Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

This Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is so brothy, flavorful, and downright delicious! Its also super simple to make and freezer-friendly. Must I say more? Didn’t think so!

This soup truly hits the spot just like its cousin, chicken noodle soup, or its “heftier” cousin chicken gnocchi soup.

This recipe was originally posted on Jun 24, 2015, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.

This post has Amazon affiliate links for tools we used to make this recipe.

How to Make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

• In a large pot, bring olive oil to medium high heat, then cook the diced carrot, onion, and celery until they become translucent. Then add the thyme.
• Now add the cubed chicken breast to the same pot and cook until the chicken is fully cooked through.
• Pour in the chicken broth and water into the pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
• Now carefully add the cooked orzo into the soup (I use a large slotted spoon) and bring it to a boil again. Then stir in the salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Lastly, add fresh spinach to the soup and remove it from the heat.

How to make lemon chicken orzo soup in a slow cooker

• Place the diced onion, carrot, celery, chopped chicken breast, thyme, salt, pepper, lemon juice, chicken broth, and water into the slow cooker or crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
• Then add the dry orzo and fresh spinach to the pot and cook on low for 20-30 minutes or until the orzo is al dente.

Can I freeze lemon chicken orzo soup?

Yes! Once the soup is fully cooled down, place a plastic gallon sized zip-lock freezer bag into a large bowl and ladle the soup into the bag. Try to get as much air out, then close well. Now lay the bag flat in the freezer and freeze for up to 1 month.

What is orzo?

Orzo is pasta that has a grain-like shape similar to rice. Although it may look like rice, it is just plain pasta made from wheat semolina flour.

What to serve with Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup?

• Rustic overnight bread or harvest bread
• tomato basil panini
• tuna salad sandwich
• turkey sandwich
• classic grilled cheese sandwich

5 from 1 vote

Print

Chicken Orzo Soup

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

A brothy, lemony, and hearty soup perfect for any cold day! This one really hits the spot!

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon chicken orzo soup

Servings: 8

Calories: 239 kcal

Author: Dina from simplyhomecooked.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup onion diced
• 3 celery sticks diced
• 3 medium carrots diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 2 chicken breasts
• 8 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Dice the carrot, onion, and celery. Then cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the diced carrot, onion, and celery. Cook until the onion becomes translucent then add the thyme.
3. Cook the orzo according to the package. Then drain the water out and set aside.
4. Add the cut chicken to the sautéed vegetables and cook until the chicken is fully cooked. (About 6 minutes)
5. Pour in the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Then gently add the cooked orzo into the soup and bring it to a boil once more.
7. Add the salt, pepper, and lemon juice. The amount of salt can be adjusted to your liking.
8. Lastly, add fresh spinach and remove the soup from heat.

Nutrition Facts

Chicken Orzo Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 239 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 8g 12%

Saturated Fat 1g 5%

Cholesterol 36mg 12%

Sodium 747mg 31%

Potassium 618mg 18%

Total Carbohydrates 21g 7%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 2g

Protein 19g 38%

Vitamin A 97.9%

Vitamin C 9.8%

Calcium 4.1%

Iron 7.7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe was originally published on June 24th, 2015, it has been updated since.