Creamy chicken and orzo soup with a lemony burst of flavor! This soup will be one of your new fall favorites!
I am always so sad when it is time to say goodbye to summer but you know what? That sadness goes away quickly once I get into the fall groove with all the fall soups, football games, and pumpkin patches right around the corner.
This chicken and orzo soup is one of those that you will want to keep around forever and pass it down to family, friends, and whoever is in need of a good soup recipe. If those greens on top scare you, don’t let them. You can cut down the amount a bit but when they are tossed in a soup like this you barely even notice them, promise!
It takes a lot for me to get tired of soup season and I think that is why I get so excited for them every year. They make your kitchen smell wonderful and you can toss in all kinds of veggies and when your kids ask, I just say “Oh, that’s in there to make the soup taste good but you won’t even notice it.” Sometimes they don’t and sometimes they are little detectives spotting every tiny little unknown detail in my soups.
Ingredient List:
- Chicken breasts
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Celery
- Chicken broth
- Water
- Orzo
- Eggs
- Lemon juice
- Salt & Pepper
- Dried Dill
- Spring Greens
This chicken and orzo soup is a variation of Avgolemono, otherwise known as Greek Chicken Rice Soup. The sauce for the soup that thickens it and makes it extra creamy is the eggs whisked together with the lemon juice. That sauce is then slowly mixed in with the remainder of the soup to prevent it from scrambling.
I really love homemade chicken noodle soup but this soup is an amazing alternative! The addition of orzo in soup is sort of new to me and I absolutely love it.
Greek Chicken and Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts sliced thin lengthwise
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil + extra for brushing chicken
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 6 cups chicken broth 48oz carton
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup orzo
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup lemon juice 2 large or 3-4 small
- pinch kosher salt
- pinch black pepper
- pinch dried dill weed
- 1 cup spring greens
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165℉. Set aside to cool and shred.
- Meanwhile in a dutch oven or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3-5 minutes until softened. Add garlic, carrots, and celery and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and water and bring pot to a simmer over medium high heat and then reduce heat to maintain simmer as needed. Add orzo and cook according to package instructions to al dente. Remove pot from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with lemon juice. Slowly pour 1 ladle full of broth to the egg mixture and stir continuously to heat the eggs slowly. We do not want them to scramble! Very slowly, pour the eggs and broth into the soup stirring the soup continuously as you are doing so. Add shredded chicken to pot.
- Return pot to low heat. Add a pinch or two of Kosher salt, black pepper, and dill weed along with the handful of chopped greens.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
Italian Turkey Sausage and Orzo Soup
Minestrone Soup with Quinoa
Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
