Creamy Orzo Chicken Soup is the best cold-weather comfort food. It's packed with shredded chicken and veggies in a creamy broth, and is easy to make in just one pot.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
This Creamy Orzo Chicken Soup is so good, it's the best chicken soup I've ever had! It's comforting, cozy, and perfect to warm you up when it's cold outside.
You'll love how easy it is to make in just one pot. It's packed with veggies and shredded chicken, then topped with a squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley for brightness.
You can use homemade shredded chicken, or if you want to make it even easier, use a rotisserie chicken. Have leftover turkey after the holidays? That works great, too!
The creaminess of this soup gives it some delicious chicken pot pie vibes, but it's light like a chicken noodle soup. You'll never want to buy canned soup again after making this one.
Are you looking for a vegetarian soup option? Try this Vegetable Soup with Orzo and White Beans.
Love creamy chicken dishes? You have to try this lighter Chicken Florentine!
Ingredients
- Onion, Carrots, Celery, and Garlic: The combination of yellow onion, diced carrots, diced celery, and minced garlic adds the perfect amount of savory flavor.
- Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil to sauté the veggies. This also helps blend with the flour to thicken the soup.
- Flour: You will mix all-purpose flour with olive oil and sautéed veggies to create a roux to thicken the soup.
- Chicken Broth: Opt for a low-sodium chicken broth.
- Milk: There's no need for heavy cream in this recipe. Just a half cup of your favorite type of milk works perfectly.
- Seasonings: A dried bay leave, dried thyme, sea salt, and pepper.
- Chicken: You can use homemade or rotisserie chicken, shredded into smaller pieces. Read more about how to make shredded chicken. If you have leftover turkey from the holidays, you could use that instead.
- Orzo: Dried orzo is perfect in chicken soup because of its small size. You could substitute for your favorite pasta or egg noodles. Adjust the cooking time according to the package directions if swapping out the orzo for another pasta.
- Lemon: A squeeze of fresh lemon juice to brighten up the soup.
- Peas: Frozen peas for a veggie-packed chicken soup.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley for a pop of color and flavor.
*The full ingredient list with amounts is in the recipe card below.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture, stirring until the vegetables are coated. Slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk, stirring constantly to ensure the flour fully incorporates and there are no lumps. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, add in the orzo. Cook, stirring often to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan, for 8 minutes or until al dente. Add in the shredded chicken and frozen peas. Cook for 2-3 more minutes or until peas are cooked through.
- Discard the bay leaf. Add in the lemon juice and fresh parsley. Season with sea salt and pepper, as desired. Serve warm and enjoy!
Expert Tip: Once you add the orzo to the soup, stir often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Variations
- Swap out the herbs. You can easily swap out the herbs for your favorite fresh or dried herbs. You could use an Italian seasoning blend. Other great chicken soup seasonings are thyme, rosemary, sage, basil, and parsley.
- Use your favorite veggies. Add in your favorite veggies like corn, green beans, and mushrooms.
- Add greens. When you add the peas, you could also stir in some chopped spinach or kale for some added greens.
- Make it without flour. Swap out the milk for heavy cream to make it without flour.
- Make it gluten-free. Leave out the flour and swap the orzo for gluten-free orzo. Be sure to adjust the cooking time according to package directions.
Serving Suggestions
This Creamy Orzo Chicken Soup is perfect for a cozy dinner. Serve it with soup crackers, saltines, or fresh crusty bread. It's also great as a side for sandwiches or grilled cheese.
Other sides for chicken soup are these Honey Wheat Dinner Rolls, Kale Apple Cheddar Salad, or Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Salad.
Make it for a sick neighbor, a friend who just had a baby, or anyone who could use comfort. See the make-ahead and storage instructions below for the best way to package it.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead: This soup is excellent for meal prep if you store it properly. Follow the storage and freezer methods to make ahead.
To Store: Strain the liquid from the soup and store it in the refrigerator in separate airtight containers for up to 3 days. I love to use mason jars with reusable mason jar lids. You could store it all together, however the orzo will absorb some of the liquid. If you store it together, add a little extra broth when reheating.
To Freeze: I don't recommend freezing this soup as is, since the pasta could absorb the liquid and become mushy, and the dairy may separate when thawed. To make it freezer-friendly, make it without the orzo and milk. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat. Add the milk while heating. Cook the orzo separately and add in when serving.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Orzo is a type of small pasta shaped like rice.
If your chicken soup tastes bland, add dried thyme, fresh minced rosemary, fresh or dried parsley, or even an Italian seasoning blend.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice 2 chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make four thinner pieces. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly season with sea salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through. Using two forks, shred the chicken.
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Creamy Orzo Chicken Soup is the best cold-weather comfort food. It's packed with shredded chicken and veggies in a creamy broth. It's easy to make in just one pot.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 1 large celery stalk, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup milk
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ cup uncooked orzo
- 1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
- ½ cup frozen peas
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and vegetables are tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture, stirring until the vegetables are coated. Slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk, stirring to ensure the flour fully incorporates and there are no lumps. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, add in the orzo. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring often to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan, for 8 minutes or until al dente. Add in the shredded chicken and frozen peas. Cook for 2-3 more minutes or until peas are cooked through.
- Discard the bay leaf. Add in the lemon juice and fresh parsley. Season with sea salt and pepper, as desired. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Once you add the orzo to the soup, stir often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
The best way to store this soup is to separate the liquid from the rest of the soup and store in separate air tight containers. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
You could store it all together, however the orzo will absorb some of the liquid. If you store it together, add a little extra broth when reheating.
Nutritional Values (per serving) are approximates only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 318
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 494.6 mg
- Fat: 11.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.7 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 23.9 g
- Cholesterol: 38.7 mg
Zeth says
I don’t normally like soup, but I emptied my bowl of this delicious, snowy evening meal. Good call on the corn variation.
Gloria Diaz says
Can’t wait to make this!! Thank you