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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Lemon chicken orzo soup with a bright lemon-herb broth and tender orzo, plus optional avgolemono egg-lemon thickening. Sautéed onion, carrots, and celery simmer with chicken, then simmer again with orzo for a comforting, silky texture.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken breast
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast
Orzo pasta
  • 1 cup orzo pasta
Carrots
  • 3 carrots, sliced
Celery
  • 3 celery, sliced
Onion
  • 1 onion, diced
Garlic
  • 4 garlic, minced
Chicken broth
  • 8 cup chicken broth
Fresh lemon juice
  • 0.33 cup fresh lemon juice
Lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest
Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
Baby spinach
  • 2 cup baby spinach
Fresh dill
  • 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
Eggs (optional)
  • 2 eggs (optional, for Greek egg-lemon/avgolemono style) Optional for avgolemono style.
Salt and pepper
  • 1 Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté the vegetables
  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté onion, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes, stirring until softened and glossy. You should see the onion turn translucent and the carrots begin to soften.
  2. Add garlic and dried thyme and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly until fragrant. The mixture should smell toasted but not browned.
Simmer with chicken
  1. Pour in the chicken broth and add the chicken breast, then simmer for 18 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. The chicken should reach 165°F and the broth should show steady small bubbles.
  2. Remove the chicken from the pot, shred it, and return the shredded chicken to the soup. The shredded chicken should blend into the broth without large chunks.
Cook the orzo
  1. Add the orzo to the pot and cook for 8-9 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The soup should thicken slightly and the orzo should be just cooked.
Choose avgolemono or regular lemon finish
  1. For avgolemono style, whisk the eggs with the lemon juice until smooth. The mixture should look pale and creamy with no streaks.
  2. Slowly ladle hot broth into the egg-lemon mixture while whisking continuously, then stir the tempered mixture back into the pot. The soup should look slightly silkier and thicken gently without boiling hard.
  3. For regular style, stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest until evenly distributed. The broth should taste bright with visible lemon specks.
Finish and serve
  1. Add the baby spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until wilted. You should see the spinach turn dark green and collapse into the soup.
  2. Stir in the fresh dill, then season with salt and pepper to taste. The surface should look speckled with green dill and the flavor should be balanced.

Notes

Pro tip: If using avgolemono, keep the soup at a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil) when adding the egg mixture so it stays silky. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days; freeze up to 2 months, but for best texture, freeze only the soup before adding the eggs (or use regular style for freezing). Dietary swap: for a lighter version, use reduced-sodium chicken broth and trim any visible fat from the chicken.