Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
This lemon chicken orzo soup is comfort in a bowl. It is so flavorful with tender pieces of chicken in a lemony broth with orzo pasta, carrots, onions, celery, and baby spinach. This has quickly become one of my family's favorite soup recipes.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces orzo pasta
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 medium carrots chopped, or more to taste
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 32 ounce cartons fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 lemon zested
- 8 ounces cooked chicken breast chopped
- 8 ounce package baby spinach leaves
- 1 lemon sliced for garnish (Optional)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese Optional
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in orzo and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered until partially cooked through but not yet soft, about 5 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water until cooled completely.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion; cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften and onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Season mixture with thyme, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper; continue cooking another 30 seconds before pouring chicken broth into the pot.
- Bring broth to a boil. Partially cover the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir orzo, lemon juice, and lemon zest into broth; add chicken. Cook until chicken and orzo are heated through, about 5 minutes. Add baby spinach; cook until spinach wilts into broth and orzo is tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with lemon slices and Parmesan cheese.