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Home » Instant Pot Recipes » Soups

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Published: Jan 30, 2023 · Modified: Jan 4, 2024 by Irena Macri · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

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This Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is comforting and cozy without being too heavy. With bright lemony broth, shredded chicken, and hearty orzo, this soup is simple to make and is perfect for a midweek cozy pick-me-up.


Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup in a bowl and in a spoon.

In This Post:

  • ℹ️ Recipe Overview
  • 🛒 What You Need
  • 📷 How To Make It
  • 📹 Watch The Video
  • 👩‍🍳 Recipe Tips
  • 🥖 What To Serve With
  • 🫙Storage Tips
  • 📝 Full Recipe
  • ⭐️ Comment On & Rate This Recipe

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

If you’re feeling like a cozy soup that’s also nutritious and easy to make, this lemon chicken orzo soup recipe is just the dish. 

It’s hearty, rich in protein to keep you well satiated, plus the Mediterranean-inspired flavors of garlic, lemon, and herbs and a touch of honey bring everything together in one fabulous soup.

The chicken and the broth are cooked first, then the orzo and lemon are added and pressure cooked briefly for the second time. The soup is finished with a little Parmesan and flour to thicken it up. 

We hope you give this Instant Pot lemon chicken and orzo soup a try. It will brighten up your day or night!

And if you like this recipe, make sure to check out our Instant Pot Orzo With Lemon, Parmesan Cheese & Spinach  and Greek Instant Pot Chicken Lemon Soup.

What Is Orzo?

Orzo is a tiny rice-shaped pasta, also known as risoni. Due to its small shape, this pasta cooks really fast but has a similar texture to rice, just a little smoother. It can be used to make risotto-like dishes and is fantastic for soups to give them more carbohydrate substance. 

A spoon scooping creamy Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup from a bowl.

What You Need For Orzo Soup

  • Vegetable base - onion, celery, carrots, and garlic  - the flavor and aromatic base for any good soup. 
  • Butter and olive oil - for sautéing the veggies.
  • Chicken - chicken breasts are cooked right in the soup, then removed and shredded or diced.
  • Chicken broth - for more enhanced chicken flavor, you can use water and stock cubes.
  • Herbs - you can use dried Italian or mixed herbs, or thyme/rosemary individually. 
  • Orzo - look for it in the dry pasta aisle, it could be labeled ‘risoni’. Sometimes, risoni is slightly smaller than orzo but either can be used in this recipe.
  • Lemon - both lemon zest and juice are used.
  • Flour - it thickens the broth a little.
  • Parmesan - can be omitted but adds extra creaminess and umami flavor.
  • Honey - a little sweetness balances out the acidity and works well with the saltiness of the broth. It can be left out.
  • Parsley - for a little freshness, color and aroma.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.

How To Make Chicken Orzo Soup In Instant Pot

You will find the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below.

There are three stages to making this lemon chicken orzo soup in the pressure cooker. The first stage is to saute the vegetables and cook the chicken and soup base. The second stage is to pressure cook the orzo in the soup. The third stage is to thicken the finished soup with flour slurry and Parmesan and to add shredded chicken back in. 

Let's break it down with step-by-step photos and video. You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot.


  • Step 1. Turn the Instant Pot on Saute setting, Normal mode. Add olive oil, butter, onions, celery and carrots, sprinkle with salt. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring a few times, until nicely softened.
  • Step 2. Add garlic, Italian herbs and and stir through. Pour in the chicken stock and stir through scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula.
  • Step 3. Nestle the chicken pieces in the stock. Secure and lock the lid, set to 10 minutes on HIGH pressure. The pot will take 10 minutes to come to pressure. Once done, use the quick release to let off the pressure.
  • Step 4. Open the lid and remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board to cool down.
step by step showing how to make chicken orzo soup in the instant pot - sauteeing onions and vegetables, adding stock and chicken, pressure cooking.
  • Step 5. Shred or dice the chicken into small pieces.
  • Step 6. Add the cooked chicken, orzo, lemon zest, and honey to the soup and stir. Set to Saute setting and bring to a boil (no lid). Cook for 5-7 minutes or until orzo is cooked to your liking. 
adding shredded chicken and orzo to the soup, adding honey and lemon, cooking on Saute.
  • Step 7. Scoop ¼ cup of the liquid into a bowl and whisk in the flour until smooth slurry texture. Pour this mixture into the soup while it’s still really hot. Stir to thicken. 
making flour slurry and mixing with some of the soup to thicken it.
  • Step 8. Then add lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. Stir everything well and taste for salt. 
  • Step 9. Top with parsley, you can stir it through and chop extra for garnish.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Serve with extra parsley and Parmesan on top. Might be nice to have a few pieces of shredded chicken poking out. Sprinkle a few chili flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Watch The Video


Recipe Tips

  • You could use pre-cooked leftover chicken in this recipe. In this case, do the Sauteeing of the vegetables, then add all ingredients (except for Part 3) and cook on Saute for 6-7 minutes or until orzo is cooked. 
  • You can add baby spinach or frozen spinach, broccoli or bok choy to this soup for extra greens. Other ingredients that would work well include peas, corn. 

What To Serve With Orzo Soup

All you need to complete this meal is some lovely bread or dinner rolls. We love a baguette or sourdough but you could also go with something more Italian like focaccia. Garlic bread would be pretty fun and croutons could add crunchy texture. 

This soup is great with fresh herbs like parsley. You could mix it up and add basil or dill/oregano for a Greek version. 

Storing The Soup

  • The soup will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Add more chicken broth or water to leftovers as the orzo pasta will absorb it and the soup will get thicker.
  • It can be frozen, too,  but the orzo does get a bit puffy. If you want to freeze the whole batch, maybe cook the base soup with chicken and do the final orzo cooking part after you thaw it out. 
  • Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat until warmed through, stirring every so often.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.

Full Recipe

Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and a nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let us know in the comments, and make sure to rate this recipe so it’s easy for others to find.

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Rate This Recipe

3.16 from 39 votes

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Learn how to make Instant Pot lemon chicken orzo soup for a cozy dish that will brighten up your menu. It’s comforting without being too heavy, nutritious and full of sparkling lemon flavor.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 445kcal
Author: Irena Macri

Ingredients

Part 1

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 onion yellow, chopped finely
  • 2 celery ribs chopped finely
  • 2 carrots medium, chopped finely
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 garlic cloves minced or chopped finely
  • 1 teaspoon Italian mixed herbs (or if no mix is available, use dried thyme or rosemary or half/half)
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 2 chicken breasts medium, cut into halves

Part 2

  • 1 cup orzo
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest (from ½ lemon or so)
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Part 3

  • 1.5 tablespoon flour
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon parsley chopped
  • Chilli flakes for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Part 1

  • Turn the Instant Pot on Saute setting, Normal mode. Add olive oil, butter, onions, celery and carrots, sprinkle with salt. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring a few times, until nicely softened.
  • Add garlic, Italian herbs and and stir through. Pour in the chicken stock and stir through scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula.
  • Nestle the chicken pieces in the stock. Secure and lock the lid, set to 10 minutes on HIGH pressure. The pot will take 10 minutes to come to pressure.
  • Once done, use the quick release to let off the pressure.

Part 2

  • Open the lid and remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board to cool down. Then shred or dice the chicken into small pieces.
  • Add the cooked chicken, orzo, lemon zest, and honey to the soup and stir. Set to Saute setting and bring to a boil (no lid). Cook for 5-7 minutes or until orzo is cooked to your liking.

Part 3

  • Scoop ¼ cup of the liquid into a bowl and whisk in the flour until smooth slurry texture. Pour this mixture into the soup while it’s still really hot. Stir to thicken.
  • Then add lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. Stir everything well and taste for salt.
  • Top with parsley, you can stir it through and chop extra for garnish.
  • Serve with extra parsley and Parmesan on top. Might be nice to have a few pieces of shredded chicken poking out. Sprinkle a few chili flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 2152mg | Potassium: 591mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5611IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 283mg | Iron: 2mg
CourseMain Course
CuisineItalian
KeywordChicken Recipes, Chicken Soup, Instant Pot Soup, Orzo Recipes, Orzo, Risoni
Made this recipe?Mention @instantpoteats or tag #instantpoteats!

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Comments

  1. Anonymous

    November 28, 2023 at 10:31 pm

    Just made this, but used chicken thighs instead of breasts.. this soup is delicious! Will definitely make again and double the recipe so I can share with family.

    Reply
    • Instant Pot Eats

      November 29, 2023 at 7:40 pm

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  2. Melanie

    November 26, 2023 at 2:17 am

    The recipe was amazing!!!! It was an absolute hit for everyone I made it for, I doubled the orzo amount to make it more filling and thick. For next time, I will try cubing the chicken and throwing the orzo in before pressurizing to make it take less time (cook for 5 minutes under pressure instead of 10 with the cubed chicken maybe?) and to simplify/remove the list sauté step. The parmesan tasted so good in it. Highly recommend

    Reply

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