Lemon Rooster Orzo Soup (simple weeknight dinner!)

Rotisserie hen, orzo, and veggies are paired with a vibrant, lemony broth on this lemon hen orzo soup. This simple soup will add a little bit of brightness to a chilly, dreary day.

It’s soup season!

Yearly I get excited for colder climate as a result of it means I can bust out my soup pot and make one in every of my very favourite meals: soup!

Whether or not it’s a tacky loaded baked potato soup, a hearty beef and barley stew, or my low carb zuppa toscana, I like them ALL. 

This lemon hen orzo soup is one which provides a bit little bit of sunshine into a dismal fall or winter day. It’s loaded with hen, veggies, and loads of lemon and dill for tons and tons of taste. 

As an added bonus, it comes collectively fairly shortly, so it’s an incredible recipe to make on a weeknight if you’re low on time and power.

Shiny and lemony hen orzo soup

This lemon hen orzo soup is like hen noodle soup taken up a notch or two.

This soup pairs shredded rotisserie hen, carrots, spinach, and orzo pasta with the intense flavors of lemon and dill in a silky broth. 

In case you’ve ever had avgolemono – a Greek lemon hen soup made with rice – this recipe is comparable, however made with orzo as an alternative of the standard rice.

I like utilizing orzo in recipes like my one-pot lemon hen and orzo, Greek orzo salad, and zucchini orzo casserole. It’s a cute little pasta that cooks up fairly shortly and is a superb addition to a ton of recipes.

This soup comes collectively shortly, making it an incredible weeknight dinner recipe. When you prep your components, the soup itself solely takes about half-hour to prepare dinner. 

The lemon and dill within the broth give this soup a vibrant taste that makes even the dreariest winter day really feel extra sunshiny. 

The way to make my lemon hen orzo soup recipe

This simple soup comes collectively shortly for a comforting meal you possibly can throw collectively any evening of the week.

Components you’ll want

To make my lemon hen orzo soup, you’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 carrots, peeled and lower into ¼-inch-thick cash
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 8 cups hen inventory
• 1 1/2 cups raw orzo 
• 3 massive eggs
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Meat from 1 rotisserie hen (about 4 cups)
• 2 packed cups contemporary spinach
• 2 tablespoons contemporary dill, roughly chopped

I like utilizing the meat from a rotisserie hen as the bottom for tons of dinner recipes. Whether or not I’m making a soup, buffalo hen sliders, or hen pot pie casserole, it’s my favourite shortcut.

In case you can’t get your fingers on a rotisserie hen, you’ll want about 4 cups of cooked and cubed or shredded hen for this recipe.

I favor this soup with a mixture of carrots, onion, and spinach. In case you like celery, be at liberty to swap a few the carrots for two diced stalks of celery.

I do know that eggs appear to be a bizarre ingredient for soup, however belief me right here. Similar to in avgolemono, the eggs will assist barely thicken the inventory and provides it a silky texture – I promise it gained’t style like eggs!

Making this soup

To get began, seize your favourite soup pot and place it over medium warmth. Add the olive oil, together with the carrots, onions, and a pinch of salt.

Prepare dinner over medium warmth, stirring sometimes, till the onion is delicate and translucent. This normally takes round 8 minutes for me.

As soon as the onion is delicate, add the garlic and prepare dinner for 1 extra minute, then add the hen inventory. Let the combination come to a simmer.

As soon as the inventory is simmering, add the orzo. Proceed to simmer, stirring the soup sometimes, for 8-9 minutes or till the orzo is simply practically cooked by way of.

Whereas the orzo is simmering, whisk the eggs and lemon juice collectively in a bowl or measuring cup. When the orzo is almost performed, slowly drizzle 1/2 cup of the new inventory into the egg combination, whisking completely as you add it in.

Add the egg combination into the soup pot together with the hen. Let the soup simmer for one more 5 minutes earlier than including the spinach and the dill.

Style for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired earlier than serving.

Make-ahead and storage suggestions

This lemon hen orzo soup may also be made forward and reheated if you’re able to eat.

In case you’re making it the evening earlier than or within the morning, go forward and make the recipe as written. You may depart the spinach out and add it simply earlier than serving if you would like it to be much less wilted.

In case you plan to freeze the soup, I recommend ready so as to add the orzo and spinach. The orzo can take in plenty of the broth and get mushy after freezing and thawing.

While you reheat the soup, convey it to a simmer and add the raw orzo. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then add within the spinach earlier than serving.