Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
This lemon chicken orzo soup is hearty, delicious and so simple to make! Tender veggies, chicken, and orzo pasta in a lemony broth. Yum!
Simple and so satisfying, this soup is going to be your new best friend this fall and winter.
With everyday ingredients and a quick cooking time, it’s just one of those feel-good meals that everyone will look forward to.
Let’s Start with Veggies
This soup comes together really fast, even with a bit of veggie chopping to start.
Other than a few key changes, it’s not so very different than a classic chicken noodle soup.
The first step is to saute the carrots, celery, onions and garlic until they start to soften.
Orzo and Lemon Juice
After the vegetables cook for a minute, the broth and simple pantry seasonings are added along with:
- Orzo pasta
- Fresh lemon juice
Both of these add a unique element to this soup that sets it apart from it’s brothy noodly competitors.
The small orzo pasta adds the heartiness of noodles without being all in-your-face about it.
And the lemon juice brightens up the whole pot of soup. It’s the perfect boost of flavor!
To Thicken or Not
Once the orzo cooks and is mostly tender, it’s time to decide whether you want to thicken the soup a bit.
There’s no wrong choice here. You can proceed without thickening and end up with a really delicious soup similar in consistency to chicken noodle soup.
However, adding a simple roux to the soup and simmering for a few minutes transforms the broth into a velvety pot of nourishing goodness.
Comfort Food in a Bowl
Top this lemon chicken and orzo soup with a sprinkle of parmesan and some chopped, fresh parsley and prepare to fall in love.
This soup is refreshing and comforting. Wholesome and crazy delicious.
If you want to further amp up the nutrients (and color), you can also stir chopped, fresh spinach in at the end.
This soup has found permanent residence in our dinner lineup, winter or not. It’s quick to make…and it proves that sometimes simple recipes are the absolute best thing in the history of ever.
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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Ā½ cups diced carrots, about 3-4 medium carrots
- Ā½ cup diced celery, about 3 ribs
- Ā½ cup finely diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 cups chicken broth (I use low-sodium)
- Ā¾ cup (138 g) orzo pasta
- 1 bay leaf
- Ā½ teaspoon salt
- Ā¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- Ā¼ teaspoon dried basil
- Ā¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 to 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
- Ā¼ to Ā½ cup fresh lemon juice (see note)
Optional Roux:
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons flour
For Garnish:
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Chopped, fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic, and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until the onions have softened and started to turn translucent.
- Add the broth, orzo, bay leaf, salt, oregano, basil, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes until the orzo is tender.
- Optional for slightly thicker soup: stir together the melted butter and flour until smooth. Whisk into soup and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken and lemon juice and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve servings of soup with chopped fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese (optional but tasty).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe on allrecipes
Loved the soup, only change was adding a tsp of dill weed. Highly recommend!!
I have been looking for good lemon orzo chicken soup recipe and this dud not disappoint! Only changes were adding 1tsp of dill weed. So good!!!!
I’ve had this recipe in a file for a long time. I finally made it for lunch and WOW it was delicious. I made it exactly like the recipe adding the roux and lemon zest like someone suggested. I will be making it all winter-long. Thanks Mel for all you yummy recipes that always turn out good.
!
My favorite soup, no question. I make it according to the recipe, sometimes with and sometimes without the roux. My grown kids all LOVE this recipe. Every time I have it on my plan for the week, I look forward to it. It’s one I bring to people if they’re sick (or not!) or just had a baby, with crusty bread or a salad.
Iām so happy to know you love this one so much, Susan!
I made this tonight to take to a sick friend but tried a bowlful first. I was sorely tempted to make something else for my friend and keep this soup all for myself! š Super delicious and a nice change from regular chicken noodle. This will definitely be in my soup rotation this winter! Thanks for this lovely recipe, Mel!Ā
This soup was delicious. I only used 6 cups of liquid (4 c bone broth + 2 c better than bullion) but I didnāt add the orzo. I served rice on the side to be added on top so everyone could add the carbs they wanted and keep from soaking up the broth. It stores better that way too. Ā I also thickened with the roux. It was perfect and got raves from my husband.Ā
This was delicious! Love the brightness of the fresh lemon! Definitely a favorite in my house and will be added to my binder of tried and true recipes! Neighbor had covid so I shared with her and she also loved it! Way better than regular chicken soup in my book!
It would be helpful for newer cooks to know you don’t cook the orzo before adding. Also I assume you minced the garlic but it doesn’t say, again would be helpful to state.
I love this soup!! My mom makes it a bunch (I am 10 years old) and it is sooooo good!!!
I don’t know why I waited so long to make this recipe, but it’s SO GOOD. The fresh lemon juice adds a depth of flavor that surprised me in the best way. Make this if you haven’t!
This is delicious….what about doing it in a crock pot? Do you think it would be the same?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it stands a good chance of working out in the slow cooker!
I thought my kids hated soup until I made this. They request it often and itās light and easy to whip up.Ā
Deliciousā¦..and so easy. Rather than buy chicken broth I make it out of better than bullion, & easier on the pocketbook.
I forgot to give the well deserved 5 stars!
My family loves this soup! I have made it many times since I found your recipe after Thanksgiving 2021. it’s now our favorite!
For those who have asked, it freezes perfectly in freezer bags.
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
This is so yummy! I’ve made it many times. This last time I didn’t have any cooked chicken on hand so I cooked 1.5 lbs of chicken breast in the broth mixture for 12ish minutes and then removed the chicken and cooked the broth. It worked great.
We really enjoyed this soup. Ā I didnāt make it with the extra flour&butter roux as it was made after Christmas so Iām trying to lighten up my meals. Ā I started with the 1/4 cup lemon juice and that was just right for me. Ā I will make it again!
Do you think this would be good with leftover turkey
Yes!
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Ā I followed the recipe exactly, even thickened it with the rouxā¦will need to thin out the leftovers with more broth. Ā I used up several zips of leftover chicken from my freezerā¦.rotisserie, smoked thighs, and taco chicken. Ā My hubby is a meat/potatoes/salad guy, but he saidā¦this is really good!