some additional broth. The longer you let it sit, the more liquid the orzo will absorb, so be prepared to add more broth to this soup if you’re warming up leftovers the next day.
- For the greens, I used baby spinach, however, chard or kale is also great. This adds a healthy burst of nutrients to your meal but is honestly optional if you’d prefer your soup without!
Yum, this meal is a winner, and tastes great as leftovers!
I’ve found this lemon orzo chicken soup recipe to be a delicious adaptation of traditional chicken noodle soup, and the leftovers are excellent, too!
My entire family really loves this as a hearty lunch or a warm, comforting dinner. I like to make a big pot of it so we can enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day, and this one tastes super fresh and crisp, even on day two. Enjoy!
See how I freeze this soup and others using Mason jars to reheat later!
I’m going to try this! Looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Looks delicious Lina; I can’t wait to try it! I make homemade soup twice a week in the winter and eventually tire of the same recipes. This reminds me of a soup from Panera that I enjoy.
Awesome! And the original recipe (linked above) is a copycat Panera. So I bet this will taste similar! Enjoy 😀
Looks and sounds delicious. I definitely going to try this soup. Thanks!
Sure- enjoy Rios!
This is so crazy because I just ordered this soup at The Corner Bakery Cafe for the first time yesterday!! It was tasty so now I’m happy I can try to make my own at home. Thanks, Lina!
I have a dwarf meyer lemon with a few ripe lemons right now and have been looking for a good way to use them! (Once you try a meyer lemon, you’ll never go back!) Thanks for a tasty looking recipe!!
Sure! Enjoy 😀
Have you tried canned chicken in this recipe?
I haven’t, but I think this would be a great opportunity to use it!
I tried it, and it was great! Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Amy!
Lina, you made my whole day with this recipe ! thank you so much, I cannot wait to make this !!!
Oh GOOD! Enjoy Jill!