Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

This Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a comforting and easy meal for any night of the week.

It’s a chicken soup that has carrots, celery, and a lemon flavor that sets this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup recipe apart from other chicken noodle soup recipes.

LEMON CHICKEN ORZO SOUP

Last week my friend told me she was coming over with Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. I couldn’t stop thinking about the soup until she came. If you’ve ever been pregnant you know food triggers know no patience.

Even though the same food may sound gross in two hours, all you know is that at THAT moment you want that certain food…and you want it now.

You know I love this Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. But I had to recreate this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup for my family a couple of days later because I loved all of the flavors so much.

 One thing I did learn is that if you don’t plan on eating it right away you should cook the orzo separately and add it later. The picture above is when I first made it and tasted it.

The picture below is what it looked like after piano lessons while I let it simmer for an hour.

The orzo soaks up all of the liquid. So unless you want a stew, eat it right away or add the orzo later. I just added a little more chicken stock to thin it out.

If you love this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup recipe, you’ll love these soup recipes:

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Easy Tomato Soup Recipe

Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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5 from 4 votes

Yield: 6 servingsso

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

25 mins

This Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a comforting and easy meal for any night of the week.

Ingredients

• 9 cups chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/3 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups onions, chopped finely
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 rotisserie-cooked chicken, shredded (about 3 cups)
• 8 ounces orzo pasta, uncooked (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely cracked (optional)
• 1/4 cup romano cheese, grated (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large pot.
2. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, lemon zest and salt. Saute ingredients over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the chicken and orzo. Simmer until orzo is cooked through. (see Note not serving soup right away)
5. Just before serving add parsley and remove bay leaf. Garnish with salt and black pepper if needed and Romano cheese if desired.

Recipe Notes

If you're serving right away you can add the orzo pasta and chicken at the same time until the orzo is cooked. If you plan on serving later it at a later time you may want to cook the orzo separately and add right before serving. The orzo pasta tends to soak up all the liquid and can become quite thick if you simmer the soup for a long time. You can always add more chicken stock if you want to thin it out a little.

Source: slightly adapted from Food.com

Author: Christy Denney

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: lemon chicken orzo soup, lemon chicken orzo soup recipe