Craving one thing shiny and flavorful? This lemon hen orzo soup is filled with tender hen, fluffy orzo pasta, and a zesty lemon broth for a comforting meal.
Right here’s a meal that’s the equal of sunshine in a bowl: lemon hen orzo soup! Zingy citrus at all times lifts our spirits, and this one is nearly assured to make your day brighter. We’ve packed this new soup recipe with tender shredded hen and fluffy orzo, all in a zesty lemon broth seasoned with garlic, oregano and dill. Bathe it with recent dill or parsley and it’s the right simple dinner (that retains on giving with leftovers!).
Elements in lemon hen orzo soup
Lemon hen orzo soup comes collectively in 45 minutes, so you may make it on a weeknight or meal prep it for consuming all through the week. The hen breast cooks within the broth, you then’ll take away it and shred it whereas cooking the orzo within the broth. Listed here are the components you’ll have to make this straightforward soup:
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Greens: Onion, carrots, celery, garlic
- Hen broth
- Boneless skinless hen breasts
- Spices: oregano, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Recent lemon, juice and zest (a Microplane grater is best for zesting a lemon)
- Orzo pasta
- Recent parsley or dill, to garnish
Learn how to shred hen
The easiest way we’ve discovered to shred hen is to drag it into strips utilizing your fingers. That’s proper, no fancy instruments required: merely use your palms to drag it into shreds! We tried the two-forks methodology and the stand mixer methodology, and the nice quaint manner gained. It makes the perfect shreds and takes no time in any respect.
This lemon orzo hen soup cooks the hen by simmering it within the soup broth earlier than shredding it. To make shredded hen by itself for tacos, enchiladas, sandwiches, and extra, go to Learn how to Make Shredded Hen.
Suggestions for making lemon hen orzo soup
Lemon hen orzo soup is a good simple dinner recipe: it’s easy to make and works effectively to meal prep. Listed here are just a few suggestions for the method:
- Use a meals thermometer to evaluate whether or not the hen is completed. Simmer the soup till it’s cooked via and the temperature is 165°F when measured with a meals thermometer.
- Shred the hen whereas the orzo cooks, 8 to 9 minutes. You’ll take away the hen from the simmering pot, then let it relaxation 5 minutes earlier than shredding it along with your fingers. Use this time to cook dinner the orzo pasta within the soup broth. Cooking time for orzo can differ, but it surely’s sometimes 8 to 10 minutes.
- Garnish with recent dill or parsley. The recent herbs make the soup! We like recent dill finest, due to its delicate citrusy taste. However parsley works effectively and is cheaper.
Purchase natural hen if potential
When purchasing for shredded hen, preserve this in thoughts: the perfect hen to purchase is natural. Shopping for natural makes certain that it’s the highest high quality meat that was raised sustainably. It is usually freed from chemical substances and components so it’s the healthiest choice for consuming, and total: it simply tastes higher!
Per the USDA, natural hen should be raised in residing circumstances that accommodate their pure behaviors (like grazing on pasture), fed 100% natural feed and forage, and never given antibiotics or hormones.
Storage and make forward information
Retailer leftovers refrigerated for as much as 3 days; the orzo absorbs liquid over time, so may have so as to add one other splash of water and pinch of salt when reheating. For meal prep, you may make the whole soup upfront after which reheat by including water and a bit extra salt. (If desired, you would additionally prep as much as Step 3, then earlier than serving add the orzo in Step 4 and cook dinner.)
Sides for lemon hen orzo soup
Learn how to make it a meal? Pair a salad recipe or bread with this hen orzo soup for a straightforward meal in any season. Whip up the salad whereas the soup is simmering. We adore it with a crisp inexperienced salad like our easy arugula salad, and for an much more beautiful dinner you would decorate a radicchio salad or endive salad.
Description
Craving one thing shiny and flavorful? This lemon hen orzo soup is filled with tender hen, fluffy orzo pasta, and a zesty lemon broth for a comforting meal.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups peeled and sliced carrots (4 massive or 6 medium)
- 2 cups thinly sliced celery (about 3 to 4 ribs)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 quarts hen broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 kilos boneless skinless hen breasts (about 3 breasts)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- ¼ cup lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 1 ¼ cups orzo (about 8 ounces)
- Chopped recent parsley or recent dill, for garnish
- In a big pot, warmth the olive oil and butter over medium warmth. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook dinner, stirring often, till onions are tender, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir within the broth, water, entire hen breasts, oregano, dill, garlic powder, and 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt. Convey to a boil, then scale back to a simmer. Simmer till the hen is cooked via, about 15 to twenty minutes, till the hen reads 165°F when measured with a meals thermometer.
- Take away the hen breasts to a reducing board, then discard the pores and skin and bone and permit to relaxation 5 minutes. Shred the hen whereas the orzo is cooking (within the subsequent step), by utilizing your fingers to drag it into small items.
- In the meantime, add the orzo to the pot with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook dinner till the orzo is tender, about 8 to 9 minutes.
- As soon as the orzo is tender, flip off the warmth and stir within the hen. Style and add as much as ½ teaspoon kosher salt if desired and recent floor black pepper. Serve heat, with recent chopped parsley or dill. Retailer leftovers refrigerated for as much as 3 days; the orzo absorbs liquid over time, so may have so as to add one other splash of water and pinch of salt when reheating.*
Notes
*For meal prep, you may make the whole soup upfront after which reheat by including water and a bit extra salt. (If desired, you would additionally prep as much as Step 3, then earlier than serving add the orzo in Step 4 and cook dinner.)
- Class: Soup
- Methodology: Stovetop
- Delicacies: Hen
Key phrases: Lemon hen orzo soup, hen lemon orzo soup, hen orzo soup, lemon orzo soup, orzo soup, lemon orzo hen soup
