Craving one thing vibrant 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!).
Components 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 below are the components you’ll must 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
- Contemporary lemon, juice and zest (a Microplane grater is best for zesting a lemon)
- Orzo pasta
- Contemporary parsley or dill, to garnish
How one can shred hen
The easiest way we’ve discovered to shred hen is to tug it into strips utilizing your fingers. That’s proper, no fancy instruments required: merely use your arms to tug it into shreds! We tried the two-forks methodology and the stand mixer methodology, and the great quaint approach gained. It makes the most effective 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 How one can Make Shredded Hen.
Ideas for making lemon hen orzo soup
Lemon hen orzo soup is a superb simple dinner recipe: it’s easy to make and works nicely to meal prep. Listed below are a couple of suggestions for the method:
- Use a meals thermometer to evaluate whether or not the hen is completed. Simmer the soup till it’s cooked by means of 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, however it’s usually 8 to 10 minutes.
- Garnish with recent dill or parsley. The recent herbs make the soup! We like recent dill greatest, due to its delicate citrusy taste. However parsley works nicely and is cheaper.
Purchase natural hen if potential
When purchasing for shredded hen, hold this in thoughts: the most effective hen to purchase is natural. Shopping for natural makes positive that it’s the highest high quality meat that was raised sustainably. Additionally it is freed from chemical compounds and components so it’s the healthiest possibility for consuming, and general: it simply tastes higher!
Per the USDA, natural hen should be raised in dwelling situations 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 data
Retailer leftovers refrigerated for as much as 3 days; the orzo absorbs liquid over time, so might 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 prematurely after which reheat by including water and a bit extra salt. (If desired, you possibly can 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
How one can make it a meal? Pair a salad recipe or bread with this hen orzo soup for a simple meal in any season. Whip up the salad whereas the soup is simmering. We like it with a crisp inexperienced salad like our easy arugula salad, and for an much more gorgeous dinner you possibly can decorate a radicchio salad or endive salad.
Description
Craving one thing vibrant 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 giant 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 sometimes, till onions are tender, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir within the broth, water, complete 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 by means of, about 15 to twenty minutes, till the hen reads 165°F when measured with a meals thermometer.
- Take away the hen breasts to a chopping 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 tug 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 might 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 prematurely after which reheat by including water and a bit extra salt. (If desired, you possibly can additionally prep as much as Step 3, then earlier than serving add the orzo in Step 4 and cook dinner.)
- Class: Soup
- Technique: 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
