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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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Wow! Made this soup last night and it was delicious! I used a rotisserie chicken and added it about 5 minutes from the end. Also used all of the lemon juice from the lemon. Will definitely be making this again.
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it, Kimberly 🙂
Love how easy this recipe is – however, my partner and I felt like it was lacking flavour. When heating the leftovers for round 2, I added chilli flakes, pepper and more Italian seasoning which made a huge difference! Next time I will throw in some fresh dill as well 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it! Yup, definitely easy to add more flavoring to your preferences. 🙂
I cite
I cooked the Orzo ceperatley. I didn’t want to cook it in the soup so that I would be able to freeze the soup later. I also only added 3/4 Tbls if the Lemo juice, I didn’t want it to be too lemony. It was perfect like that, oh I also used thighs instead of beats which was an option in the recipe.
So glad it worked out, Rita! Thanks for trying the recipe 🙂
This was delicious! I had cooked chicken breast to use up so I diced it up and added it towards the end. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes, I just look at your site now for inspiration and new recipes and can’t wait to try more!
You’re welcome, Lori! So happy you found S&L 🙂
1/20/2022….just made this and I am in HEAVEN! Delicious soup. The only real tweak I did was add more Italian seasoning and WAY more lemon (1/2 cup). Thank you for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Christina! Thanks for the sweet comment!
You didn’t Specify what Kind Of Onion??
Yellow? White? Red?
It doesn’t really matter. 🙂 I generally cook with yellow or sweet (Vidalia) onions… they’re good all-purpose ones. White are fine too. Red are generally best for raw applications like salads.
Hello…
Do you cook the chicken breast separately or do you put raw chicken breast in the soup to cook?
Joanne
Hi! I put it right in the soup. I would always indicate if it needed to be cooked first… there is no way anyone could just guess that. Hope you enjoy the soup! 🙂
No need to be a smart alec!? She was just asking a question.😒
I’m thinking you’re reading way more tone in my response than I intended. It was meant to be reassuring… like if someone had to make that kind of leap, it would not be a very well-written recipe, you know?
Delicious ! I made this for dinner tonight. A few comments: I used 8 cups broth to get the correct consistency, using just 6 cups , the soup was way too thick; I used a lot more lemon juice and parsley and it did need quite a bit of S&P. Yes, and please watch it and stir after the Orzo has been added, per the instructions , it will stick. Loved it ! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you found the perfect little tweaks for your palate! Thanks for your detailed review, Kathy.
I am looking forward to making this tomorrow. I need to make it ahead of time and re-heat for dinner. Would it be ok to cook the orzo separately and then add it in when I’m heating the soup up again on the stove? That way it won’t soak up to much of the broth. Thoughts?
Thanks
Dawn
Hi Dawn! Yes, that should work. Enjoy!
Loved the recipe, now a staple in my house. Wondering what the serving size is for the nutritional information?
Hi! I’m so glad you like it. It’s for 1/6 of the recipe. As far as how much that translates to in grams/oz/etc. – I am not sure. I plug the info into a nutrition calculator and it gives an estimate, but I am not a trained nutritionist, so I don’t feel comfortable providing any info beyond that.