Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
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This Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup recipe features a deliciously rich and nutritious broth with chicken and healthy veggies. It makes terrific leftovers so make a double batch while you’re at it! Whether you want to make it in the slow cooker or on the stovetop, I’ve got you covered.
Imagine the best homemade chicken noodle soup you’ve had and then add a little “zing” of lemon and some fresh dill and there you have it: Pure comfort in a bowl. Packed full of rich flavors and healthy ingredients, this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is destined to become a favorite!
This soup can be made on the stovetop or in the slow cooker. Whichever method you choose just be sure to let the soup cook low and slow because that is what will really bring out the flavor of the chicken and creates a base broth that is simply out of this world. For the ultimate flavor we recommend using bone-in, skin-on chicken. Dark meat in particular has a lot more flavor than chicken breast and the bones create an especially flavorful broth.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe
Let’s get started!
NOTE: In the pictures below I’m using my Cuisinart 3-in-1 Cook Central which enables you to brown and saute the meat and vegetables right in the slow cooker instead of doing that in a separate skillet and then transferring it to a slow cooker. But this can be made in any slow cooker OR on the stovetop (instructions below).
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic, leek and carrots and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
Add the broth and seasonings except for the dill.
Add the chicken.
For the Slow Cooker: Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 6-7 hours.
Remove the chicken, discard the skin and bones, and cut the chicken into small pieces. Return it to the slow cooker along with the orzo and dill. (If you don’t like dill you can use fresh parsley instead or half the amount of fresh rosemary).
Cover and cook on HIGH for another 30 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.
For the Stovetop: Follow the same directions of sauteing the veggies in butter but do so in a soup pot. Add the remaining ingredients except for the orzo, dill, and lemon juice. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 90 minutes.
Remove the chicken pieces, discard the skin and bones and chop the meat into small pieces. Return the chicken to the pot along with the orzo and dill. Simmer for another 10-12 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.
Dinner is served! Serve this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup with some crusty bread and/or a salad.
Enjoy!
For more delicious soups and stews be sure to try my:
- Minestrone Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Solyanka
- Zurek
- Beef Barley Soup
- Beef and Cabbage Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Wonton Soup
- New England Clam Chowder
- Curried Lentil Soup
- White Bean and Sausage Soup
- Pozole Rojo
- Cream of Celery Soup
- German Potato Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Harira
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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion , finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 carrots , diced
- 1 large leek , sliced, thoroughly rinsed in colander, and drained
- 6 cups quality chicken broth
- 1 pound bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (dark meat/drumsticks and thighs recommended for the best flavor)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup uncooked orzo (or pasta of choice, or rice)
- or gluten free orzo
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the leek, carrots and garlic and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- For Slow Cooker: Transfer the cooked veggies to a slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredient except for the orzo, dill, and lemon juice. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Remove the chicken pieces, discard the skin and bones and chop the meat into small pieces. Return the chicken to the slow cooker along with the orzo and dill and cook on HIGH for another 30 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.For the Stovetop: Follow the instructions in Step 1. Add the remaining ingredients except for the orzo, dill, and lemon juice. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 90 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces, discard the skin and bones and chop the meat into small pieces. Return the chicken to the pot along with the orzo and dill. Simmer for another 10-12 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
First published on The Daring Gourmet February 28, 2015
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I’ve made this soup a number of times and it consistently comes out delicious. My wife typically doesn’t like citrus in anything, but she loves this soup!
I’ve made a number of your recipes including Stollen and home made marzipan and am really impressed with the clarity of the recipes and how delicious they are. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Thank you so much, Terry and Kate, I really appreciate that! <3
I’ve made this soup so many times and everyone thinks it’s delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thank you, Etta, I’m so happy to hear that! :)
Just made this soup this morning. It is delicious!! As long as it holds up well in the freezer this will because a monthly staple for my husband’s lunch!
I tried this soup, it was absolutely delicious. My brother said it was the best thing I had made to be honest. I feel like I maybe needed to add a little more lemon though because I didn’t get quite as much lemon flavor as I expected.
That’s awesome, Kyle, thanks so much for the feedback! The lemon is meant to be subtle but yes, you can absolutely add however much you want. So glad you and your brother enjoyed this soup, we love it, too!
Great soup! I used rice instead of orzo since that what I had on hand and it worked well. Thank you!!
Absolutely, rice works very well. So glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
This was simple to make but amazing flavour. It has kept us going over the weekend!
Thanks, Katherine, we really love it too and the flavor gets even better the next day!
I made this amazing soup for dinner and am enjoying it right now as I write this. A perfect dinner and filling too for a greedy one like me :)
It’s a hard one to have to share, Maria :) And the flavor is even better the next day for leftovers. So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the feedback!
FIVE STARS!!! I had to do the stovetop version with two chicken breasts that needed to be cooked. My son that doesn’t like soup proclaimed it DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to take some to my mom tomorrow, she will enjoy this. Will be making it weekly through the winter!! (Kimberly, I couldn’t select any stars on my iPhone 5s, ios9, in Safari–but definitely 5 stars!)
Awesome, Susan, I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit, yay!!! And I really appreciate your attempt to leave 5 stars, there appears to be some glitch with mobile and I’ll have my web developer look into it. Thank you!