Lemon chicken soup with orzo is a popular Mediterranean recipe that is nutritious and easy to make. It’s essentially an egg-free version of avgolemono soup, a Greek chicken-broth soup in which the lemon is combined with a beaten egg to create a silky sauce that turns broth into a creamy delight through a careful tempering process. Avgolemono typically doesn’t have chicken or vegetables in its most basic form.
This recipe does not have eggs so the broth won’t be creamy, but the preparation will be less intense. You’ll sear chicken, cook mirepoix (celery, carrots and onion) until crisp and tender, and then add seasonings, wine or broth, more broth and orzo. The total preparation and cooking time should take about 45 minutes.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: Obviously, you need chicken for chicken soup, and in this case, you want to use chicken breasts because they’re easier to cut into cubes than thighs. Use boneless and skinless chicken to save time.
- Celery ribs: Celery adds a subtle flavor and is one part of mirepoix, an aromatic mix of celery, carrots and onion.
- Carrots: Carrots add a sweeter flavor and extra nutrition and they’re part of the mirepoix mix.
- Onion: Onion in soup adds a savory component and is the third vegetable in mirepoix.
- Dried oregano: Oregano is a classic Mediterranean herb and complements chicken well. A little dried oregano adds a lot of flavor as the soup cooks.
- Chicken broth: The broth of the recipe, of course. Use reduced sodium to avoid taking in too much salt.
- White wine (or more broth): White wine lends an acidic note to the soup and helps you deglaze the pan, getting all those browned bits unstuck and ready for the soup.
- Fresh rosemary: A classic chicken soup flavoring agent. Use fresh because dried rosemary can be tough.
- Bay leaf: This gives the soup more complexity and a deeper flavor.
- Orzo pasta: Use whole wheat for more nutrition.
- Lemon zest: Adding zest gives the soup a huge non-acidic boost in flavor because of the lemon oil in the peel.
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice is bright and acidic, and it mixes completely with the broth, increasing the lemon flavor throughout the soup.
- Fresh parsley: Adds a bright yet slightly bitter note to the soup, balancing out the other flavors.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the chicken
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Stir for six to eight minutes until the chicken isn’t pink. Remove the chicken from the pan.
Step 2: Make most of the soup
Heat more olive oil over medium-high heat in the same pan. Add the celery, carrots and onion, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook and keep stirring for four to six minutes, the vegetables should be crisp-tender. Add the wine or extra broth (for a non-alcoholic version), and stir it around to get all the brown bits unstuck from the pan. Add the broth, rosemary and bay leaf, and stir. Bring the soup to a boil.
Step 3: Cook the orzo and combine
Add the orzo to the soup. Then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally until the orzo is tender. Add the chicken back into the pan and continue cooking until the chicken is heated through. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice then remove the bay leaf. When you’re ready to serve the soup, top each bowl with fresh parsley, if desired.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Variations
- Go gluten-free or high-protein: There are plenty of gluten-free and high-protein orzo brands. If you have a favorite, see how it works in this recipe.
- Make it vegetarian: Leave the chicken out of the recipe and add chickpeas or extra-firm tofu instead. Make the soup vegan by using your preferred vegan broth instead of chicken broth. This can be a commercial vegan “chicken” broth or vegetable broth.
How to Store Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
To refrigerate lemon orzo chicken soup, place individual servings in airtight containers and use them within three days.
Can you freeze lemon chicken orzo soup?
To freeze this soup, place individual servings in airtight freezer-safe containers. Eat the soup within two to three months. Let the soup thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it.
How do you reheat lemon chicken orzo soup?
One of the problems with storing a pasta soup for later is that the pasta will continue to absorb the broth (the same thing happens with soups containing rice). After a day or so in the refrigerator, the soup may look like it has little broth left. Place the soup in a saucepan with more chicken broth over medium heat to reheat. You’ll find conflicting information about whether to bring the soup to a boil first. You may risk slightly overcooking the chicken if you do, but at the same time, boiling will help ensure the reheated soup is safe to consume. Whatever you do, check the internal temperature of the cubed chicken with an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure it reaches 165°F.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Tips
Can you put raw chicken into the boiling soup?
Yes, technically you can add raw chicken cubes directly to the boiling soup. However, this chicken lemon orzo soup recipe relies on the texture and flavor of the seared chicken, so it’s best to follow that step before making the rest of the soup.
How do you avoid overcooking the chicken in the soup?
If you let the soup cook longer than the recipe calls for you could easily overcook the chicken. Overcooked chicken can taste dry and be tougher to chew, even if it’s been soaking in hot broth. Follow the instructions for searing the chicken and cook the soup for the time in the recipe to avoid this problem.
What can you serve with lemon chicken orzo soup?
While you don’t have to serve anything with the soup, a slice of bread (toasted or untoasted) or a side salad is a nice touch. You can play up the Mediterranean flavors with a Mediterranean salad, but even a simple green salad will do.
Will the wine burn away as the soup cooks?
Yes and no. Indeed, alcohol burns away during cooking but it doesn’t burn away as quickly as everyone thinks it does. In fact, it can take upwards of three hours to burn off all the alcohol in a typical dish. This soup cooks for only 25 minutes, which isn’t nearly enough time to make the alcohol from the wine disappear. That can be a problem for people who need to avoid wine for medical, religious or legal reasons (such as those who legally have to maintain zero percent blood alcohol levels). If you’re serving this soup to someone who can’t or doesn’t want to have alcohol, don’t use wine. Use reduced-sodium chicken broth in its place.
