Quick Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
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Lemon Orzo Soup is light, healthy, and wholesome. It uses common pantry ingredients, is a little like risotto that meets soup, and is packed with incredible Mediterranean flavors. Plus, this oh-so-simple-to-make soup is ready in minutes.
Love chicken soup? Try Chicken and White Bean Soup or this easy Marry Me Chicken Soup!
Do you love soup? I imagine you do! It's a food group for me. And something I make all year.
This soup is incredibly fresh and flavorful, even in the heart of winter. Packed with healthy greens, like kale or baby spinach, vegetables like carrots and celery, herbs like fresh parsley, lemon zest, and orzo pasta, all simmered in a lemony broth you'll love!
And if you want to add cooked chicken, much like a classic chicken noodle soup, it's an easy add at the end of cooking!
Why you'll love it
This Lemon Orzo Soup is a comforting bowl of nourishing ingredients that's incredibly simple to make. It's not heavy, but it is satisfying. It's ideal anytime you're craving a cozy bowl of soup with bright flavors.
Speaking of bright flavors, if soup is also a food group for you as it is for me, you may love my cold cucumber soup. It's a refreshing dish when the summer sun is warm and cold soup is on your mind!
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Lemon Orzo Soup Ingredients
Here's what you need to make this simple, utterly delicious chicken orzo soup recipe. The exact ingredient measurements are in the recipe card below:
- Olive oil for sauteing vegetables and butter for flavor and texture
- Aromatics: carrots, celery, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes for a bit of mild heat, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt, and pepper
- Dry orzo pasta
- Vegetable broth or chicken broth, if you prefer
- Greens like arugula, kale, or spinach
- Milk, which can be dairy milk, cream, half and half or full-fat coconut milk for the best creamy texture
- Fresh lemon for juice and zest
- For serving, fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese
- Optional: cooked chicken (like Rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken)
How to Make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven and sauté onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and chili flakes until softened.
- Step 2: Add the butter and stir in the orzo. Sauté and toast the orzo until golden.
- Step 3: Pour in the broth and Italian seasoning, and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the orzo is al dente.
- Step 4: Stir in the milk, parmesan, greens, and lemon. Cook for a few minutes or until the greens are wilted, and the soup is warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving!
Vegetarian Option
While I love adding cooked chicken (such as leftover chicken or Rotisserie chicken) to the soup to make it a complete meal, it's also delicious as a vegetarian or meatless option. Simply eliminate the chicken from the soup, it's just as delicious!
When Do You Serve This Soup?
I love making it all year round. When the weather is chilly, I'm seeking cozy, healthy goodness while wrapped in a warm sweater and dreaming of spring! Or when the weather is warm and lemon is at the top of my mind. Which makes this soup ideal whenever you're craving bright, sunny, and crisp lemon flavors with savory Mediterranean notes-any time of year!
Leftovers
This soup makes fantastic lunches with any leftovers you may have. However, the orzo tends to soak up the broth when stored in the refrigerator. You'll want to add additional broth to thin before reheating.
What is orzo pasta?
If you haven't cooked with orzo, you're in for a treat. It's a small, rice-shaped pasta that cooks quickly in a short amount of time. I love the creamy texture it brings to so many recipes.
In this case, we're treating it almost like risotto, and you'll see the easy method I use to achieve this.
You may also enjoy Greek Roasted Chicken with Lemon Orzo or Greek Chicken and Orzo Skillet, too. For another soup recipe, try Minestrone Soup with Orzo and Kale.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. To make it vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and omit the addition of cooked chicken. For a vegan version, also swap the butter for a plant-based alternative (like vegan margarine or olive oil), and use full-fat coconut milk (instead of dairy milk), and skip or replace Parmesan with a vegan alternative.
You can use baby spinach, kale, arugula, or even Swiss chard. Just add them near the end so they wilt but retain some texture.
While orzo is ideal because it's small and cooks quickly, you could substitute small pasta shapes like acini de pepe, ditalini, or small shells. Just adjust cooking time accordingly and monitor as it simmers.
The soup works well for leftovers and for making ahead with this tip: the orzo tends to absorb liquid over time, so when reheating, add extra broth or water to thin it back out. This lemon chicken orzo soup is not ideal for freezing once the orzo is cooked (it can turn mushy). If you want to freeze, consider freezing the broth & vegetables separately (without orzo) and add orzo fresh when reheating.
Absolutely! That's one of the easiest ways to turn it into "Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup." Simply shred or dice pre-cooked chicken and stir it in near the end so it warms through.
Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta that cooks quickly. In this recipe, it works a bit like a risotto, adding texture and body to the soup.
To make it gluten-free, substitute the orzo with a gluten-free small pasta or gluten-free orzo alternative. Also double-check your broth and seasonings to ensure they're gluten-free.
More Recipes You May Also Love
Easy Soup Recipes
- Grandmother's Tomato Potato Soup
- 35 Winter Soup Recipes
- Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
- New Year's Day Black Eyed Peas Soup
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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots medium-sized, peeled and chopped finely
- 2 celery ribs chopped finely
- ½ onion medium-sized, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
- 6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and black pepper to taste
- ½ bunch greens like arugula, kale, or spinach
- ½ cup milk (whole, half and half, or full-fat coconut milk)
- 1 lemon for juice and zest
- fresh parsley for serving
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and chili flakes; cook until fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the butter and stir in the orzo. Sauté until golden; 1 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the broth, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the orzo is al dente, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the milk parmesan, greens, and lemon. Cook until few minutes or until the greens are wilted and the soup is warmed through.
- Divide the soup among bowls and top with Parmesan, black pepper, and fresh parsley.
Video
Notes
- Chicken: Use rotisserie, leftover, or poached chicken; stir in at the end to warm through.
- Orzo: Pasta will thicken the soup as it sits - add extra broth when reheating.
- Vegetarian Option: Use vegetable broth and omit chicken; add extra greens for heartiness.
- Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. When reheating, thin with broth; freezing is not recommended.
- Lemon Flavor: Adjust brightness by adding more juice just before serving.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I fried up some chicken breasts in the pot, then set it aside to rest while I cooked the veggies in the fond of the chicken. I added it back into the soup at the end. I think it really added a nice depth of flavor to everything, though this recipe is truly a standout all on its own. My whole family loves it including my picky four year old and my one year old.
You don't know how happy your story makes me, Eva! I had a VERY picky toddler and getting him to eat anything like soup was a miracle. Thank you for trying it and I love your adaptations.
Delicious and light soup! Perfect for a spring day. I used homemade chicken broth and lots of fresh herbs along with a little roasted garlic I had on hand. Yum!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Homemade chicken broth is THE best and, of course, lots of herbs. Thank you for trying it!
I chose to make it with chicken bone broth as opposed to vegetable broth and added some shredded chicken leftovers and it was wonderful! I think the parmesan really takes it to the next level. My husband and kids loved it! We will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation.
Hi Meg, I love the additions you made, the chicken bone broth is wonderful! It's such an easy, versatile recipe and I'm so glad your family loved it! Thank you for trying it and sharing how it worked for you.