Creamy Chicken and Orzo Soup.

This creamy chicken and orzo soup will warm your soul! 

With so many of you under snow right now, this is the perfect hug in a bowl. The most comforting chicken orzo soup bowl that will keep you warm, that will bring happiness to a friend or family and all while tasting delicious!

Oh and it’s extra satisfying too. 

We have had a ton of snow this week – and more snow the last few weeks that we’ve had in years. As a kid, I remember us having TONS of snow, the entire winter. Or at least it seemed the way. We haven’t had anything like this recently, so we’ve enjoyed lots of comfort food on repeat. No one is complaining about that. 

Enter, this creamy chicken and orzo soup!

This isn’t my first foray into creamy chicken noodle soup. I have a recipe for it in my book Seriously Delish – like the classic kind with egg noodles. When I make a creamy chicken soup, I prefer it to thicken it with a slurry instead of cream or starting with a roux. My mom uses this method for certain dishes and I love it! There are just some recipes that call for it, and this is it. The slurry adds a creaminess without making it feel overly heavy. It’s perfect!

And yes, why this might be one of the onnnnly recipes you’ll see here with celery. I can handle it in a chicken soup, but as you know, the remaining options are few and far between. Celery is usually a no go over here.

One of the reasons that I love this dish so much for our family? It kind of gives me chopped salad vibes. I know that sounds absolutely insane – I mean, this is soup, not salad. 

BUT!

The orzo is such a lovely little cut of pasta that you can get a bit of everything in each bite. There isn’t a big noodle taking up your whole spoon with just a touch of broth. For this reason alone, my kids LOVE this.

Since making this, Emilia asks for “soup” constantly – she’s had other soups and likes them, but when she says soup, she means this one. She loves that she can eat it with her spoon and get a full spoonful of flavor, chicken and pasta is one bite! It’s seriously perfect for little ones. 

I like to use some of the classic tricks to make chicken noodle soup come to life here. Definitely add a parmesan cheese rind if you have one. It adds a wonderful richness to the soup that you can’t find elsewhere. The flavor is divine.

Also, spritz some lemon in before serving! This brightens things up and while I love my classic lemon chicken soup, adding just a spritz here really enhances the flavor too.

I highly suggest using a rotisserie chicken (or leftover shredded chicken) for ease here. When you do that, this soup comes together SO fast – like we are talking 30 minutes fast. Making it an ideal weeknight meal! I have some tips listed below in the recipe card if you want to meal prep this or use it for leftovers (i.e. cook the orzo separately) and it really makes a lovely meal to enjoy all times of year. 

You gotta try it!

Creamy Chicken and Orzo Soup

Creamy Chicken and Orzo Soup

Yield: 4 people

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

This creamy chicken and orzo soup is like a hug in a bowl. Creamy chicken soup with orzo pasta and parmesan. Delicious and comforting!

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• kosher salt and pepper
• ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 parmesan cheese rind
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, plus more for topping
• parmesan cheese, for topping
• lemon wedges, for spritzing

Instructions 

• Heat the butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Add in the onion, carrots, celery and garlic with a big pinch of salt and pepper - I’d say at least ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to start. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften. Stir in the garlic cloves and poultry seasoning. Stir in the shredded chicken.
• Add in the chicken stock and the parmesan rind. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Stir in the orzo pasta. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is al dente, about 8 minutes.
• In a shaker bottle even a bowl, shake (or whisk) together the milk and flour to form a slurry. Pour this into the soup and simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed. If the parmesan rind didn’t melt entirely, you can scoop it out at this point. Stir in the fresh parsley.
• Serve immediately with a lemon wedge for sprinkling, parmesan cheese for topping and parsley sprinkled on top.
• Note: if you want to prep this for meals ahead of time, or want to have it for leftovers, I suggest cooking the orzo separately as it will soak up most of the broth as it sits overnight. Combine the soup and orzo and reheat to enjoy!

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Author: How Sweet Eats

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Super cozy!