Warm up with this nourishing lemony chicken spinach orzo soup that’s full of flavor and healthy goodness. Using only whole food ingredients, you’ll fill your belly with nutrients from delicious foods like chicken, carrots, spinach, and herbs. It’s a perfect one-pot meal that everyone will love.
Let’s talk one-pot meals. I’m a fan, truly. AND this recipe is freezer-friendly. I double up so the family and I have enough for the week and then put the rest in the freezer for another day.
This is a really solid healthy dinner idea, too. I LOVE making my own chicken broth (see notes for details on that). Although I typically use Bonafide chicken broth if a recipe calls for it, I will seriously make extra time to make my own.
For more healthy one-pot meals, check out these recipes:
Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Cheese Sauce (great on pasta!)
Simple Summer Veggie Quinoa Salad
Easy Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Honey Lemon Tahini Dressing
Lemony Chicken and Spinach Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 3 T unsalted grass-fed butter
- 1½ cups carrots - peeled and diced (about 7 medium sized carrots – I used rainbow carrots)
- 1½ cup celery - diced (about 7 celery stalks)
- ½ cup onion - diced (about ½ 1 small onion)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 6 cups chicken broth - see note
- 1½ cups cooked chicken - shredded or chopped (see note)
- 1½ cups cooked gluten-free orzo
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, melt 3T unsalted grass-fed butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, salt, and pepper into pot.
- Sauté until vegetables are tender, about 12-15 minutes.
- Add in garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- To the pot, add chicken broth, chicken, orzo, and lemon juice.
- Turn heat to medium-low and let slow-simmer for 15 minutes.
- Lastly, add the spinach and parsley. Let spinach wilt down, about 5 minutes, then serve.
Notes
- I made my own homemade chicken broth. However, to save time, I recommend Bonafide chicken broth that has whole-food ingredients and nothing artificial (It’s found in the freezer section of Whole Foods stores and most Publix stores.
- There are a variety of ways to use chicken. I prefer chicken thighs or meat from a boiled, whole chicken (I boiled a whole chicken, used the chicken meat for the soup – froze the rest – and used the bones and cartilage to make my broth). For a quicker method, you can cook chicken thighs on the stovetop or even boil them in water until done.
- I prefer shredded chicken in this soup but chopped or cut up pieces work great as well.
