Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is a quick and easy homemade soup recipe made entirely in the pressure cooker. Loaded with chicken, carrots, pasta and plenty of lemon, this is comfort food in a bowl!
Nothing is more comforting than a steaming hot bowl of homemade chicken soup, especially if you're feeling under the weather! Add some lemon and a bit of ginger, it's even better. If you like lemon chicken, you'll love this easy Instant Pot lemon chicken orzo soup!
I thought we were pretty much done with soup recipes for the year. It's been unseasonably warm here, so I was thinking up recipes for spring. So of course, we got rain. And, it got cold. Then, my daughter called from school saying she was sick and needed to come home.
I had actually made a big old pot of my regular chicken noodle soup in the pressure cooker for dinner the night before, so I decided to make a slightly different variation. My daughter absolutely loves lemon chicken, and I knew she would love lemon chicken soup.
This soup is incredibly easy to make, and the only difference between lemon chicken soup and your normal chicken soup is that there's lemon, of course, and orzo pasta instead of the usual egg noodles. I had everything I needed for the soup except the orzo, and when I asked the Hubs to pick some up on his way home, he thought it was rice!
The only real prep work involved in making lemon chicken soup in the pressure cooker is cutting up the veggies. I always have baby carrots in the fridge, so there's no peeling involved. Just chop them up along with celery and onions, and throw them on top of the chicken.
I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and 2 cartons of low sodium chicken broth for this recipe. You could even use less if you don't want that much, but we like having leftovers. You could also use homemade broth here if you have it.
And you guys, it's so easy to make homemade soup stock in the Instant Pot! I was completely out, but I do have a post about how to make your own bone broth or stock in the pressure cooker coming soon.
Anyway, the takes 10 minutes to cook in the Instant Pot. You do have to allow about 10 to 15 minutes for it to reach pressure and a few minutes to release the pressure. You can go and put your feet up in the meantime!
When the soup is done, just cut up the chicken and add the orzo to the pot. I use the saute function to cook the pasta, and then I add the chicken back in. I also like to taste the chicken soup and see if it needs more seasoning. You can also add more lemon if you like your soup extra lemony.
Looking for more Instant Pot Chicken Recipes?
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta
- Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
Recipe for Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup sliced baby carrots
- 2 stalks celery, chopped, plus celery leaves
- 32 ounces low sodium chicken broth 1 large carton
- 1 large lemon, juice of, plus zest
- 1 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the inner pot, then season with next 5 ingredients
- Add the onion, carrots, celery and carrots
- Pour in the chicken broth, then add the lemon juice and zest
- Cover, turn valve to SEALING position, then hit PRESSURE COOK for 10 minutes
- When pot beeps, allow a 5 to 10 minute natural release, then do a gradual quick release, and remove lid when pin drops
- Remove chicken, hit CANCEL, then hit SAUTE and add orzo pasta. Cook until pasta is tender or done to your liking
- Meanwhile, cut chicken into large pieces, and return to pot
- Serve when pasta is done cooking, and garnish with extra lemon slices and fresh parsley, if desired
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
This recipe for Instant Pot lemon chicken orzo soup is definitely a keeper! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Happy Cooking,
Jeanne says
I made this soup recently. I found that 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp black pepper was very heavy for 4 cups of broth. I added another 32oz of liquid.
Dee says
We like ours to be super flavorful, but it's very easy to adjust the seasoning level. 🙂
Kristin says
I'm making this recipe this week and am confused to what a gradual quick release is. I've heard of a quick release and natural one, but not a gradual quick one. Thanks!
Dee says
Instead of turning the knob all the way to vent, you move it gradually to avoid liquid spraying all over. I like to use the handle of a wooden spoon or kitchen tongs for this. You can turn the knob all the way once liquid is no longer coming out. 🙂
Cailin says
Hi I am making this now, thank you for sharing it! Can you confirm if the onion is supposed to be 1 teaspoon chopped? For this round I'm assuming you mean one whole chopped onion.
Dee says
Yes! That should read one whole onion, chopped.
Miz Helen says
This would be a delicious soup and so easy to make!Your post is awesome and thanks so much for sharing it with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Sandra | A Dash of Sanity says
It looks really comforting! I can't wait to give this a try!
Amy @ Little Dairy on the Prairie says
I bet this warms you right up! I love the lemon flavor in soup!
Sabrina says
What an amazing flavorful soup! Easy way to get your kids to eat more veggies!
Jen says
Love that this was made in an IP! Sounds so light and delicious!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This soup looks incredible! My family would love this!
Delaney | Melanie Makes says
This soup looks so comforting!
Dorothy at Shockinglydelish says
My new IP is one of my favorite kitchen tools. This lemony and bright soup sounds delish!