Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
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The best kind of comfort food you can make right in your crockpot! Even the uncooked orzo cooks in the slow cooker!
So it’s 33 degrees here in Chicago today. With a snow storm, of course.
I really started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The coffee shops and restaurants started setting up all their patio furniture for outdoor dining. Now they’re all gone.
Butters and I did brave the snow once today but he quickly scurried back into the house. He was not a fan. So I turned on my crockpot to make the most cozy snow storm soup ever: lemon chicken soup.
It’s really the most comforting soup ever, especially with the hint of tang from the freshly squeezed lemon juice and all the hearty veggies. The spinach is not really needed here but hey – any excuse to have extra “hidden” greens, right?
I also love how the orzo cooks right in the slow cooker so you don’t have to dirty that second pot.
Serve with crusty bread and reload a piping hot bowl of this soup as needed as the snow storm (hopefully) comes to an end. I hear it’s going to be 70 on Wednesday!
Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 celery ribs, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup orzo pasta, uncooked
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until golden, about 4-5 minutes.
- Place chicken into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in chicken stock, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 5-6 hours. Uncover and stir in pasta; cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until tender.
- Stir in spinach until wilted. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Looks amazing! I’m gluten free and have been using quinoa in soup because it freezes very well. How long would you add the quinoa in for?
I love your recipes now I’m on medical restricted . I have to watch certian things can you recommend a way to find out the nutritional value of your recipes thanks
Made this soup last week Was delicious but the lemon overpowered the soup. I used a large fresh lemon maybe tooooo much. Will cut back n
Great, can also use rice. It works really well
BEST Soup EVER! So much flavor and pretty easy to make! I have made this several times now and shared the recipe with family and friends who also RAVED about it!
The whole picky family loved this! Is there an advantage to using the chicken thighs and browning them first? Would it work as well to throw raw chicken breasts in the slow cooker and then shred it, like with your other chicken noodle soup?
Would using chicken breast work in this recipe?
Best soup EVER! We loved it! SO delicious! I shared the recipe with friends and relatives and they ALL loved it!
Works well with brown rice. Prepare 2c washed brown rice separately and add it in the end with the lemon and spinach.
I’ve been loving lemon chicken soup, and this is my favorite recipe I’ve found!
I doubled the orzo and added a little extra broth as others suggested. I used kale instead of spinach as it is what I had on hand. YUM!
My husband said it’s the best chicken soup he’s ever had, and I agree! Easy and delicious!
question???How do you recommend I reheat this soup. Want to make it the day ahead???
This soup is amazing! My husband made it for us when I got Covid and it was an especially freezing cold day. It was pretty much the best soup I’ve ever had and it hit all the right notes! I had been craving a bright lemony chicken orzo based soup and this was just perfection! Thank you so much! It’s my new favorite, and so easy, too!
Excellent flavor! Loved it! I doubled the orzo which was a good thing to do. Will definitely make it again!
This soup is AMAZING! I doubled the orzo but made it on the side so I don’t have to worry about the texture of leftovers. White rice or egg noodles would also taste great in this. I’m definitely adding it to my regular cold weather rotation.
Absolutely loved this soup! I made it last night, and initially my husband questioned what I was serving them (he’s not a soup person), but once he started eating it, he raved at how delicious it was. Even going back for another bowl. My 22mo old even loved it. The only things I did different were doubled the orzo amount, and added 2tbsp of chicken base halfway through. I wish I had done 8C of chicken broth (that’s all I had-not stock), instead of 6C, since the orzo sucked up almost all the juice, but it was delicious regardless!
Has anyone tried this with riced cauliflower instead of orzo? Wondering if any alterations should be made regarding cook time and or amount of liquid. Thx in advance!
This is an awesome recipe for soup. My husband and I both loved it. I cooked it on the stove top for an hour and a half and it turned out perfect. It was full of flavor. Otherwise I stayed pretty close to the recipe as is. Unlike others, mine actually could have used another cup or 2 broth or water. I am on a low sodium diet and I used chicken bone broth I made yesterday. The aromatics and lemon juice made up for the low sodium. My husband did not add any salt like he does for most of my recipes. One of my new favorites!
Wow, this was really good and surprisingly easy to make, thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe 🙂
I Love this soup! It is a surprising “light” soup. It will definitely be a regular on my table for cold days. I am making it again this week end – not cold but it will be rainy.