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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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Omgggg this so delicious. I went for the boneless thighs and I added fresh spinach. The taste of the soup is so good and I like the fact that the flour made it more like a stew. I’m definitely keeping this recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Susie!! Thanks for your review!
I made this tonight for dinner and ate it with my homemade sourdough and it was delicious! I’m a lemon fan so I added the juice of two whole lemons and it was great. I also added some beef stock because I didn’t have enough chicken stock and it was yummy!
Excellent!! Glad you enjoyed it, Tay! 😀
Made it and it was bomb , so good I will make it again.
Yay!! So glad to hear it. 😀
I would love to make this but we are a GF family, so I was wondering if you can replace the Orzo with rice?
Hi! You could try, but cooking time may vary and you may need to add more liquid. I do also have a tested chicken and rice soup on the blog you could try as well. 🙂
Delallo pasta brand has a gluten free orzo that’s really good.
We are also a GF house….my fav substitute for flour as a thickening agent is corn starch. It’s always made a creamier textured gravy/soup without adding flavor unlike so many non-wheat flours ( almond, rice, GF Baking Flour) just substitute 1/2 the amount of flour with cornstarch by adding it to room the room temp liquid called for in any recipe or just a little water to make a paste before adding to the soup & voila!
I make mine with arborio rice (for risotto) because it is a starchy rice that is recommended by many Greek cooks. This is Avgolemono soup in Greek.
Hi, Yes I did this with rice as well, I would say to brown the rice a bit first and then add it in to the soup:)
This soup is fabulous. Big hit in our house. Love this site!!
Thank you so much!
Can’t wait to try this! Is it fresh or does parsley that you use?
Hi! It’s fresh parsley. Enjoy! 🙂
This recipe is so good! Made it tonight since my little family is feeling under the weather and it definitely hit the spot! This is definitely going in our soup rotation!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Kaylie!! 😀
I haven’t tried making this yet, but it looks exactly like a chicken soup my mother used to make and which I loved. She passed away a short time ago so, once I feel I can attempt this recipe without crying, I’ll try it. Thank you for posting this.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Emily. 🙁 Sending my love. XOXO
Fantastic soup! Super easy to make and has awesome flavor. Thank you for sharing.🥰
You’re very welcome, Melissa!!
Love this recipe! Very tasty! Now a staple in my home. Reading the other reviews and tips I added more Lemmon, Lemmon zest, and garlic. The only thing is that I was concerned about adding the orzo to the soup and cooked it separately. Next time I’ll add it and maybe the soup will be thicker. Not sure if it’s supposed to be a thin soup. Yet it was very delicious!!
I’m so glad you like it, Karen! It’s not meant to be a *thick* soup, but the orzo definitely releases starch and thickens it up more than if you cook it separately. Like I recommend in the blog post, if you’re going to have lots of leftovers or you’re freezing it, cooking it separately as you do is the right way to go. Thanks for your review!
Omg that was delicious! I was sceptical about the flour but it really made a difference!
So happy to hear it!
Delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
You’re very welcome, Barbara! 🙂