This delightfully light yet heart soup features tender chicken, thyme, and a hint of lemon. It’s the perfect soup for those spring evenings that are still a bit chilly.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re looking for the perfect meal to get you through those still-chilly spring evenings, this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a must try!
It’s a lighter soup with a refreshing hint of lemon, but it’s still warm and cozy too. Basically, this soup is the perfect way to transition from winter to spring. I know we still have plenty of cold March days where I live. With a side of crusty bread or some homemade rolls, this soup has become a family favorite.
My family loves anything with orzo in it, and although I’ve seen lots of lemon chicken soup recipes online, I knew my version had to have orzo.
It really is the perfect pasta for a lighter soup, but adds enough substance that this dish still fills up my hungry teenage boys. Needless to say, they love this soup and always go back for seconds!
Of course, you can always substitute a similar pasta, like ditalini or small shells. And regular egg noodles would be great too, if you’re looking to make this into a more traditional chicken noodle soup.
If you’d like to cut back on calories a bit, you can always substitute half and half for the cream. I’m of the opinion that a bit (or a lot) of cream makes almost any soup taste better, but it’s definitely something you could even omit if you prefer.
And if you don’t have turmeric, don’t worry. I add it for it’s nice yellow color (to make the soup look more lemony), but if you need to omit it, it really won’t change the flavor that much.
Like all good soup recipes, this one is highly adaptable to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. It’s definitely become a new favorite at our house. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Produce: onion, celery, garlic, lemons, fresh thyme, parsley
- Chicken broth
- Chicken
- Orzo
- Cream
- Spices: turmeric, salt and pepper
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- Zest and juice of one large lemon
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add broth, lemon zest and juice, and chicken to pot and bring to a boil. Stir in orzo and boil for another 8-10 minutes, or until orzo is just tender. Stir in cream and simmer a few minutes more.
- Add turmeric and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in fresh thyme and parsley.
Nutrition
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3 comments
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Emily
I made this tonight using canned coconut milk instead of cream & Risotto rice instead of orzo to make it DF/GF. It was delicious! My 15 year old said it is her new favorite soup. The lemon brightened the flavor without being overwhelming. Super easy & delicious. Even my pickiest eater liked it.
Cathy
The soup is delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing.