My sister just had her first baby. So I took her this soup and some homemade sprouted wheat bread. Because what is more comforting than a soup/bread combo?

This lemon chicken orzo soup is nourishing and flavorful with a little lemony zing. It’s similar to my brown rice, chicken, and veggie soup, which I also take to new mothers, but with the lemon and orzo this soup is a little more…interesting.

I use homemade chicken bone broth in this soup as well as fresh lemons and fresh vegetables. I use the extra meat from a whole roasted chicken, so it’s ready to go and I don’t have to actually cook the chicken just for this soup. I like to use this DeLallo whole wheat orzo, but sometimes whole wheat orzo is hard to find and then I just use regular ol’ orzo. I found this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup recipe at Two Peas & Their Pod and I’ve made it a lot since then. It’s just really good.

And…meet little Theo. He’s the sweetest tiny little bundle. Now you’ll know what to take to those new mothers. Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Two Thirds Cup

Serves: Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 cups chicken broth
• Zest of 2 lemons
• Juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ cup)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1½ cups orzo pasta
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
5. Add the orzo, chicken, salt, and pepper and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until orzo is tender.
6. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and serve hot.

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