Recipe

Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

Name: Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 8 ounces orzo pasta; 1 teaspoon olive oil; 3 medium carrots, chopped, or more to taste; 3 ribs celery, chopped; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; salt and ground black pepper to taste; 1 bay leaf; 3 (32 ounce) cartons fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth; ½ cup fresh lemon juice; 1 lemon, zested; 8 ounces cooked chicken breast, chopped; 1 (8 ounce) package baby spinach leaves; 1 lemon, sliced for garnish (Optional); ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (Optional)

This lemon chicken orzo soup is comfort in a bowl! It is so flavorful with tender pieces of chicken in a lemony broth with orzo pasta, carrots, onions, celery, and baby spinach. This has quickly become one of my family's favorite soup recipes.

Prep 20mCook 30mTotal 50mServes 12

Ingredients

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Instructions

1
Gather the ingredients.
2
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in orzo and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered until partially cooked through but not yet soft, about 5 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water until cooled completely.
3
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion; cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften and onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Season mixture with thyme, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper; continue cooking another 30 seconds before pouring chicken broth into the pot.
4
Bring broth to a boil. Partially cover the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes.
5
Stir orzo, lemon juice, and lemon zest into broth; add chicken. Cook until chicken and orzo are heated through, about 5 minutes. Add baby spinach; cook until spinach wilts into broth and orzo is tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
6
Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with lemon slices and Parmesan cheese.lutzflcat

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