Crock Pot Chicken Orzo Soup
Warm your belly and your heart with this simple crock pot chicken orzo soup recipe. It’s a comforting slow cooker soup that features juicy chicken breast, tender carrots and celery, fresh thyme, and loads of delicious flavor.
If you love your slow cooker, don’t miss my crock pot pork chops.
Crock Pot Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe
This is truly one of my favorite simple crock pot soups.
The flavor is light and bright thanks to a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice. However, this soup is hearty enough to fill bellies.
I love to serve this slow cooker soup with a big chunk of freshly baked bread.
Don’t have any fancy bread? Grab a plain ol’ slice of white bread. Honestly, it’s still going to taste amazing dipped in this tasty soup!
My yummy crock pot chicken orzo is chock-full of these wholesome ingredients.
juicy chicken breast (low in calories and high in protein!)
garlic
chicken broth
onion
carrots and celery
orzo
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Soup with Orzo
In a medium skillet saute the onions in the olive oil until softened, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Transfer to the crockpot. Add the chicken, chicken broth, celery, carrots, fresh thyme, and the bay leaf. Cover and cook on high 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Remove the chicken and shred. Stir in the orzo, cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme. Stir in the shredded chicken. Squeeze in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Want to make this soup even faster? Check out my pressure cooker chicken orzo soup recipe.
Is Orzo Pasta Or Rice?
Good question! Orzo is rice-shaped pasta. It’s not actually a grain at all, even though it looks sort of like rice!
Because orzo is pasta, it is made with wheat. If you are looking for a gluten-free alternative for this soup, you can certainly use your favorite rice or gluten-free pasta.
I find orzo a nice change from the typical egg noodles that I use in my chicken noodle soup recipe.
With that said, if you DO want to use egg noodles, I actually find that cooking the pasta separately to al dente is best.
Here’s a funny story. One time I made chicken noodle soup in my slow cooker, and I guess I cooked the egg noodles too long because when I opened the lid the pasta had completely DISSOLVED. Eeek.
Please tell me I’m not the only one with cooking horror stories like that! Haha!
I just know you’re going to love this easy slow cooker soup recipe as much as I do!
More Comforting Soup Recipes
Crock Pot Chicken Orzo Soup
Crock Pot chicken orzo soup is a comforting dish made with tender chicken breast and vegetables. This is feel-good food!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ cups orzo, uncooked
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium skillet sauté the onions in the olive oil until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Transfer to the crockpot. Add the chicken, chicken broth, celery, carrots, fresh thyme and bay leaf. Cover and cook on high 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- Remove the chicken and shred. Stir in the orzo, cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Stir in the shredded chicken. Squeeze in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 174Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 1003mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 14g
Do you have the recipe to make in an Instant Pot ?
What does orzo taste like ?
Hi Chrissy
I am Margie and I love JESUS too ! I AM glad to hear you are a Christian.
I am making thus orzo chicken soup today. There is too much sodium in this recipe. Can I use low sodium chicken broth ? Will it still be tasty?
I make this a few times a year and love it. I usually just throw it in a pot on the stove because I am horrible at planning ahead! I use more broth this way, but it is well worth it. Even my husband likes it, so win-win!! Thank you for sharing.
How long on low in the slow cooker?
We have made this twice now. It is absolutely delicious!