Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a delicious and healthy soup made with tender chicken, lots of veggies, and orzo pasta. A perfect cozy, comforting, and nutritious meal for the cold weather!
Near my workplace, I used to enjoy this Lemon Chicken Orzo soup at Corner Bakery and Panera. I always wanted to make this at home to share the goodness with my family. I have missed the soup even more since I am not working at that company. So here is my take on this cozy and comforting soup!
Table of Contents
Watch How to Make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo Ingredients
If you have made Chicken Noodle soup, this is similar but not the same. I use orzo pasta in place of noodles. Orzo is shaped like rice grains and is great as a side or in salads. They are a perfect carb addition to this soup.
Chicken: I used boneless chicken breast, but chicken thighs can also be used in this recipe.
Orzo pasta: I love to use orzo pasta, shaped like rice grains. It is easy to add to any soup. Kids love it too. However, if you don’t have orzo, feel free to use other types of pasta.
Onion & Garlic: Add the perfect flavor and aroma to this soup. I use yellow onions in this recipe.
Carrots & Celery: We love to add these veggies to any soup for extra nutrition.
Lemon juice: This is the star ingredient to get the perfect flavor in this lemon chicken soup.
Broth: I use chicken broth in this soup. I used Better than Bouillon to make the broth. Adjust the amount of broth based on how thick or thin you like the soup.
Spices: This soup needs the most basic spices – salt, pepper, and thyme.
Parsley: fresh parsley leaves to garnish. You can also use dill leaves.
How to make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup?
- Sauté Veggies: Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and add oil, onions, and garlic. Stir and sauté for 2 minutes. Add carrots, celery, salt, pepper, thyme, and broth. Stir well.
- Add chicken and pressure cook: Place chicken breast on top and gently push it under the liquid. Press Cancel and close the lid with the vent in the sealing position. Set the instant pot on high-pressure cook mode for 6 minutes.
- Open & Shred Chicken: When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure manually and open the lid. Remove the chicken breasts from the soup and shred them with two forks.
- Cook the pasta: Add the orzo and shredded chicken to the instant pot. Set the instant pot on sauté mode for 6 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Then press cancel. (Note: if the chicken is already well cooked, hold off and add the chicken once the orzo pasta is almost cooked).
- Garnish & Serve: Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings. The soup is ready to be served.
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.
Make it on the Stovetop
- In a large pot, sauté the onions and garlic in butter or oil for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add the carrots and celery. Then pour the chicken broth with the salt, pepper, and spices.
- Place the chicken in the pot, and bring the pot to a boil.
- Then reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and cook for about 15 minutes.
- Open the lid, add the orzo pasta, and cook for another 8-10 minutes. The time will depend on the cooking time on the package of orzo. Stir often.
- Remove the chicken when the orzo is almost cooked, shred it with two forks, and add it to the soup.
- Add the lemon juice, and garnish with parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve and Enjoy!
How to serve?
This soup is great to serve as is topped with some lemon wedges. It has amazing immunity-boosting ingredients.
To make it heartier, serve it with some crusty bread to dip in the broth or a salad.
Pro-Tips
- Use thickly cut carrots & celery so that the veggies don’t overcook during pressure cooking.
- Use freshly minced garlic and fresh parsley to garnish for maximum flavor.
- Add a rosemary sprig to the instant pot before pressure cooking for extra flavor.
- You can still make this soup if you don’t have boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. After pressure cooking, discard the bones and skin when shredding the chicken.
- You can also make this a Lemon chicken orzo soup with spinach. Just add spinach at the end when the orzo is almost cooked. Stir it well until the spinach wilts in the soup.
Common Questions
Let the soup cool down to room temperature. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Reheat the soup in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. The pasta will likely soak up all of the liquid when stored. Add some chicken broth or water before reheating.
If you would like to meal prep and freeze this soup, freeze it before adding the pasta, as the pasta can be overcooked and mushy when frozen and thawed.
Freeze the soup for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and when reheating in a pot, add the orzo pasta. Then cook on sauté mode until the pasta is cooked.
Yes, you can use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. Skip the raw chicken breast before pressure cooking, and add the shredded rotisserie chicken and the orzo pasta to meld the flavors.
Here are other Instant Pot Soups you might enjoy:
- Sweet Corn Soup
- Instant Pot Lentil Vegetable Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Chicken Fajita Soup
- Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, or butter
- 3/4 cup Onion , diced, I used yellow onions
- 1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup Carrot, cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup Celery, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Thyme
- 2 cup Broth, Chicken, or Vegetable
- 1/2 lb Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless
- 1/3 cup Orzo
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon 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 carrots, celery, salt, pepper, thyme and broth. Stir well. Place chicken breast on top and push it under the liquid. 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, do a 10 minute NPR. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then open the lid.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the soup and shred with two forks.
- Add the orzo and shredded chicken back to the pot. Set the instant pot on saute mode for 6 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Then press cancel. (If the chicken is already well cooked, hold off and add it in once the orzo is almost cooked)
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Soup is ready to be served.
Stovetop Method
- In a large pot, sauté the onions and garlic in butter or oil for 2-3 minutes, over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and celery. Then pour in the chicken broth along with the salt, pepper and spices. Place the chicken in the pot, and bring the pot to a boil. Then reduce the heat, and cover with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes. Open the lid, and add the orzo pasta and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Take out the chicken when the orzo is almost cooked, shred with two forks and add it back to the soup. Add the lemon juice, and garnish with parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve and Enjoy!
Amazing soup, so quick and easy and perfect for autumn. Even my kids liked it. Thank you!
Hi Dani – So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
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 🙂