Description
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup – a flavorful and delicious lemon chicken orzo soup recipe that is packed with flavor and so easy to make!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 8 cups chicken broth (store-bought or homemade)
- 4–6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 lemon, halved*
- 1 herb bundle (fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano)
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (more to taste)
- 2–3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2–3 cups cooked orzo
Instructions
- Bring a 5.5qt Dutch Oven to medium-high heat.
- Add olive oil; swirl to coat the pan.
- Add garlic and move around the pan until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add onion and let cook down, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add broth, chicken thighs, herb bundle and 2 lemon halves. Cover and let simmer a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.*
- Remove lemons and herb bundle; discard.
- Remove chicken thighs and set aside. When chicken is cool enough, discard the bones and skin and shred the meat; return to Dutch Oven.
- Add carrots, celery and lemon juice; stir to combine.
- Taste and add kosher salt, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it has reached your desired saltiness (how much salt you will need may depend upon what brand/type of chicken broth you used).
- Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to it’s package instructions.
- Scoop some cooked orzo into a bowl and then ladle the soup over top.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- *Lemon: for a little extra flavor feel free to used Grilled Lemons, but regular works just fine.
- Step 5: for the best, deepest flavor I would recommend simmering (covered) for 2 hours. Also, if you happen to have any celery or carrot scraps or ends you want to throw in during this simmering process throw them in! They will only add to the flavor – just remember to remove them after simmering and discard.
- Chicken Thighs: you could use boneless/skinless chicken thighs, but the flavor won’t be quite as good. 2 chicken breasts would also work in a pinch.
- Orzo Separate: we are cooking the orzo separate so it doesn’t soak up all of the broth during the cooking process.
- Storage: store the soup/broth and the orzo separately so the orzo doesn’t get mushy (and soak up the broth).
- Taste along the way: everyone is different so taste this soup along the way especially as you add the lemon juice and salt. What type of chicken broth you use will impact the flavor a lot and I don’t want you to end up with a soup that is TOO lemony or too salty. You can always add more you can’t take it out once you put it – so taste along the way to make sure it turns out just right for you.
- Herb Bundle: check out our Herb Bundle tutorial here!