Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

There's something about fall that drives me to want to eat soup every single day. This Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup was the perfect solution to my soup obsession... it seems like a traditional chicken soup but the addition of lemon really brightens up the dish.

The original recipe called for the use of boxed chicken stock but I had bone-in chicken available so I decided to make my own. If you want to go the boxed stock route, I'd suggest doing a 70/30 split of stock to water so it's not overwhelmingly salty. You can then bring that stock to a boil, add in boneless chicken alongside the aromatics, let it boil until the chicken is cooked, then complete the recipe as is.

However you choose to cook it up, I promise this will be a staple in your recipe box for years to come.

Enjoy :)

Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup


7 quart stock pot filled with 5 quarts water (I used my 7.25 quart Le Creuset dutch oven and eye balled the water).
2 pounds bone-in chicken breasts
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
3 medium celery stalk, sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
3 close of garlic, chopped
1 box frozen spinach
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cup orzo
Juice of 2 lemons

Bring pot of water to a rapid boil. Add bone-in chicken breasts, carrots, celery, shallot, parsley, and garlic. Boil on medium-high for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken from stock pot and allow to cool. Remove meat from the bones and return to the pot of stock. Add spinach and lemon juice and return to a boil.
Add orzo and cook until al dente. Serve with crusty bread.