Description
A bright and comforting Lemon Chicken Soup featuring tender chicken, fresh vegetables, and lemon juice with flavorful herbs. This recipe includes versatile cooking options including stovetop, crockpot, and instant pot, making it easy to prepare a hearty meal perfect for any season.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Base
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
Pasta
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
Finishing Touches
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare the Vegetables: In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic for 5 minutes until fragrant and slightly softened.
- Add Seasonings and Chicken: Stir in black pepper, parsley, thyme, salt, and bay leaves. Add the chicken breasts and chicken broth to the pot, stirring to combine all ingredients.
- Bring to Boil and Simmer: Cover the pot and bring to a boil, which takes about 10 minutes. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to meld flavors.
- Remove Chicken and Bay Leaves: Turn heat back to medium-high, remove chicken breasts and set aside to cool. Discard the bay leaves from the pot.
- Cook the Orzo: Add the orzo pasta to the pot and stir. Cook the orzo for half the time recommended on the package, as it will continue cooking off heat.
- Shred the Chicken: While the orzo cooks, shred the chicken breasts using two forks into bite-sized pieces.
- Finish the Soup: Remove the pot from heat. Add shredded chicken and fresh lemon juice to the soup, stirring to combine evenly. The residual heat finishes cooking the pasta and warms the chicken.
Notes
- You can substitute orzo with other small pasta shapes, but it’s best to cook the pasta separately and add to the soup before serving to control firmness.
- Tossing a parmesan cheese rind into the cooking soup boosts flavor with a rich, savory depth.
- Any broth type works well—bone broth, chicken stock, or vegetable broth can be used depending on preference.
- For a vegetarian version, replace chicken with beans and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
