This Greek Orzo and Chicken Soup is such a good “lighter” version of this easy-to-make soup that is totally packed with flavor.
Are you in the midst of a season of cold temperatures, or are you just in need of trying a delicious new chicken soup recipe for dinner? I’ve got you covered both ways. This soup recipe is one that will warm you up, and it will provide plenty of comfort!
Ingredients Needed:
- chicken broth
- fresh dill
- orzo pasta
- eggs
- freshly squeezed lemon juice
- shredded carrot
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- shredded, cooked chicken
How to make Greek Orzo and Chicken Soup:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
- Bring the broth and dill to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the orzo. Reduce the heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until the orzo is slightly tender. Remove from heat.
- Place the eggs and juice in a blender; process until smooth. Remove 1 cup of broth from the pan with a ladle, making sure to leave out the orzo. With the blender on, slowly add the broth; process until smooth.
- Add the carrot, salt, pepper and chicken to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook 5 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly stir in the egg mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly (do not boil).
What makes this soup “Greek?”
This soup is reminiscent of the classic Avgolemono Greek Lemon Chicken Soup. I’m not about to claim that this is an authentic Greek recipe since there will be someone out there who disputes my claim! But it certainly has some nice Greek-style flavors such as lemon and dill, and it has the classic texture of egg added in at the end of the cooking process.
What is Orzo, and where can I find it?
Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta. It can be found in the pasta section in your local market. Alternately, you can use white rice instead of orzo. I’ve seen Greek Lemon Chicken Soup recipes made both ways.
My favorite soup pot!
Here’s the pot I have (in this orange color!) that I love to make my soup and chili recipes in. It’s the Rachael Ray Enamel on Steel 12-Quart Covered Stockpot (found on Amazon). I ordered it on whim when I needed a large pot, and I have really loved it ever since! It’s easy to clean, and it holds a lot of soup and chili. I like to double recipes, make a lot and freeze some.
Here are a few more chicken soup recipes you might enjoy:
Greek Orzo and Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta (sub cauliflower rice if counting WW points)
- 4 large eggs
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces shredded cooked chicken (I like to shred from a roasted chicken)
Instructions
- Bring the broth and dill to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the orzo. Reduce the heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until the orzo is slightly tender. Remove from heat.
- Place the eggs and juice in a blender; process until smooth. Remove 1 cup of broth from the pan with a ladle, making sure to leave out the orzo. With the blender on, slowly add the broth; process until smooth.
- Add the carrot, salt, pepper and chicken to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook 5 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly stir in the egg mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly (do not boil).
Notes
- Use cauliflower rice in place of the orzo if you want to cut down on carbs.
- If you are preparing this soup as GLUTEN-FREE, use cauliflower rice instead of orzo, and just make sure that your chicken broth and roasted chicken do not contain any gluten.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was scared to try this at first, but let me tell you….. THIS IS SO GOOD!! I made the recipe as is, with the exception of tweaking the amount of two ingredients. It’s incredibly flavorful and creamy! For the dill, I added 2 tsp instead of 1. I also cut back on the lemon juice ever so slightly. My husband and I were very pleased. The only problem is that this recipe lists 0 sp, but orzo definitely isn’t 0 points, so I went my the sp calculations from the recipe on WW.
So glad you liked this one! In the recipe, I included notes about subbing cauliflower rice for the orzo to make it zero points 🙂
I’m using cawliflower rice rather than orzo for less points and adding it at the end of cooking time
Great idea!!
Any suggestions on converting this to a crock pot recipe?
I have never made it in a slow cooker!
Thank you so much for providing nutritional information info to include sat fat and sugars as per the new Weight watchers Smart Plus program. Because of that, I am putting you in my regular go to list.
Thanks- I’ll be ramping up the Weight Watchers recipes in the New Year for sure!
Followed this recipe to the “T” and it just didn’t taste very yummy. The flavour wasn’t very good. I can’t seem to put my finer on it. Not the thick creamy texture I was thinking it would be.
It’s a lighter version of the classic, so that’s probably not what you were expecting.
Excellent soup! The lemon is a little strong, however it gives it a nice kick. Surprisingly the soup base is very creamy! Thank you for this low-fat, nicely portioned recipe!
This soup looks great! Very unique flavor combo. I love all the protein and healthy fat in here!