This Whole Chicken Orzo Soup is the one-pot soup recipe of your dreams! The chicken is fall-apart tender in a nourishing broth with orzo and veggies. It’s probably the richest and most flavorful chicken soup you’ll ever have! Top it with mounds of freshly grated Parmesan and a parsley-dill gremolata for the perfect hint of herby flavor.
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This Is an Easier Version of Chicken Noodle Soup!
I love making homemade chicken noodle soup in the winter, but it often feels incredibly labor intensive. In this lemony orzo version, we throw everything together in a large Dutch oven — leaving the chicken whole — and let it cook low and slow in the oven.
You wind up with what’s essentially a braised whole chicken noodle soup, with orzo subbed in for egg noodles, and the most incredible homemade chicken broth that’s made right alongside the soup itself!
This is the perfect project for a slow Sunday afternoon, and the whole soup comes together in about 90 minutes. The broth is rich and nourishing and subtly spiced with a hint of saffron and aleppo pepper. The chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender and so, so flavorful. This is truly the ultimate, low-effort whole chicken soup of your dreams!
Required Equipment
Ingredients You’ll Need
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Whole chicken. You’ll want a 4- to 5-pound chicken to make this soup. When ready to serve, you can either pull the meat off the carcass and add straight to your bowl, or you can take the entire chicken out of the pot, shred it, and return the meat to the soup.
- Veggies + aromatics. I used a blend of chopped carrot, yellow onion, fennel, leek, and garlic. You’re welcome to use different vegetables if desired, although the onion and garlic are both musts!
- Parsley + Dill. Fresh herbs brighten up the otherwise hearty and comforting soup.
- Parmesan cheese. Measure with your heart here! I used a small wedge of Parm and grated it myself using the smaller side of my box grater.
- Chicken stock. You could use water to make the broth, and since it’ll be braised with the aromatics and chicken your soup would still turn out nice and flavorful. However, I prefer using a quality chicken stock for an even better soup.
- Saffron. Gives the soup a gorgeous yellow hue and adds a nuanced earthiness. I know saffron is expensive, so feel free to omit it if needed.
- Aleppo pepper. This type of pepper isn’t too spicy; I’d say it’s tangy more than anything. It kind of tastes like cumin, but it’s WAY better in my opinion.
- Orzo. If you wanted to make this a more traditional whole chicken noodle soup, you could swap in regular egg noodles, but I like the texture that orzo adds.
Step-by-Step Overview of How This Soup Is Made
Jenny’s Tip: I recommend using a Dutch oven on the larger side so that you end up with enough liquid to make this soupy.
- Prep the chicken. Make sure to remove anything from the cavity, including the giblets and neck bone. I always save the neck in a bag in the freezer for the next time that I make homemade chicken stock!
- Sear the chicken. One of the most important ways we build flavor in this braised chicken soup is to sear the chicken hard on both sides. It renders some of the fat from the skin (hello, flavor!) and the browning builds a base of flavor that makes this soup so good.
- Sauté the veggies. All the veggies need is a quick sauté to get the cooking started! Once they start to soften, you can add everything else into the pot.
- Build the soup. We’re using a combination of store-bought chicken stock and just enough water to cover the chicken and veggies. This truly makes for the richest soup broth you’ve ever had! Don’t forget the aromatics like saffron and bay leaves!
- Braise. The chicken cooks low and slow in the oven until it’s very tender. This is also how we infuse all that good flavor into the broth. Then, we add in the orzo and let the soup finish cooking in the oven for another 15 minutes. It’s THAT easy!
- Make the gremolata. Having a fresh herby element to top the soup seriously makes all the difference! The fresh dill and parsley add so much flavor.
Chef Tips & Tricks for Making This Recipe
Use a large enough pot. For this recipe you’ll need at least a 6-7 quart dutch oven (preferably an oval one!). If you use a smaller pot, you won’t be able to fit everything in and you will end up with something that is too thick to be considered soup.
Take your time when searing the chicken. This helps develop deep flavors as the chicken slowly cooks in the oven, so make sure that your chicken is very golden brown all over before moving on to the next step.
Keep the veggies larger. Instead of dicing, give the veggies a rough chop so that the pieces are a little larger. This ensures that they won’t disintegrate as they cook.
Use quality chicken stock. I always keep homemade chicken stock in the freezer, but you can also use store bought chicken stock or broth. Just make sure to use a quality and flavorful brand, though the chicken will bolster and fortify any stock you use while in the oven.
What to Serve on the Side
Any soup is just begging to be served with bread on the side for dipping! This would be delicious with my brioche dinner rolls or a slice of hearty sourdough or focaccia bread.
I’m also a true soup and salad girl, so I love having this whole chicken orzo soup with either a little gem Caesar salad on the side or my fattoush salad. It’s perfectly bright and bold and pairs perfectly with the soup.
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Easy Chicken Soup Recipes to Try
- Chicken Congee
- Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup
- Green Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
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Whole Chicken Soup with Orzo
Video
Ingredients
Chicken Orzo Soup
- 4 – 5 lb whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 leek, white and light green parts only, sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, cored and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 8 cups chicken stock
- Pinch of saffron threads
- 1/2 teaspoon aleppo pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh dill
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 small wedge parmesan cheese, rind removed (and reserved)
- 3/4 cup orzo
- 1 lemon, juiced
Parsley-Dill Gremolata
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Prep the chicken. Remove the chicken from its packaging and remove any giblets or the neck from the cavity and discard. Pat the chicken dry, inside and out, with paper towels and place it on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Season the chicken all over and in the cavity with salt and pepper. Let the chicken sit uncovered in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat an oven to 325ºF. Arrange your oven rack so that it sits in the lower third of the oven.
- Sear the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large (7 qt) oval dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, carefully lower the chicken into the pot, breast side down. Sear for 5-6 minutes, until the skin is deeply browned, then carefully flip the chicken over and sear for another 4-5 minutes. I find the easiest way to flip the chicken is to use a pair of long tongs in the cavity which gives the best control. Once the chicken is browned, transfer it to a plate to rest.
- Saute the veggies. Add the butter to the dutch oven and once it’s melted, add the onion, leeks, fennel, garlic, and carrots. Saute for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables are starting to soften. As the veggies cook, use any liquid they release to help scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Build the soup. Scoot the veggies to the edge of the dutch oven to create a well in the middle. Return the chicken to the pot, breast side up, and nestle it into the veggies. Pour in the chicken stock and then add just enough water (if needed!) to bring the liquid level up so that only a bit of the breasts are above the water line. Stir in the saffron threads, aleppo, and bay leaf and then generously season the broth with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, then nestle in the sprigs of dill, parsley, and the parmesan rind (if using), cover, and transfer to the oven.
- Braise. Braise the chicken for 75 minutes, then remove it from the oven. Discard the bay leaf, parmesan rind, dill, and parsley sprigs, then stir in the orzo. Cover and return the pot to the oven for 15 minutes more. Remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice all over the chicken and in the broth and season to taste as needed with salt and pepper.
- Make the gremolata. While the chicken braises, combine the chopped dill, parsley, lemon zest, grated garlic, and olive oil in a small bowl and stir everything together. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Serve. To serve, ladle some of the broth, veggies, and orzo into a bowl. Use tongs to pull some of the meat off the chicken and add it to your bowl. Add dollops of the gremolata and finish with a mound of freshly grated parmesan. Serve right away.
Storage Instructions
- To store: I recommend shredding all the meat off the chicken bones just for ease of reheating. (I save the bones and carcass in a ziplock bag in the freezer for making future batches of chicken stock.)Store the soup in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove in a saucepan, adding more liquid as necessary to keep the soup-like consistency.You can store the gremolata in a small airtight container or jar in the fridge for 1 week.
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