I made this for lunch and it was spectacular. The spices were right on. Really, really good!! I cut the recipe in half and added the lemon "to taste". I have made enough recipes with lemon to know that all lemons are different. I added the zest of one lemon and tasted the soup. It was "almost" perfect. I added just a tablespoon of juice after that and it was perfectly lemony, just how we like it. Also, I just added the uncooked orzo to the soup and let it boil for about 8 minutes. We didn't have any left overs. Anyone that isn't familiar with cooking with orzo should know that it does completely soak up the broth where leftovers are concerned, so if you know you are making more than will be eaten, you should make it on the side and add to each bowl; otherwise, the next day there will not be any liquid in the soup left. Delicious and I will be making this again soon!!
I made this for lunch and it was spectacular. The spices were right on. Really, really good!! I cut the recipe in half and added the lemon "to taste". I have made enough recipes with lemon to know that all lemons are different. I added the zest of one lemon and tasted the soup. It was "almost" perfect. I added just a tablespoon of juice after that and it was perfectly lemony, just how we like it. Also, I just added the uncooked orzo to the soup and let it boil for about 8 minutes. We didn't have any left overs. Anyone that isn't familiar with cooking with orzo should know that it does completely soak up the broth where leftovers are concerned, so if you know you are making more than will be eaten, you should make it on the side and add to each bowl; otherwise, the next day there will not be any liquid in the soup left. Delicious and I will be making this again soon!!
Wonderful soup. Only change was to keep the orzo and soup separate as I planned on eating this over several days and didn't want the orzo to absorb all the broth.
I had been CRAVING that Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup that Panera bread only serves in the summer for 2 months and it was not to be found. I found this recipe and it totally nailed the soup!!! I was fantastic and exactly what I was looking for. So delicious so light so lemony. I even made some homemade croutons to go on top and shaved a little parmesan on top right before serving. It was a huge hit with the family. The only thing I did differently was I cut up the vegetables smaller cause I don't like big chunks and I cooked the soup in the crock pot. I put in the orzo uncooked and it did not take long for it to get done. I can't say enough good things about this soup!
I reduced the serving size to four servings and added in more veggies and orzo and half the fresh juiced lemon all the called for spices but dashed until it reached the flavor I like. I took the advice of another reviewer and used lemon rotisserie chicken...a real time saver. I tossed the spinach in right before serving and just wilted to keep the flavor. This was such a nice light refreshing soup and I actually like it better without the cheese but the guys loved the cheese. I've never had Panera's soup so can't compare to that but we all sure enjoyed this and I'll make again. Would be a wonderful soup for someone with a cold.
Why would you cook the chicken first? Add the raw chicken to give the store bought broth more flavor. Make sure the chicken is cooked before serving.
Oh my god this soup is AMAZING! It's so light but still has so much flavor. It's much better if you make your own chicken stock as well. The only thing I added was half a cup of dry white wine when I added the stock. It made for such a deep flavor and I strongly recommend adding it. I will definitely make this again!
I would give this recipe more than 5 stars if I could. It is that good. So fresh lemony savory...really excellent. Easy to make and fast for a soup. I agree with others that you should leave the orzo out of the soup even when storing for leftovers because the orzo will soak up all the yummy broth.
Made this as the Buzz Recipe Group selection. Since we enjoyed this so much I would rate it higher than five stars if that were possible. For the chicken I used the remains of a Roast Sticky Chicken - Rotisserie Style which I baked yesterday. I cooked the orzo in boiling water in the microwave versus boiling on the stove. I also used my own homemade chicken broth. We love all of the spices that were called for in this recipe so they were all included. I sliced the baby spinach into ribbons and sprinkled it along with the freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the top of each bowl. This soup would be an excellent soup to share with someone that is under the weather. The aromatic scent of lemon in the broth just puts this soup over the top. Thank you RennePaj for sharing your delicious recipe!
I was looking for a really delicious lemon chicken soup and was so happy to have found this one! I made no changes other than to add additional orzo and chicken because my family tends to like soup a little "heartier". The flavors meld beautifully. It is light and tasty and everything wonderful that you would like in a soup and it satisfies that mid-winter comfort food craving! Eyes light up when this soup is served and it always gets eaten. I feel good knowing that I am serving my family a nutritious meal. I've never tried the Panera version but now I'd like to - just to see if it's up to the standard of this version.
Fine. May as well make avolemona instead
