Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (Printer View)

Tender chicken and orzo mingle with fresh spinach and lemon zest for a bright, comforting dish.

# Components:

→ Poultry

01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
04 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
05 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 4 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

→ Pantry

07 - 1 cup orzo pasta
08 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
09 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Flavorings

10 - Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
11 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
12 - 1 bay leaf
13 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Garnish

14 - Fresh dill or parsley, chopped
15 - Lemon wedges

# Method:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add diced chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned but not fully cooked through.
04 - Pour in chicken broth and add bay leaf and dried oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
05 - Stir in orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until orzo is tender and chicken is cooked through.
06 - Remove bay leaf. Stir in spinach, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Simmer for 2 minutes until spinach is wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
07 - Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with fresh dill or parsley and extra lemon wedges if desired. Serve hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in under an hour, which means you can make it on a weeknight without the usual soup-day planning stress.
  • The lemon juice does all the heavy lifting for flavor, so you don't need cream or butter to make it feel indulgent.
  • It's naturally dairy-free but tastes like something you'd find at a fancy bistro, not a restriction.
  • Leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavors deepen and marry together.
02 -
  • If you add the spinach too early, it will turn dark and the soup loses that fresh quality that makes it special—wait until the very end no matter how impatient you feel.
  • Don't skip tasting and adjusting the seasoning at the end because the lemon needs salt to really express itself, and every lemon is a little different in how much juice it gives.
  • If you want to make this richer without dairy, whisk an egg yolk with a few tablespoons of the hot broth, then slowly stir it into the pot off the heat—it creates this silky texture that feels almost luxurious.
03 -
  • Make extra and freeze it without the lemon juice, then add fresh lemon when you reheat—this way the brightness never fades and tastes almost new every time you open the container.
  • If your broth tastes flat, that's usually a sign it needs more salt, so add it slowly and taste as you go rather than assuming the ingredient list got it right.
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