Healthy and budget friendly, this lemon chicken orzo soup uses everyday ingredients to make something truly incredible. It’s bright and cozy in every way!
This lemon chicken orzo soup recipe is quickly becoming a new favorite in my house! It’s easy to make, requires just pantry staples, keeps well, and freezes beautifully. What’s not to love?
It has all the cozy, feel-good comfort as classics like ike Greek Avgolemono (chicken and rice soup) and Persian Soupe Jo (chicken and barley soup). The secret to these Mediterranean favorites? A good hit of fresh lemon juice.
That citrusy zing balances the richness of the chicken and brings all the flavors to life. Add in tender chicken breasts, plenty of vegetables, warming spices, fresh herbs, and orzo pasta, and you’ve got a hearty, feel-good bowl that works for cozy weeknight dinners or quick workday lunches.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All of the ingredients for this lemon chicken orzo soup are easy to find. You’ll need:
- Extra virgin olive oil: I like a medium-intensity EVOO here, like our rich and mildly peppery Italian Nocellara.
- Veggies: Onion, celery, carrots, frozen peas, and green onions.
- Garlic: Adds a peppery kick.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are lighter, cook quickly, and are easy to shred. You can use other parts of the chicken, just be sure to cook to 165°F.
- Chicken stock: Use homemade or a low-sodium store bought variety.
- Spices: Dried oregano, turmeric, red pepper flakes (or use Aleppo pepper for a milder option.)
- Parsley: Substitute with cilantro, mint, or dill.
- Uncooked orzo pasta: Orzo is a small pasta. It will cook in the chicken broth.
- READ MORE: All About Orzo.
- Lemon: Opt for untreated lemons if you can, as you’ll use both the zest and the juice. Lime would also work here, the soup will just be even brighter.
How to Make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Learning how to make lemon chicken orzo soup isn’t much different from other chicken soup recipes! Simply chop and saute your veggies, add the chicken, stock, and orzo, then finish it with herbs, and lemon:
- Get ready. Chop 1 yellow onion and 2 celery stalks. Peel and slice 2 carrots into 1/4-inch rounds. Mince 3 garlic cloves.
- Soften the vegetables. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy cooking pot over medium-high. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the veggies have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Poach the chicken. Add 2 chicken breasts, 4 cups chicken stock, and 2 cups water. Season with 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and another dash of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low. Cook until the chicken is nearly fully cooked, 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon out any foam that bubbles to the top of the cooking liquid.
- Meanwhile, get your finishing touches ready. Zest and juice 2 lemons. Trim and chop 2 green onions. Ready yourself 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.
- Cook the orzo. Transfer the chicken to a rimmed plate for now. To the pot, add 3/4 cup orzo and 1 cup frozen peas. Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a boil.
- Shred the chicken. Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts into smaller pieces. Add the shredded chicken to the pot and cook until the orzo is tender (al dente), about 8 minutes longer.
- Finish and serve. Turn the heat off and stir in the lemon juice and zest, green onion, and fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Make Ahead Tips
This Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is perfect for meal prep! If you’re making it ahead, I recommend cooking the orzo separately. It tends to absorb the broth and become mushy over time. Just boil the orzo on its own, then stir it into the soup right before serving—or cook it in advance and store it separately in the fridge.
What to Serve with Chicken Orzo Soup
This soup is filling enough to stand on its own, but a salad is always a welcome addition. Throw one of these together while the soup is bubbling away on the stove:
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 breast halves)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper)
- 3/4 cup orzo
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 2 green onions, trimmed and chopped (whites and green parts)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Soften the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy cooking pot over medium-high. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the veggies have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Poach the chicken. Add the chicken, chicken stock, and water. Season with the oregano, turmeric, red pepper flakes, and another dash of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low. Cook until the chicken is nearly fully cooked, 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon out any foam that bubbles to the top of the cooking liquid.
- Cook the orzo. Transfer the chicken to a rimmed plate for now. To the pot, add the orzo and peas. Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a boil.
- Shred the chicken. Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts into smaller pieces. Add the shredded chicken to the pot and cook until the orzo is tender (al dente), about 8 minutes longer.
- Finish and serve. Turn the heat off and stir in the lemon juice and zest, green onion, and fresh parsley. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Leftovers: Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The orzo will continue to absorb liquid as it sits, so you will likely need to add some broth when you warm it up. To reheat, simply add it to a saucepan (with more broth or water) and turn the heat up to medium.
- Prep ahead: Cook the orzo separately, then stir it into the soup right before serving—or cook it in advance and store it separately in the fridge. You can also freeze the soup, without the orzo, for up to 3 months, and add the cooked orzo just before serving.
Nutrition
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LOVE this soup!!!!! And I’m not a big soup person. I have made it many times. Thank you!
Yay! So happy to hear this has been such a hit for you!
This was delicious – thank you for the recipe! We decided to try it as a change from avgolemono. It’s so refreshing, unique, and perfect for a cool fall day.
We’ll definitely be making it again.
(I should note I used cilantro instead of parsley as a personal preference.)
I made this soup tonight and it was wonderful! Just what I was looking for. My husband isn’t a huge fan of soup, but he agreed to try it and ended up loving it! He wants me to make it again. I was tempted to add more orzo, but didn’t because others said there wasn’t enough liquid. But I could have added a little more, as there was plenty of broth. I followed the recipe and it was perfect. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to comment and review Sharon! Love hearing this one was a hit for you!
My husband was ill, so made this earlier this week as I wanted something beyond the normal, garden variety chicken noodle soup. This hit the SPOT! I’d even go so far as to say that this soup has some curative properties! Incidentally, I just started a liquid diet today, as I am having gastric bypass surgery next Friday, and the broth of this soup really hit the spot!
One question, though; while I see the nutritional information per serving at the bottom, it does not say what one serving equals. Can you quantify that in oz.? Thanks!
Hi, Quee! So glad to hear you guys loved the recipe! Good luck with your surgery next week!! Once made, this particular recipe can be divided 6 to get the approximate “serving size”. The exact serving size measurement (by grams, cups, etc) is another layer that’s harder for us to precisely calculate at the moment, but we’re working on it!
This was great! Only issue is my chicken came out tough. Any tips to avoid that?
Hi, Britta. Many times this happens if the chicken is overcooked, so you may need to reduce the cooking time there. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer to test for doneness. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees F.
Excellent recipe for delicious soup! My family loves it! What would be a good substitute for the chicken for a vegetarian version?
Hi, Colleen! We haven’t tried it as a vegetarian soup but you could add chickpeas in place of the chicken and use vegetable broth. We do have a ton of vegetarian soups on the website here are a few of our favorites: Fasolada (Greek Bean Soup), Lablabi, Homemade Vegetable Soup. I hope this helps.
Delicious ! I will double the recipe next time. Can this be frozen?
Hi, Lorena. Yes! If you plan to freeze it, though, I would leave out the orzo until you are ready to reheat and serve.
This was fantastic. I will double the recipe next time. I used farro because that’s what I had and one lemon only which was the perfect amount for us. Used shedded rotisserie chicken and added it in with the peas. Super easy and delicious. Thank you!!
Great soup!
Omg!! I made this today and talk about a flavor party, wow, it’s amazing!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I made this last night for my family. Oh my goodness!! It was so amazing, the favors were unlike anything I’d ever tasted. It took chicken soup to the next level. Thank you!
If I dont have frozen peas can I use canned and just put them in at the end?
Sure! That’ll be just fine :).
Best soup. Flavours explode. Even my husband liked and he doesn’t like soup.
Awesome! Thanks, Susan!
I made the recipe exactly as stated and I recommend using half the amount of red pepper flakes, mine came out super spicy, also suggest less lemon, super lemony and spicy was my end result. Otherwise this was the best egg free recipe I’ve tried making. Thank you.
We tried it tonight. Notwithstanding the quality of Your printed book, which we immediately bought after having seen a few videos, this was a game-changer tonight. Although not quite “amateurs” at the “piano” as they say in French, this was a FANTASTIC discovery.
We’ll keep on following your tremendous work, just as we follow Pasquale Sciarappa, Gennaro Contaldo, Lidia Bastianich and some others.
Seasons greetings from tiny Luxembourg, all the very best to YOU and Your family for 2023!
Sincerely yours,
Luke, from Luxembourg, Europe.
What a lovely, flavorful soup! I doubled the recipe minus 1 lemon as
it is so very bright enough with 3 lemons. Also subbed the oregano with 1/2 basil.
It was a hit with my family and i will be making again.. again. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it, Anne!
This soup is a keeper! Definitely will be on the menu during the cold months, delicious! Thank you!