Easy One Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup with Leeks
Easy One Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup with Leeks and fresh lemon juice and herbs
Ingredients
- 3 carrots about 2 cups chopped
- 3 leeks about 2 cups sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp fresh sage
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 large lemon for juice and zest
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- Salt and black pepper
Optional Toppings
- Fresh parsley
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Zest the lemon and set aside.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon and set aside.
- Chop the carrots into uniform slices, about 1/4 inch wide. Set aside.
- Slice the white, and a bit of the light green, parts of the leeks. Cut the slices in half to form half moon pieces.
- Clean the leeks very carefully. See the Tips & Tricks, below. Set aside.
- Lightly chop the fresh thyme. Cut the sage into very small pieces. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat.
- Carefully add the leeks and carrots, cooking until just starting to soften, about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the temperature to medium heat if the leeks start to brown.
- Add the fresh thyme and fresh sage to the pot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute.
- Pour in the chicken broth.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Stir in the orzo and let cook until tender, about 9 minutes.
- While the orzo is cooking, shred the chicken. I use the white breast meat and pull it into bite-sized pieces with my hands. You can also use two forks if you want to be neater. Add to a bowl and set aside.
- When the orzo is cooked, add the chicken to the soup and stir. Allow to heat through, about 3 minutes.
- Lightly salt and pepper to taste.
- Snip 1 tbsp fresh dill over the soup at the very end of the cooking time.
- You can snip some fresh parsley over the individual bowls of hot soup and/or add some freshly grated parmesan.
- Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over the soup for extra lemony broth.