Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup made in the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. A delicious and healthy soup with tender chicken, lots of veggies and orzo pasta. A perfect meal for the cold weather!
Near my workplace, I used to enjoy this Lemon Chicken Orzo soup at Corner Bakery. I always wanted to make this at home, so I could share the goodness with my family. Now that I am not working at that company, I have been missing the soup even more. So here is my take at this hearty soup!
How to make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup?
If you have made Chicken Noodle soup, this is kind of similar, but not exactly the same. I use orzo pasta in place of noodles. Orzo is shaped like grains of rice, and are great as a side or in salads. They are a perfect carb addition to this soup.
In this recipe, I cut the chicken to small pieces and add right after the onions. It helps with making this quicker, as I don’t have to cook the chicken separately. However if you prefer shredded chicken, you can always cook the chicken separately, then shred it while the other ingredients are cooking and add it along with the cream.
This is not a super thick soup, unlike my Creamy Broccoli Cheddar soup (If you haven’t already, you must try it!). In the Broccoli Cheddar soup, I make a roux before pressure cooking. In this soup, as we are cooking pasta along with the soup, it naturally thickens a bit. And if you refrigerate it to enjoy the next day, it thickens even more.
Here is a quick video to show how easy it is to make this soup in the Instant Pot:
Here are other Instant Pot Soups you might enjoy:
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3/4 cup Onion diced
- 1 tbsp Garlic minced
- 1/2 lb Chicken cut in small pieces
- 3/4 cup Carrot grated or cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup Celery cut into small pieces
- 1/2 tsp Salt adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- 1/3 cup Orzo
- 2 cup Broth Veggie or Chicken
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Cream heavy whipping
- Parsley leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and heat it. Add oil, onions and garlic. Stir and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken and mix with the onions. Spread them in the pot and let them saute for 3 minutes.
- Add carrots, celery, orzo, salt, pepper, thyme and broth. Stir well. Press Cancel and close the lid with vent in sealing position.
- Set the instant pot on MANUAL or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 6 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually. Open lid and stir the soup.
- Stir in lemon juice, cream and parsley. Press Saute and let the soup come to a quick boil in about a minute.
- Soup is ready to be served.
Notes
- Orzo pasta I used had a cook time on the pack of 9 minutes, so I cooked it in the soup for 6 minutes. Adjust the cooking time if the orzo you use has a different cooking time.
- I have used Better Than Bullion base to make broth. It is just easier to keep at hand for all my cooking. You may want to skip adding salt if using this.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Love this recipe! Do you use raw chicken or does it have to be cooked already?
Hello Amy – I used raw chicken in this recipe. If using pre-cooked chicken, you can add it after pressure cooking and give the soup a boil. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Do you have recommendations on how to make it dairy-free?
Hello – You can use almond milk or coconut milk to make this soup dairy free. Hope you enjoy it!
On the whole, I liked this recipe. I used chicken thigh meat. It needed a little more salt and savory seasoning, so I added in a few pinches of Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute blend. I only had Meyer lemon on hand, but I think regular lemon would work better here. Next time, I will add in a small potato too.
Hi Sabrina – Thank you for sharing back your review and the changes you made!
Hello, I’ve made this many times and love it! My very picky husband also loves it (but when he will be eating I basically mince the onion so it blends in with the orzo and he doesn’t notice it lol). I want to make some for my neighbor who is sick, but thought I should cook the orzo separate, and have it added to each bowl right before eating/while heating up. That way leftovers won’t soak up so much liquid while in the fridge.
Have you tried this? Any advice on how much liquid I might need to leave out of the soup if making orzo separate? Do you foresee any issues doing it this way? (I would probably make orzo in the same type broth I would use for the soup).
Thank you for an awesome recipe my family loves!
Hi Alex – Sorry for the late response. You can definitely add in cooked orzo later in the soup. Just heat it well with the soup before serving. I would reduce the broth when cooking the soup by 1/2 cup. So glad that you all enjoy the soup!
I made this the other night. My orzo has a cooking time of 9 mins also but it was over cooked at 6 minutes. Otherwise it was good
Hi Amanda – The instant pot cooks pasta in less time under pressure than package directions. Usually the cooking time for pasta under pressure is half of the package instructions. The reason being that the instant pot takes time to come to pressure and release pressure. Glad you liked the flavors in the soup!
Hello! If I wanted to make this vegetarian, what protein would you recommend to replace the chicken and how long should I cook it for? If I took out the protein all together and just did the veggies, how long do you recommend cooking it for? BTW I have made this as is and love it!! Thank you!
Hey Rupal – If I am cooking for my family, I would prefer to just add veggies in the soup along with the orzo. Some options for protein are – paneer, tofu, soya chunks. For only veggies, I would cook for 4 mins high pressure.
Amazing recipe! We use our instant pot multiple times a week and this is by far one if our favorite recipes. My husband calls this ‘crack’ soup because he can never get enough.
Hey Tammy – Glad you and your husband enjoy the soup. Thank you so much for sharing back your review. Love the crack soup analogy!
His was a pretty amazing soup.
I cooked it, then ate it a few hours later. It definitely did thicken up. I wish it stayed soupy.
Should I add more broth to keep it from thickening up?? Or water?
Hey Anjie – Glad you enjoyed the soup. Adding more broth will definitely help to keep it more soupy for later. If needed, you can also add some water when heating any leftovers (adjust salt to taste). Thank you for sharing your review!
Made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing! Cooked for 4 mins and my only suggestion would be that if using “Better Than Bouillon” broth I’d decrease the salt in recipe since I find it to be a bit salty. As an easy shortcut I purchased 1/2 lb cooked chicken at the deli section, didn’t have it sliced and just cubed it and tossed it in after sauteeing veggies. I also added extra lemon right before serving. Next time I’ll definitely double or triple recipe, it was THAT good!!!
Hey Katie – I am glad you enjoyed the recipe. Always great to get good feedback and hear how you changed it to your needs. I will mention to reduce salt as needed on the recipe. Thank you for the review 🙂