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This lemon chicken orzo soup recipe is light, healthy, and cozy. It uses wholesome everyday ingredients and is sure to become a family favorite!
Love lemon chicken? Try my Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken or this Lemon Chicken Orzo (One Pot Pasta).
Why you’ll love it
I’ve made a lot of soups on here, but this lemon chicken soup with orzo is hands down the most beloved by my readers. It’s just so comforting without being heavy, and people adore the bright lemony broth. This orzo soup is simple to make, so it’s a low-effort cozy soup.
If you’re not familiar with it, orzo is that tiny rice-shaped pasta. It looks like rice but cooks really fast, so you get that rice effect in less time. I cook with it fairly often, and I always enjoy it. This lemon chicken orzo soup recipe is like chicken noodle soup but elevated!
What you’ll need
- Celery, carrots, and onion – the aromatic base for any good soup. I prefer sweet (Vidalia) onion, but yellow works as well.
- Butter and olive oil – for sautéing
- Garlic – for more savory flavor
- Flour – it thickens the broth a little
- Chicken broth – for deeper, richer flavor
- Italian seasoning – it’s my favorite dried herb blend that comes all in a single jar for convenience
- Chicken – the boneless skinless chicken breasts cook right in the soup
- Orzo – you’ll be able to find it in the dry pasta aisle
- Lemon juice – for that burst of brightness
- Parsley – it adds a pop of flavor and freshness
Pro tip
You can increase the amount of lemon juice to suit your tastes and serve with lemon slices right in the bowls as well for even more lemon flavor.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to use this garlic press to mince it since you don’t need to peel the cloves first, and this airtight pantry container is great for keeping flour fresh.
- Here is the Dutch oven I use for my soups.
- If you really want a more intense pop of lemon in here, I suggest grating in some lemon zest. I love my Microplane zester/grater for that purpose!
How to make lemon chicken orzo soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, carrots, and celery with the olive oil and butter until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, followed by the flour. Pour in the chicken broth, and stir until the flour has totally dissolved.
Add in the Italian seasoning and the uncooked chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and then simmer for about 15 minutes. Add in the orzo, and simmer until it’s al dente, stirring fairly often.
Once the chicken reaches a temperature of 165F, take it out and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Add it back in along with the lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley, and salt & pepper. That’s it!
Can I make it ahead?
- Yes, but you may not want to use the one pot method in that case since the orzo will soak up the broth over time. If you plan on having a lot left over or are making it well ahead of time, I recommend cooking the orzo separately and adding it into each bowl when warming it up.
Substitutions and variations
- You can substitute the chicken breasts for chicken thighs if you prefer.
- If you want to make this with already cooked/rotisserie chicken, I suggest adding the chicken in at the same time as the orzo so you don’t overcook it.
- Use low-sodium chicken broth if you have concerns with salt.
- Want to make this soup in your slow cooker instead? Try my Crockpot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.
What to serve with this soup
- I like to keep it simple with a big slice of bread. I’d recommend a baguette or sourdough to round out the meal.
- If you love the soup and salad combo, try my Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad or mixed greens with my Homemade Italian Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- It’ll keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. You may need to add more chicken broth to leftovers as the pasta will absorb it.
- This soup can be frozen, but the orzo does get a bit puffy. If you want to freeze the whole batch, I recommend adding cooked orzo in after you thaw it.
- Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat until warmed through, stirring every so often.
More delicious chicken soup recipes
Questions about this soup? Leave me a comment below, and tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram if you’ve made it!
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 2 sticks celery chopped finely
- 2 medium carrots peeled & chopped finely
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1.5 pounds uncooked chicken breasts
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté the celery, carrots, and onions in a large soup pot with the butter and oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the flour and cook for another minute or so.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir until the flour has dissolved, then add the Italian seasoning and chicken. Bring the soup to a boil.
- Cover the soup (lid slightly open), and reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the orzo and cook for another 10 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through. I keep the lid off and stir it fairly often because it tends to stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Take the chicken out of the pot and cut it up, then add it back in. Add the lemon juice (you may want to add more than I suggest – I didn't want to make the soup too lemony for some people), parsley, and season the soup with salt & pepper as needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can sub the chicken breasts for chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Chicken is safe to eat at 165F and can go from undercooked to overcooked quickly, so I recommend using an instant read meat thermometer whenever cooking chicken so you’re not guessing.
- Use low-sodium chicken broth if you’re sensitive to salt.
- You may need to add more chicken broth to leftovers as the orzo soaks it up.
- This recipe is also in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is delicious. I served it with pepper jack grilled cheese. I suggest seasoning the chicken first. I used adobo, garlic powder, a dash of seasoning salt, a Caribbean poultry blend and then a light rub down of turmeric. Let sit for 20-30 minutes before adding into soup.
Love your idea to season the chicken… anything to give chicken more flavor is good in my books! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Good Morning, I was wondering if I could do this in the crock pot?
Hi! I think that should be fine. I’d add the pasta towards the end of cooking time. I linked a similar crockpot recipe within the blog post, so you may want to reference that one for timing. 🥰
This soup was fantastic! Nice & bright but also so satisfying. Definitely going into the rotation.
Thank you!
Wonderful! You’re very welcome. 😀
Like a lot of other folks out there and stuck at home. I don’t cook but I’m bored and figured I’d give it a try and was pleased with the results.
The recipe was easy to follow, it was very tasty and my wife got a well deserved break tonight. Thank you Natasha!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it 😉 We need to do coffee sometime… maybe not soon though 😀
This soup was amazing! I made it for my family and they absolutely loved it. They couldn’t believe I made it from scratch! Will definitely be making this again!
I am so happy to hear that! 😀
Made this today….oh so yummy!! The lemon adds a wonderful level of freshness. I had to improvise with pasta since the grocery store was sold out of orzo. Used ditalini instead and it worked great! Thanks for a great, easy to follow recipe! Will definitely make again.
So happy you enjoyed it, Jessica! Thanks for letting me know, and I am glad the ditalini worked!
I made this yesterday – so delicious !
Wonderful! 🥰
Made this today and added fresh spinach! Thanks so much for a delicious & easy to follow recipe 🙂
You are very welcome!! ♥️♥️♥️
I don’t want to sound dumb but do you cool the chicken before you put it in?
Hi Jill! Do you mean cook the chicken (just wondering if it autocorrected). The chicken goes in raw. Unless a recipe specifically instructs you to do something (like use cooked chicken or explains how to cook the chicken in some pre-step), you can just assume the ingredient goes in as-is. I also explain within the blog post that you can use cooked chicken if you want and when to add it in. Chicken does not take long to cook, so double cooking it would just make it dry and rubbery.
What can be subbed for the flour to make it gluten free?
Hi! Maybe cornstarch? Or leave it out. It’s just used to thicken the broth a bit. You’d have to get a gluten-free orzo as well (just making sure you know it’s pasta… not rice).
Can I substitute with a different kind of rice? Or can I do it without rice?
Hi Anna! Orzo isn’t rice – it’s pasta. I talk about this within the blog post. It cooks a lot faster than rice. If you use rice, you will likely need to adjust cooking time since rice takes a lot longer to cook. Perhaps try a different pasta? Or if you’re planning on using white rice, try this recipe instead: https://www.saltandlavender.com/easy-chicken-and-rice-soup/ Brown rice is a different story – it takes a lot longer to cook.
If you prefer rice you could cook it separately on the side and then add it to the soup.
Yes! That works too.
What step do you potty chicken in? Not mentioned in directions
It’s in there. Step 3. ☺️
We’re stuck at home for now,so I’ve been looking for recipes that I can make with what I have. This was a perfect match! It turned out that I had finished up my box of orzo so I had to make an emergency substitution and use rice instead of the pasta. I cooked the rice separately and added it in towards the end. It turned out really nicely, but next time I make it I’ll make sure that I have the orzo, because I prefer it to rice in general. The lemon juice really added a nice zing and freshness!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, definitely give it a try with orzo, but I’m glad you were able to make it with rice! 🙂