This lemon chicken orzo soup with spinach has loads of lemon and fresh herbs! It makes for one comforting dinner when the weather has a little chill and will warm you right to your toes!
Hi everyone! How’s the weekend treating you? Splendidly, I hope! Have you been hibernating too? Being bundled up inside got me thinking.
What are some things that you have to have stocked in your fridge or pantry at all times? Like, if you can’t go through the door, can you still make something sensible to eat?
Me?
Onions, garlic, olive oil, dried and fresh chili peppers, canned tomatoes, canned fish (I’m looking at you sardines and tuna), broth, beans/lentils and lemons. Always.
Ok, there may be one more thing …
Wine. Ha!
With those few things, you can make just about anything. Plus, they’re typically some sort of component in many of my recipes. Today, the shining ingredient is lemon in this lemon chicken orzo soup recipe!
This lemony soup is absolutely bursting with fresh flavours! There’s tons of herbs and baby spinach. Both lemon zest and juice give you a punch to the taste buds. Definitely much needed during winter, don’t ya think?
What Is Orzo?
Orzo is a type of short pasta that looks like rice. Yep, pasta.
Even when I picked up this orzo at my local bulk food store, the cashier said “Is that a type of rice?” as he was trying to find the code (because in a rush, I didn’t write it down. I know, bad Dawn).
“No,” I said. “It looks like rice, but it’s actually a pasta.”
Look at me being a little foodie nerd, LOL. Yep, that’s me. I picked this orzo up at a bulk food store, but you could easily find in your grocery store right where you would find spaghetti, linguine and the like.
You cook orzo like you would pasta (in a pot of boiling salted water). For this lemon chicken soup, I threw the orzo directly into the pot to cook in there. Easy! Plus, no additional dirty pots to clean!
How To Make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Cook onions and then garlic.
- Add carrots, celery, herbs, salt and pepper.
- Pour in chicken broth and cook for a bit.
- Orzo goes next and cook until tender.
- Add cooked chicken and spinach.
- Finish with parsley, lemon zest and juice.
- Remove bay leaves, portion and enjoy!
How to Zest Lemon
There are a few ways to zest lemons but whatever you do, always zest before juicing! If you cut and juice your lemon before zesting, removing the zest won’t be as easy.
First, make sure your lemon is washed thoroughly (preferably organic) and dry. So, to zest a lemon, you could use:
- Microplane. Rub the lemon against the blades, turning as you go and only getting the yellow part, not the pith (white part) because it’s bitter.
- Pairing knife. Carefully cut just the yellow part from the lemon. Cut into thin strips and finely mince. I’m not a huge fan of this method.
- Vegetable peeler. Again, carefully cut just the yellow part from the lemon. Cut into thin strips and finely mince.
- Or my fave, which is a box grater on the finest grate that’s there.
Can I Use Lemon Juice Instead of Lemon Zest?
This lemon chicken soup uses both lemon juice and zest (because I’m a huge fan of lemon and I think it really adds something special to the recipe).
If you like things a little more subtle, just use lemon juice. Add a little and then taste.
If you want more zing, add a little more juice and taste again. The zest is more potent than the juice, in my opinion, so you can totally omit if you like.
Tips for Making This Recipe
- I used leftover store-bought rotisserie chicken (and a mixture of white and dark meat), but you can totally cook some chicken at home to make this soup.
- Just ⅔ cup of orzo was used here (about 10 tablespoons), but if you want to add a little more you totally can. I would recommend no more than 1 cup. If you do, though, you may want to add a little more broth.
- You could use less or more lemon, whatever your preference. I enjoy the lemon flavour. After all, it is “lemon” chicken soup. I would suggest starting with the juice of one lemon and then seeing if you want more juice and any zest. Again, it’s easier to add than take away.
Recipe Variations
- Baby spinach was used, but you could totally omit or use kale or swiss chard (they will have to be cooked a tad longer, though, to break down).
- I used a combination of fresh parsley, rosemary and thyme. However, you could use any one, two or all three of those herbs if you like. Oregano works lovely too!
- If you don’t have orzo on hand, use another type of small pasta like acini di pepe, stars or alphabet pasta.
More Yummy Chicken Soup Recipes
If you make this lemon chicken soup recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup With Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices
- 2 ribs celery, cut into ¼-inch slices
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ⅔ cups orzo
- 1 pound cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
- 4 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
- 4 to 5 tablespoons lemon juice, from about 1.5 lemons (depending on how much lemon flavour you want)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, zest the lemon before juicing
- small bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. (I used an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.)
- Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add carrots, celery, salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Stir. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in orzo, lower to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked chicken. Continue to cook the soup for another 5 minutes or so until the orzo is tender and cooked. Add spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until wilted.
- Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley. Remove bay leaves and discard. Note: If you want more lemon flavour, you can add more lemon juice to taste.
- To serve, divide the soup into bowls and enjoy!
Notes
- I used leftover rotisserie chicken (and a mixture of white and dark meat), but you can totally roast off some chicken to make this soup.
- Just ⅔ cup of orzo was used here (about 10 tablespoons), but if you want to add a little more you totally can. I would recommend no more than 1 cup. If you do, though, you may want to add a little more broth.
- Always zest lemons before juicing because it will be easier to get that zest off.
- You could use less or more lemon, whatever your preference. I enjoy the lemon flavour. After all, it is “lemon” chicken soup. I would suggest starting with the juice of one lemon and then seeing if you want more juice and any zest. Again, it’s easier to add than take away.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
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Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Kim Burke
I used *Butler Soy Curls (for the chicken) and vegan Better Than Bouillon Chicken (in place of the broth) and it turned out amazing. My herbs were all fresh from my garden.
* 1 pound after hydration (don’t measure dry)
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Sounds delicious, Kim!! So happy you were able to adapt the recipe to make it vegan…and you can’t beat freshly picked herbs!!
Pennsylvania
Wow this warms you up. The lemon brightens the soup and was a delightful surprise. Really liked this soup and will definitely make again!
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thank you very much! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!