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.

chicken orzo soup with carrots and celery

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!

slow cooker orzo chicken soup recipe

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.

comforting chicken soup

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

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 174Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 1003mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 14g

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