Lemon Hen Orzo Soup | Cookies and Cups

This simple lemon hen orzo soup is made in a single pot with healthful components like tender shredded hen, savory herbs, egg yolks, and lemon. The broth is silky and the orzo pasta makes it additional satisfying! 

I like a fast stovetop soup recipe like this Mediterranean-inspired hen orzo soup with lemon. For an additional cozy soup crammed with recent components, give this Greek tomato feta soup a strive.

What Makes This Lemon Hen Orzo Soup So Good

This lemon hen orzo soup recipe places a vibrant and zesty twist on basic chicken noodle soup. It combines brined hen, savory herbs, veggies, and orzo pasta within the creamiest broth thickened with egg and lemon. You’re going to like the flavors! Right here’s why it’s the most effective:

• Lemon and egg yolks. This hen orzo soup mixes egg yolks and lemon juice into the broth, much like the way you’d make Greek avgolemono soup. The egg yolks enrich the broth whereas actual lemon zest and juice add tanginess. Collectively, they make a flavorful, creamy soup with out including any cream.
• Brined hen. Soaking the hen in salted water is an optionally available first step, but it surely seasons the hen and provides the flavors within the soup a serious increase.
• One pot. I cook dinner the hen, sauté the veggies, and put together the soup in the identical pot. It’s handy and creates layers of taste in a brief simmer time. As a bonus, clean-up is straightforward.

Soup Substances

I’ve included some notes on the components you’ll want for the soup. Scroll right down to the printable recipe card for a full record with quantities.

• Hen – I exploit boneless, skinless hen breasts as a result of they’re simple to shred, however any hen works. Use hen thighs, or you can also make this orzo soup with leftover cooked hen (extra on this later).
• Aromatics – Diced carrots, celery, and yellow onion type the flavour base of the soup. I additionally embrace freshly minced garlic to bulk up the aromatics.
• Hen Broth – This may be store-bought low-sodium hen broth, or I’ll typically use homemade chicken stock.
• Recent Dill – I like how savory recent dill performs off the lemony flavors. 
• Seasonings – Salt, pepper, and dried oregano.
• Orzo – Orzo is a short-cut pasta that appears like massive grains of rice. You may make this recipe with any pasta you like, it simply received’t technically be orzo soup on this case. You would even use homemade egg noodles.
• Egg Yolks – Similar to making avgolemono soup, you’ll mood egg yolks and add them again into the soup to assist it thicken.
• Lemons – Juiced and zested. You’ll need to use recent lemon on this recipe! 

Why Add Lemon Juice to Hen Soup?

Including lemon juice is an easy method to elevate hen soup, whether or not it’s on this recipe or in any other case. The acidity brightens the flavors the identical method lime juice does in my spicy Mexican chipotle lime chicken soup.

To brine the hen, add your hen breasts to a big pot of salt water and go away them to soak for quarter-hour. It’s high-quality to go away the hen within the resolution for longer, although in that case, you’ll want to transfer it to the fridge. Afterward, pat the hen dry earlier than you sear it.

Let’s Make Hen Orzo Soup With Lemon!

In case you’ve by no means made hen soup with lemon earlier than, you’ll be blown away by how wonderful the broth seems. The lemon freshens up the flavors whereas the egg makes the broth silky (much like how egg yolks emulsify to create a creamy, flavorful sauce in carbonara recipes).

Listed below are the steps. Scroll to the recipe card after the put up for printable directions.

• Cook dinner the components. Begin by browning the hen breasts in a big Dutch oven, then set them apart. In the identical pot, sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

• Make the soup. Now, you’ll add the hen breasts again to the pot together with the broth. Sprinkle over the dill and oregano, and season the soup to style whereas it involves a simmer. After 10 minutes, add the orzo and let that cook dinner by.
• Shred the hen. Take out the hen breasts and shred or cube them earlier than returning the items to the soup.

• End the soup. In a separate bowl, mood the egg yolks with a little bit of sizzling broth earlier than stirring them into the soup. Lastly, the lemon juice and zest get stirred in earlier than you’re able to serve. 

Can I Use a Rotisserie Hen As a substitute?

Positive! Whereas brining the hen and cooking it within the broth makes for an particularly flavorful hen orzo soup, if I’m pressed for time, I’ll add 3-4 cups of shredded rotisserie hen as an alternative. On this case, add the hen on the very finish, concurrently the lemon juice, and let it warmth by.

Serving Solutions

This zesty hen orzo soup with lemon makes a tasty gentle meal or lunch. I’ll typically serve it with fluffy garlic parmesan biscuit rolls or crusty selfmade French bread and dig in! As a facet, strive air fryer asparagus or a leafy inexperienced salad. This hearty Mediterranean couscous salad is one other good possibility, or you possibly can spherical out the meal with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

• Refrigerate. Retailer any leftover lemon hen orzo soup in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. 
• Reheat. Heat the soup within the microwave or on the stovetop. In case you discover that the soup has thickened up, add just a little extra hen broth when reheating.
• Freeze. You can too freeze this orzo soup hermetic for as much as 2 months. Defrost the soup within the fridge in a single day after which reheat.

Extra Hen Soup Recipes

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