Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

This lemon chicken soup feels like a hug in a bowl for dinner. It’s made with orzo pasta, but you can also use other little pasta like pastina or alphabet pasta, or you can use long-grain rice. Serve it with some baguette slices or sourdough.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need for 4 soup bowls.

• Chicken thighs (boneless & skinless) – 5 chicken thigh fillets (about 1.5 lb/680 grams). Remove the excess fat.
• Orzo – 3/4 cup orzo pasta, about 5 oz/140 grams. As mentioned above, you can substitute with alphabet pasta, pastina, or even rice. If using rice, wash it first until the water comes out clear and drain it.
• Chicken Stock – 4 cups chicken stock. If using cubes, use only 1 cube and then adjust the seasoning later by adding more salt and pepper.
• Water – 3 cups water.
• Onion – 2 medium onions (about 7 oz/200 grams), diced.
• Carrots – 2 medium carrots (about 5 oz/140 grams), diced.
• Celery – 1-2 celery stalks (about 3 oz/85 grams), diced.
• Bay leaf – 1 bay leaf.
• Garlic – 1 large garlic clove, minced.
• Dried Oregano – 1/2 tsp dried oregano. I prefer oregano as it gives it a more Mediterranean-inspired taste, but you can use thyme instead if you’d prefer thyme.
• Heavy Cream – 1/4 cup heavy cream (double cream/whipping cream).
• Lemon – 3 tbsp lemon juice + lemon zest, more to taste. I generally start with 3 tbsp, but you could start with 2 and add more as needed. Make sure to add the lemon once the soup is off the heat/not simmering or boiling, as otherwise, it dulls the taste.
• Oil – 1 tbsp olive oil. You can also use sunflower oil or vegetable oil.
• Parsley – 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley, optional. I love to add some fresh herbs to most savory dishes, and the fresh parsley works well in this soup. But, if you’re not a fan of parsley, feel free to omit this.
• Salt – kosher salt, to taste. You’ll need to season the chicken, then a pinch of salt for cooking the veggies, and finally salt at the end.
• Pepper– freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

How to Make this Lemon Chicken Soup

Step 1. Brown the chicken. To a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp of oil. Season the chicken thigh fillets with a pinch of salt and pepper and place them in the pot. Brown the chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove it for now. We’ll finish cooking it in the broth later.

Step 2. Sauté the veggies. Add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for about 3 minutes.

Add the diced carrot and celery and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, bay leaf, and dried oregano, and sauté for 30 seconds.

Step 3. Add the stock and water, and return the chicken to the pot. Add the chicken stock and water, and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Return the chicken to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and immediately reduce to a simmer.

Step 4. Simmer the chicken until cooked. Simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 10-12 minutes. Pull the chicken into a bowl to shred it once it cools down slightly. Add the orzo to the soup and simmer for about 10 minutes until the orzo is cooked.

Note: If substituting the orzo with other pasta like pastina, check the amount of cooking time it needs as indicated on the box. Pastina can take 4-8 minutes

Step 5. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot once the orzo is cooked. While the orzo is cooking in the soup, shred the cooked chicken thigh fillets. Wait for the chicken to cool slightly before shredding it. Remove any stringy connective tissue and chewy bits. Return the chicken to the pot when the orzo is cooked.

Step 6. Add the heavy cream. In a bowl, warm up the heavy cream by adding a couple tablespoons of the soup broth and stirring. Add the mixture to the soup and stir it in quickly. Bring to a simmer and once simmering, turn off the heat.

Step 7. Once the heat is off, add the lemon juice, parsley, and additional salt if needed. Add lemon juice and, optionally, add minced fresh parsley and lemon zest. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt if needed.

The soup is comforting and filling, while the lemon and vegetables give it zest and freshness. If you make this soup and really like it, let me know in a review below.

Recipe Card

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