Chicken Orzo Soup with Lemon & Dill
Who doesn’t love a good homemade chicken noodle soup?
This recipe is a lighter, refreshing spin on traditional chicken noodle soup.
Like a traditional chicken noodle soup, this soup is full of tender chicken, carrots, celery and onion. This is no ordinary chicken noodle soup though! Noodles are replaced by dried orzo pasta, then fresh dill, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and lemon zest are added at the end of the cooking time. The result is a wonderful chicken soup in a refreshing light lemony dill broth.
The Chicken
I’ve used bone-in chicken breasts, but you can use boneless chicken breasts, chicken thighs or even substitute leftover cooked chicken/rotisserie chicken.
If using cooked chicken, allow the vegetables to cook in the stock until the carrots are just slightly undercooked, then add the orzo. once the orzo is cooked add in the chicken, dill and lemon.
Leftovers
The soup will keep refrigerated for 4-5 days. The orzo will soak up some of the stock, so you will need to add more water or stock when you reheat the soup.
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large stock pot
Ingredients
- 2 sticks celery , diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled & diced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 6 cups chicken stock homemade or low sodium store-bought
- 2 chicken breasts Bone-in or boneless
- 1 cup dried orzo
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- ½ cup chopped dill or to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large stock pot over med-high heat. Add the celery, carrots and onion and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute
- Add the chicken stock and the chicken, making sure the chicken is submerged in the liquid Bring the soup to a boil. Cover the soup, reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 – 15 minutes. Note: Length of time will depend on whether the chicken is boneless or bone-in. The chicken is done when opaque through the middle and an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Add the orzo to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly el dente, about 8-10 minutes.
- While the orzo is cooking, cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Once the orzo is cooked, add the cut up chicken, lemon juice and zest and chopped dill to the pot, stirring to heat through. Taste and season with salt & pepper.
- Serve garnished with lemon slices and some fresh dill on top.