Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

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

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 239kcal

Author Dina

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

Chop the chicken small- Keep the chicken cubes to about 1 inch because they will cook faster this way and more evenly if they are all the same size.
Use fresh lemon- This gives better flavor than lemon juice concentrate. Squeezing a fresh lemon also lets the lemon oils out which have potent flavor.
Add the spinach last- If spinach cooks too long, it becomes slimy and turns a dull color. Keep it flavorful and delicious by only adding it at the end of the cooking process.
Make it in the slow cooker- Place the diced veggies, chopped chicken breast, seasonings, lemon juice, chicken broth, and water into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Then add the dry orzo and fresh spinach and cook on low for 20-30 minutes or until the orzo is al dente.