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Slow Cooker Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup - for those days that you want a delicious dinner ready with minimal effort.
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4.91 from 11 votes

Slow Cooker Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

Slow Cooker Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup - for those days that you want a delicious dinner ready quickly, with minimal effort.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time6 hours
Course: Main
Cuisine: soup
Keyword: slow cooker orzo chicken soup
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 179kcal
Author: Chris Scheuer

Ingredients

  • Ingredients for the soup:
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 2 large bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
  • 3 cloves garlic finely minced
  • ½ medium onion finely diced
  • 1 pound carrots peeled,and thinly sliced
  • 4 medium stalks celery diced small
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 medium bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Ingredients for finishing:
  • 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
  • finely grated zest of one medium size lemon
  • Juice of 1 medium size lemon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

  • Combine all soup ingredients (first 11 ingredients) in the bowl of a slow cooker. Cook on medium for 6-8 hours or until chicken and carrots are super tender or on high for 3-4 hours.
  • Remove chicken breasts and allow them to cool. When cooled, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones. Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces.
  • While chicken is cooling, add pasta to soup and increase heat level to high (if cooking soup on low). Cook for 20-25 minutes more or until pasta is tender.
  • Add lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme and diced chicken. Stir to combine. Taste and add salt if needed.
  • Serve and enjoy. Soup stores well for 3-4 days in airtight containers in refrigerator. Reheat on stovetop or in the microwave.

Notes

Turmeric is a seasoning widely available in the spice section of most grocery stores. It's used in curry powder and it also gives mustard it's yellow color. It doesn't add much flavor to this soup, but does give it a lovely color. Turmeric is known as a powerful medicine that has long been used in the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat a wide variety of conditions.
12 generous servings

Nutrition

Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 480mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 6470IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg