Description
A bright lemon-flavored broth based soup with chunks of chicken and bites of orzo (or rice). Easy to make and delicious to eat!
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs are my preference and I have used frozen)
- 6 cups chicken broth (or 6 cups water and 6 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 carrots, diced or grated
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup orzo or 1 cup jasmine rice
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting and add in the chicken and broth.
- While the pot is heating the broth prepare your carrots, onions and celery. Add them into the pot along with the bay leaf, garlic powder, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt.
- If using orzo, set it aside for later. If using rice, add it in now.
- Cancel the saute setting. Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 8 minutes on high pressure. The Instant Pot will start on its own.
- When the cooking time is finished, move the valve from sealing to venting. If foam escapes then move the valve back to sealing and wait 3 minutes and try again. Remove the lid when you can. Discard the bay leaf.
- If using orzo, stir that in now. Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting so that the orzo can cook (it will take about 5-6 minutes).
- Remove the chicken and cut into pieces or shred. Add it back into the pot.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and top with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I I have made this soup both with orzo and with rice. The orzo was added to the pot after the pressure cooking time was up and the rice was added straight into the Instant Pot from the beginning. If you want more a creamy tasting soup then use the rice. It soaks up a lot of the liquid and gets almost creamy, like a risotto. If you want a more brothy soup then use the orzo. To make gluten free: Just check the chicken broth to be sure it does not contain gluten. Use Jasmine rice in place of orzo pasta! Get the slow cooker version.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the recipe with boneless, skinless thighs
- Calories: 263
- Sugar: 4.4 g
- Sodium: 1224 mg
- Fat: 6.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 21.8 g
- Cholesterol: 43 mg