Chicken Orzo Soup is the perfect comforting dish to warm you up on a chilly day. With its rich flavors and hearty ingredients, it’s not only satisfying but also incredibly easy to prepare, making it a must-try recipe for any home cook.
A Flavorful and Hearty Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe
This Chicken Orzo Soup recipe yields a large pot, providing approximately 15 one-cup servings. While it features half-and-half and qualifies as a dairy-based soup, it is not technically a cream soup. For optimal flavor, slow-cook a whole chicken and use the homemade chicken stock produced from it. Alternatively, you can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken and pre-packaged chicken stock. Either way, this soup is both delicious and easy to prepare.
Chicken Orzo Soup: What is Orzo?
If you aren’t familiar with orzo, it is a type of pasta that resembles rice. In this recipe, orzo absorbs the chicken stock as it cooks, causing it to expand. It can be tempting to stir in an entire box or bag of orzo, especially since it may seem like there isn’t enough in the soup at first. However, it’s crucial to resist this urge, as orzo will continue to absorb liquid even after it has been cooked. Adding too much can result in the orzo soaking up all the soup, leaving you with little to enjoy.
The recipe calls for one cup of orzo, and if you prefer a soup with a higher orzo content, consider adding only an additional 1/4 cup. Trust me, I’ve made the mistake of adding too much before—twice the amount of liquid disappeared with the orzo! So stick to the recommended amount for a perfectly balanced soup.
Difference Between Chicken Broth and Chicken Stock
Chicken broth is created by simmering chicken meat in water, while stock is made by simmering chicken bones in water. During the preparation of both stock and broth, vegetables and herbs are often added to enhance the overall flavor of the final product. Stock typically has a more natural taste that comes from the simmered bones. In contrast, broth usually relies on salt for seasoning.
Another notable difference is that chicken stock is simmered for a longer duration than broth, resulting in a richer flavor profile. Additionally, homemade stock can be thicker than broth due to the gelatin released from the bones during the cooking process. This thickening effect is especially apparent when you cool homemade stock in the refrigerator, as it congeals, while the broth remains a liquid.
Chicken Orzo Soup: Homemade Chicken and Stock
To impart the most flavor to this Chicken Orzo Soup, I recommend using a slow cooker to prepare both the chicken and the stock (following my Baked Chicken and Herbs recipe). Once you’ve cooked the chicken and made the stock, you can use this mixture, supplementing with store-bought chicken stock if needed, to create the soup. This method ensures the most delicious results. It’s also a good idea to cook the chicken and prepare the stock the day before making the soup, as this helps to break up the cooking tasks.
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Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 9 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 large carrot, diced into small pieces
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups half-and-half
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 4 cups rotisserie or baked chicken, diced
Instructions
- Add the chicken stock to a large pot. Bring to a boil.
- Add the salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano, garlic, carrot, and orzo. Reduce the heat and simmer for 9 minutes or until the orzo is tender.
- Add the butter, half-and-half, pepper, hot sauce, and chicken. Heat until the butter melts and the half-and-half is hot. Do not boil. Remove the herb stems before serving.