With so many of you under snow right now, this is the perfect hug in a bowl. The most comforting chicken orzo soup bowl that will keep you warm, that will bring happiness to a friend or family and all while tasting delicious!
We have had a ton of snow this week – and more snow the last few weeks that we’ve had in years. As a kid, I remember us having TONS of snow, the entire winter. Or at least it seemed the way. We haven’t had anything like this recently, so we’ve enjoyed lots of comfort food on repeat. No one is complaining about that.
ENTER, THIS CREAMY CHICKEN AND ORZO SOUP!
This isn’t my first foray into creamy chicken noodle soup. I have a recipe for it in my book Seriously Delish – like the classic kind with egg noodles. When I make a creamy chicken soup, I prefer it to thicken it with a slurry instead of cream or starting with a roux. My mom uses this method for certain dishes and I love it! There are just some recipes that call for it, and this is it. The slurry adds a creaminess without making it feel overly heavy. It’s perfect!
And yes, why this might be one of the onnnnly recipes you’ll see here with celery. I can handle it in a chicken soup, but as you know, the remaining options are few and far between. Celery is usually a no go over here.
One of the reasons that I love this dish so much for our family? It kind of gives me chopped salad vibes. I know that sounds absolutely insane – I mean, this is soup, not salad.
BUT!
The orzo is such a lovely little cut of pasta that you can get a bit of everything in each bite. There isn’t a big noodle taking up your whole spoon with just a touch of broth. For this reason alone, my kids LOVE this.
Since making this, Emilia asks for “soup” constantly – she’s had other soups and likes them, but when she says soup, she means this one. She loves that she can eat it with her spoon and get a full spoonful of flavor, chicken and pasta is one bite! It’s seriously perfect for little ones.
I like to use some of the classic tricks to make chicken noodle soup come to life here. Definitely add a parmesan cheese rind if you have one. It adds a wonderful richness to the soup that you can’t find elsewhere. The flavor is divine.
Also, spritz some lemon in before serving! This brightens things up and while I love my classic lemon chicken soup, adding just a spritz here really enhances the flavor
I highly suggest using a rotisserie chicken (or leftover shredded chicken) for ease here. When you do that, this soup comes together SO fast – like we are talking 30 minutes fast. Making it an ideal weeknight meal! I have some tips listed below in the recipe card if you want to meal prep this or use it for leftovers (i.e. cook the orzo separately) and it really makes a lovely meal to enjoy all times of year.