This Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup is creamy, like risotto, and cozy, like chicken noodle soup. Add those amazing traits with Italian seasoning and top it all with freshly grated parmesan. That's what I call a delightful winter dinner!
I was first introduced to a similar recipe about 18 years ago at a few large Italian family dinners. I had never heard of Orzo and didn't know what it was. If you're in the same boat, no worries... keep on reading!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
When it comes to cooking, fall and winter are two of my favorite seasons. I love to make savory meals to share with my family and friends.
This recipe for chicken orzo soup fulfills that perfectly.
It may be cold outside, but when your guests arrive or your family wraps up their day, the aroma will tell them where they are...a warm, cozy, and loving home.
Ingredients
Meat: Boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked in the instant pot and then shredded.
Pasta: All you'll need is Orzo pasta for this recipe.
Liquids: You'll need chicken broth, chicken stock, olive oil, and heavy cream.
Vegetables: Many of the flavors in this Chicken Orzo come from the vegetables. Grab your onions, carrots, and celery, and you'll be ready.
Herbs and Spices: The soup gets the remaining flavors from the minced garlic, sage, parsley, oregano, basil, fennel, kosher salt, and black pepper.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the shredded chicken, I like to make mine in the instant pot while I'm making the rest of the soup.
Start by pouring 3 cups of chicken broth into the instant pot and then add about a pound of frozen chicken breasts. Set the instant pot to pressure cook on high for fifteen minutes. Allow for a ten-minute natural release, then manually release the rest of the pressure.
While the chicken is cooking, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery and sauté them for about 6-8 minutes or until they have softened and become aromatic.
Next, pour in the sage, parsley, oregano, basil, fennel, salt, and pepper. Stir the veggies up to be sure the herbs have been even dispersed. Continue to sauté until the onions have become translucent.
Now, it's time to pour in the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Once the stock is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and add the orzo, stirring to be sure it's also well dispersed and not just sitting in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Allow the orzo to cook for about ten minutes so it can begin to soften.
In the meantime, get the instant pot chicken all shredded up.
Lastly, add the heavy cream and shredded chicken. Stir to combine, cover the Dutch oven, and let the soup thicken.
Expert Tips
- While I call this a soup, it's almost more of a Chicken Orzo Dish. It's thick and creamy, like a risotto. Add more chicken stock and cream if you prefer it to be more soupy.
- I like to top mine with chopped fresh Italian parsley, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a crap ton of black pepper. I could use more pepper in this recipe for chicken orzo soup, but then my daughter wouldn't touch it. So I add it to my own bowl...because I LOVE pepper.
- Serve this Chicken Orzo Soup with some Homemade Rosemary Bread and Fresh Garlic Butter, and you'll have an amazingly warm and cozy winter dinner.
Recipe FAQs
Orzo soup is made with chicken stock, orzo, shredded chicken, carrots, celery, and onions. Then, it gets additional flavor from assorted herbs and spices.
Orzo is a small oval-shaped pasta that resembles rice but is indeed pasta.
You would only need to rinse the orzo if it will be served cold in a pasta salad. It can also be rinsed if it's going to be baked, but that's solely based on textural preferences.
Orzo is a very small possible that softens and enlarges when cooked. The flavor is neutral and is more for texture than flavor.
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- 3 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 lb Frozen Chicken Breast
Chicken Orzo Soup
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
- ½ Cup Onion - diced
- ½ Cup Carrots - sliced
- ½ Cup Celery - sliced
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Sage
- 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 teaspoon Fennel
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 tablespoon Black Pepper
- 2 Cups Orzo
- 6 Cups Chicken Stock
- 1 Cup Heavy cream
Instructions
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Add 3 cups of chicken broth to the Instant Pot Insert then place the chicken in the broth.
- Set the Instant pot to pressure cook high for 15 minutes and then allow a 10-minute natural release.
- Release the remaining pressure and shred the chicken and set aside.
Chicken Orzo Soup
- In a large Dutch Oven heat the olive oil over medium high and add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté the veggies until they begin to soften and become aromatic for about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the Sage, Parsley, Fennel, Oregano, Basil, Salt, and Pepper. Continue cooking the veggie mixture until they are softened and the onions become translucent.
- Pour in the Chicken Stock and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the Orzo cooking for about 10 minutes until the pasta has started to soften.
- Lastly, add the shredded chicken and heavy cream to the dutch oven stirring to combine thoroughly. Allow the mixture to simmer until thickened. If you prefer it to be a bit soupier, continue adding more chicken broth to the mixture until desired consistency is obtained.
Video
Notes
- While I call this a soup, it's almost more of a Chicken Orzo Dish. It's thick and creamy, like a risotto. If you would prefer that it be more soupy, add more chicken stock and cream.
- I like to top mine with chopped fresh Italian parsley, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a crap ton of black pepper. I could use more pepper in this recipe for chicken orzo soup, but then my daughter wouldn't touch it. So I add it to my own bowl...because I LOVE pepper.
- Serve this Chicken Orzo Soup with some Homemade Rosemary Bread and Fresh Garlic Butter, and you'll have an amazingly warm and cozy winter dinner.
Dodie T. McPhee says
Have u ever frozen this?
Jeremy says
Hi Dodie! To be honest it's never made it long enough in our house to need to be frozen. However, I'm sure it would freeze just fine. Especially if you leave it thick like I do. It could possibly even be vacuum sealed.
KC says
Hello!
Is there anyway to make this recipe in a crockpot only? If so what are the steps?
Jeremy says
Hey KC!
Thank you so much for checking out this recipe. I've never personally tried making it in the crockpot but heres what I would do if I did. I'd put the chicken stock, seasonings, and veggies in the crockpot. Stir it until it's all mixed up (my wife makes fun of me because I stir so much). Then put the chicken breasts in. Cook on high for 4 hours or 8 hours on low. In the last 20 minutes, shred the chicken in the slow cooker then add the orzo and let the orzo thicken up. Add any additional broth/stock thats needed for desired texture. If you don't want to mess with the raw chicken you could also just shred up a rotisserie chicken instead. I hope this helps and don't forget the Parmesan Cheese!
Thank you again and I can't wait to hear how it turns out! Send us all some photos when you make it!