This Greek lemon chicken orzo soup recipe is so comforting and satisfying. Packed with vegetables and orzo, this hearty chicken soup makes for a delicious weeknight dinner.
If you are looking for a new and tasty recipe to add to your soup recipes, look no more, this lemon orzo soup is it! Mediterranean cuisine, especially Greek, always use fresh and wholesome ingredients, which makes the food very flavorful. When it comes to soup recipes, I love using fresh herbs and ingredients to make them healthy, filling and satisfying. Our Mediterranean lentil soup recipe is a staple in our house and everyone loves a bowl of light and delicious avgolemono, which is a bit similar to today's recipe.
Table Of Contents:
Why this recipe works
When we're craving soup, this chicken orzo soup is one of the first options that comes to mind. It's simple, easy, and very delicious thanks to the herbs and spices used in the recipe. The addition of orzo makes the soup hearty and a bit thick and there is no need for you to add additional cream.
Since the chicken is roasted separately in the oven and then added to the soup at the very end, it keeps its delicious flavor and doesn't dry out at all. The addition of dill and spinach give such nice flavor and makes it a perfect weeknight dinner for chilly nights.
What is orzo?
Orzo, also known as risoni, is a short-cut pasta, shaped like a grain of rice. It can be served on its own, with seafood such as this lemon ginger shrimp orzo, in soup or even in salads. You can also add in to different casseroles, like our favorite meatball orzo casserole.
Orzo is an Italian product, however, there are equivalents to orzo in other cuisines: Kritharaki in Greek cuisine, Arpa sehriye in Turkish cuisine and Lisan al-usfur in Arab cuisine. To learn more about orzo, please check out Spruce Eats' article about orzo and how to cook it.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breast: You need boneless skinless chicken breast. It's also possible to use boneless and skinless chicken thighs or bone-in skin-on chicken pieces. Make sure to discard the bones and skin before adding the chicken to the soup.
- Onion and garlic: These would be the base of our soup. My recipe calls for 6 cloves of garlic, but you can use fewer cloves.
- Carrot: Adds a nice color and flavor to the soup. You can add more or less depending on your liking.
- Potato: Russet or yukon gold potatoes work best for this recipe.
- Spices: You need Mediterranean spices including oregano, salt, paprika and cumin.
- Chicken stock: You can use homemade or store-bought chicken stock or even vegetable stock.
- Orzo: Find dry orzo in the pasta section of any supermarket.
- Dill and spinach: Fresh dill works best for this recipe, but if not available, dried dill would work, too. If using baby spinach, there is no need to chop it however if you're going to use regular spinach, it's best to chop it.
- Lemon: Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds so much flavor and brightness to the soup.
How to make lemon chicken orzo soup
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush the chicken breast with olive oil on both sides and generously season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until the chicken breast is completely cooked. Let it cook for a few minutes and then shred or chop it.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Add in carrots and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add the potatoes and the spices to the soup and stir well. Pour in the chicken stock or water and bring the soup to simmer. Add the orzo to the soup and let the soup cooks on medium until the orzo is completely cooked. Add the chicken to the soup.
- Stir in the spinach, dill and lemon juice. Let the soup cook for a few minutes until the spinach is wilted. Taste the soup and add more salt or lemon if needed. Serve warm.
Other cooking methods
Here are the instructions on how to make lemon chicken orzo soup in the slow cooker and the instant pot.
- Slow cooker instructions
- Brush the chicken with olive oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the slow cooker and add chopped onion, garlic, carrots, potatoes, spices and chicken stock to the crock pot. Cook on high for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
- Take the chicken out and shred it or chop it. Return the chicken back to the crock pot and add the orzo to the soup. Cook uncovered on high for 30 minutes until the orzo is cooked and then add lemon, dill and spinach.
- Cook for a few more minutes until spinach is wilted. Do a taste test to make sure you've added enough salt and lemon, then serve.
- Instant pot instructions
- Cut the chicken into small chunks and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Turn the pot on to sauté function. Heat the olive oil in the pot and sauté onion and garlic until golden. Add in the chicken and sauté until golden on all sides. Add in the carrot and potato plus the spices along with the orzo. Give it a nice stir and then add 6 cups chicken stock.
- Secure the lid and turn the steam knob to sealing. Press the pressure cook (manual) button and set the timer for 5 minutes. When the cooking time is done, do a quick release.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and add the lemon, spinach and dill. Press the sauté button and let the soup simmer until spinach is wilted. Taste and add more salt or lemon if needed.
Serving suggestions
This Greek lemon chicken orzo soup is a complete meal on its own. You can serve it with a side salad such as Greek salad, Mediterranean salad or cucumber tomato feta salad. It would also go well with some fresh bread such as lavash.
Storage and freezing
Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can reheat this soup in the microwave or in a sauce pan over medium heat.
You can also freeze this soup. It's best to make the soup without lemon, dill and spinach and freeze it in a freezer safe container until you're ready to heat it.
When ready to heat it, take the frozen soup out of the container and into a pot. Add ½ cup water, turn the heat to medium and let the soup heat in the pot. Once the soup is hot and simmering, add spinach, lemon juice and dill. Give it a stir and cook until the spinach is wilted. When you add the the spinach and dill fresh, the soup will taste much better.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're out of fresh dill, simply use one tablespoon dried dill or just leave it out. I have made this recipe without dill and it's still very tasty.
You don't need to use any cream in this orzo soup. Mediterranean soups are lighter and usually don't use dairy such as cream in them. This soup is a little bit thick because of the orzo and potatoes, and there is no need to add cream to it.
Yes, you can easily make this soup ahead of time and reheat it for dinner. I suggest that you don't add the spinach, dill and lemon until you're heating it and about to serve. Freshly added spinach and lemon make this soup absolutely tasty.
Yes, you can use leftover baked, grilled or poached chicken to make this soup. Shredded rotisserie chicken would work as well.
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cup carrots diced
- 1 large russet potato peeled and cubes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup orzo
- ½ cup fresh dill chopped
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 2 lemon juice of
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush the chicken breast with 2 tablespoons olive oil on both sides and generously season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until the chicken breast is completely cooked. Let it cook for a few minutes and then shred or chop it.
- As the chicken is cooking in the oven, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown.
- Add in carrots and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the potatoes, dried oregano, paprika, cumin and the remaining salt to the soup and stir well.
- Pour in the chicken stock and bring the soup to simmer. Add the orzo to the soup and let the soup cooks on medium until the orzo is completely cooked. Add the shredded chicken back to the soup.
- Stir in spinach, dill and lemon juice. Let the soup cook for a few minutes until the spinach is wilted. Taste the soup and add more salt or lemon if you like. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Slow cooker chicken orzo soup recipe:
-
- Brush the chicken with 2 tablespoons olive oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the slow cooker and add chopped onion, garlic, carrots, potatoes, spices and chicken stock to the crock pot. Cook on high for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
- Take the chicken out and chop or shred. Return the chicken back to the slow cooker and add the orzo pasta to the soup. Cook uncovered on high for 30 minutes until the orzo is cooked and then add lemon, dill and spinach.
- Cook for a few more minutes until spinach is wilted. Taste the soup before serving and add more salt or lemon if needed.
- Lemon chicken orzo soup in instant pot:
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- Cut the chicken into small chunks and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Turn the pot on to "saute" function. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the pot and saute onion and garlic until golden. Add in the chicken and saute until golden on all sides (don't skip this step). Add in the carrot, potato, spices and the orzo. Give it a nice stir and then add 6 cups chicken broth.
- Secure the lid and turn the steam knob to sealing. Press the pressure cook (manual) button and set the timer for 5 minutes. When the cooking time is done, do a quick release. It's best to place a kitchen towel on the instant pot when doing a quick release to prevent the drops.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and add the lemon, spinach and dill. Press the sauté button and let the soup simmer until spinach is wilted. Taste and add more salt or lemon if needed.
- I used white orzo which cooks quicker. If using whole wheat orzo, make sure to increase the cooking time on all three methods of cooking.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can reheat this soup in the microwave or in a sauce pan over medium heat.
- If the soup is too thick, add more water or chicken stock to the soup. You can also substitute water for chicken stock in this recipe.
Andrea Martin
Wow! I used rotisserie chicken to save time but other than that followed the recipe as written and it is absolutely perfect! The fresh dill with just the right amount of acid from the lemon, will definitely be making this again.
Jodi Fritz
Second time making this... what a wonderful soup! Hearty and comforting without being "heavy". The large dose of lemon juice really brightens it up. Great transitional weather soup... perfect for a warm but dreary Spring day, like today! It's planned for lunch.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Glad you enjoyed this soup Jodi!
Tara
Definitely a wonderful, cozy option for dinner! I love all those flavors. So comforting and easy!
Jamie
I love soups like this that are hearty, satisfying, and warming. It was perfect for a cold day like today!
Sharon
The tender chicken paired with the orzo and bright lemon in this dish is all so perfect together. Perfect cold-weather meal.
Priya Srinivasan
Wow that soup looks loaded with flavors! Such a warm and comforting bowl of food!!!
Angela
This soup is delicious. I love the dill and lemon flavors. Can't wait to make it again.
Marsha
This soup was absolutely delicious! Such a comfort meal.
Brandy
This soup is just what I was looking for! It was so delicious, full of flavor and easy to make! I can't wait to make it again!
Jenn
Hellooooo delicious! This soup is so cozy and comforting and I absolutely love the flavors! Thanks for the recipe
!
Lisalia
Chock full of veggies... we loved this soup. The best way to welcome fall. But what really did it for me was the fresh dill! What a great secret ingredient. Added just the right depth of flavor!
Bridget
Awesome soup so much flavor
Jess
In the instructions you didn’t put when to add the chicken back to the soup! I added once the orzo cooked a little bit.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Oops! Just edited, thanks! Yes, you added it at the right time!
Beth
I am so happy I picked up some orzo pasta the other day! I'm excited to give this a try!
Blossom Smith
I needed a recipe that combined chicken thighs and potatoes, b/c that is what I had! This was really good…much better than the average soup. Hearty, but not overly thick either. It will be going in our regularly used recipes. Thanks!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Glad to know you enjoyed it! Thank you for your comment!