Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
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This cozy lemon chicken orzo soup is packed with feel-good veggies and tender chicken in a soothing lemony broth. Made in 30 min or less!
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Why you’ll love lemon chicken orzo soup
- Comforting and light. Say hello to the best kind of vibrant, light, lemony broth, warming you from the inside out. It’s a fun, cozy cross between traditional chicken noodle soup and chicken and rice soup.
- One pot convenience. Believe it or not, this is incredibly easy to whip up and comes together very quickly in one single pot, even the dried orzo, making cleanup an absolute breeze.
- Freezes beautifully. This soup freezes and reheats like a dream, perfect for those busy weeknights and lazy weekends, especially when you’re feeling under the weather.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (or you can substitute shredded rotisserie chicken, adding towards the end of cooking time until warmed through)
- Aromatics: garlic, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaves
- Liquid: low-sodium chicken stock or chicken broth and water
- Pasta: uncooked orzo pasta
- Citrus: freshly squeezed lemon juice
how to make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Cook the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then cook the chicken in a Dutch oven coated with olive oil over medium heat until golden brown; set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Add additional oil, then stir in the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery until tender. Stir in the thyme until fragrant.
- Add the liquids. Stir in the chicken stock, water, and bay leaves.
- Simmer. Stir in the orzo, rosemary, and seared chicken, simmering until the orzo is tender and cooked through.
- Finish. Stir in the freshly squeezed lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and serve warm with crusty bread.
what to serve with lemon chicken orzo soup
Tools For This Recipe
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
You can use either chicken broth or chicken stock but always season, to taste, as store-bought broth is often saltier than store-bought stock. Broth is made from meat and vegetables while stock is often lower sodium and thicker than broth, and is made from bones and vegetables.
Orzo is a short-cut type pasta, similar in shape to a long grain of rice. Orzo also cooks much faster than traditional rice, making this soup a simple one-pot dinner ready in about 30 minutes.
The orzo is cooked directly in the soup, absorbing all the flavorful broth. But if you are planning for leftovers or freezing, the orzo should be cooked and stored separately.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, adding a splash of water or stock as needed.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the orzo pasta (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight and reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked orzo pasta when serving.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ cup orzo pasta
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken stock, water and bay leaves; bring to a boil.
- Stir in orzo, rosemary and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Since many brands love to pack in the salt, always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon juice will elevate your chicken soup, adding a fresh, bright flavor and balancing out all the saltiness and richness of the soup.
- Make it vegetarian. Skip the chicken, use vegetable stock, and add 1 can cannellini beans.
- Make it gluten-free. Use gluten-free orzo or swap out the orzo for rice.
- Repurpose leftovers. Save time and add shredded rotisserie chicken towards the end of cooking time.
- Add leafy greens. This is a great soup recipe to sneak in more veggies such as spinach or kale, stirring in just before serving until wilted.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with homemade crusty bread or garlic parmesan knots for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Store the orzo separately. Cook and store the orzo separately if making this ahead of time as the orzo will continue to soak up the broth.
Did you make this recipe?
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So easy and fresh tasting. You feel good eating this soup!
Have made this several times and everyone loves it & asks for the recipe. Now that fall weather is here, a pot of this gets made tomorrow.
Oh my it was so dam good thank you, I only used half a lemon
Excellent recipe- my family loves this soup!!
I’ve been making this chicken soup for probably close to 7 years. It’s absolutely delicious! I make it anytime someone feels under the weather. So delicious and comforting! Thanks, for this amazing recipe, Chungah!
I absolutely love this soup. I’ve made it several times. The only change I make, is I use marinated barbecue chicken breast and add it after the fact.
I was hoping it turned out like the soup from my local Greek restaurant. However, it came out 10x better. I’ll definitely try another recipe from this site !
I have made this countless times. It is a family favorite! My kids get excited when this is on the menu. I have made it on stovetop as written and adapted it to the instapot-either way it is delicious. I sometimes add some lemon zest to the veggies to give it a bit more lemony goodness. It is also delicious with some baby spinach added at the end. Delish!
Really enjoyed this soup very flavorful
Delicious!!!!!
This recipe is wonderful I did take one short cut and used a rotisserie chicken from the deli. Everything else, I followed the given recipe. It was delicious and filling. Even in Orlando where hot temps are the norm, a hearty bowl of chicken soup is always welcome.
I just made this yesterday and it’s already almost gone. Now I’m almost obsessed with it. (Even my picky eater son likes it.) I doubt I will ever make regular chicken noodle soup ever again. I used chicken broth instead of stock, but the next time I make this soup, I’m going to make some homemade bone broth/stock and use that instead. To serve with it, I also made a baked garlic bread with parmesan herb focaccia bread. It was wonderful dipped in the soup. Pure comfort, and silky, lemony deliciousness!
I’ve probably made this more than a hundred times…for us, for family, for sick friends…it’s a staple…everyone loves it and the recipe always gets passed along…so I figured it’s only fair to finally post a comment. It’s so damn delicious 😉
I like adding a fresh lemon squeeze to each bowl.
This is a family favorite and on regular rotation- they love it so much they know what I’m cooking by the smell! This is easy and delicious, I was able to adapt it to be gf (by using gf orzo), and when I’m feeling super lazy a grocery store rotisserie chicken instead of the thighs makes it even easier. Delicious!
Made this recipe tonight exactly per directions. It was a keeper! Very delicious and just perfect on this cool evening in FL!
I am in the process of making this at the moment. It looks and smells divine. I did add red pepper flakes to satisfy my husband’s love of heat.
Just had this for lunch, and put this recipe in my Favourites folder. A hit! Made it with some homemade chicken stock and a cooked chicken breast I had in the freezer. Used the zest of the small lemon I had, as well as the juice. Thank you!
This is so good! The only change I made was to add a can of artichoke hearts chopped up. I have made this twice now, a new family favorite!
Very tasty and easy. Recommend you remove the bay leaf before serving (I know – most people know to do this, but not all). I also like to toast the Orzo til it is lightly brown. I think it adds a nutty taste. To thicken a little, I smash a few spoonfuls of the beans and add back into the broth. Try this, it is lovely.
what beans?
So good! Followed the recipe exactly and added a tablespoons of flour after sautéing the vegetables to thicken the broth slightly. Matter of personal preference. Also used the zest of the lemon in addition to the juice. The lemon brightened the dish without overpowering it! Will definitely be on the rotation!
Hi, can you post directions for how to make it in a crockpot?
Thanks so much!
We have a slow cooker version below. 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2019/04/13/slow-cooker-lemon-chicken-orzo-soup/