Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup
Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup features flavorful homemade meatballs, plenty of tender orzo, veggies and a bouquet of fresh herbs. It’s similar to classic chicken noodle soup, but with meatballs instead of shredded chicken and orzo instead of egg noodles!
Enjoy more of my favorite comforting soup recipes like Chicken Noodle Soup and Italian Wedding Soup.
Table of Contents
For all of you picky eaters and those who try to feed picky eaters, this soup might just be your saving grace. Both of my kids can be quite impossible to feed and sometimes, even my husband whines when I make something with too many veggies!
So to try and please them, I put a fun twist on a classic chicken noodle soup with chicken meatballs instead of plain old chicken breast and orzo instead of noodles. They loved it! They loved the flavor and they loved the addition of meatballs.
My secret with this recipe is in searing to get caramelization on onions and meatballs. So much great flavor comes from caramelized onions! and meatballs, so make sure to get the onions golden brown and the meatballs too.
When you slowly add the stock, make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to deglaze all that browned goodness off the bottom of the pan and mix it into the broth. It adds so much delicious flavor.
Ingredient Notes
Ground Chicken – make sure to get the ground chicken with has no additional flavors mixed in. If you wish, you can swap this with ground turkey if preferred.
Chicken Stock – I always recommend using Homemade Chicken Stock for the best flavor.
Egg – This is used to bind the meatball ingredients together.
Breadcrumbs – Use plain breadcrumbs! We’ll be adding our own flavors with herbs and seasonings.
Garlic – Smash your garlic before you mince it. That will release the most flavor.
Orzo – If you happen to have any leftover orzo, use it to make my favorite Parmesan Mushroom Orzo.
Herbs – We’re using fresh dill weed and parsley in both the chicken meatballs and soup itself. You can swap these with dried herbs if you’d like, just cut the measurements in half since dried herbs are more potent.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup
Make the meatballs. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl (1,) and mix until evenly incorporated (2). Use a cookie scoop to create evenly sized meatballs (3). Cover a cutting board with parchment paper and place the meatballs on it (4).
PRO TIP: Prepare all the meatballs before you begin cooking.
Cook the meatballs. Preheat a Dutch oven (or large pot) over medium heat and add oil. Place the meatballs in an even layer, cook until golden brown, then flip and cook until golden brown on the opposite side as well (5). Once seared on both sides, remove from the pot and set aside.
Sauté the veggies. Add the diced onion, celery, and carrots to the pot. Sauté until they soften and begin to caramelize. Stir from time to time (6).
Add garlic. Add the minced garlic to the center of the pot and cook just until fragrant (7). Mix with the other veggies.
Add the stock. Pour the stock into the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula (8).
Add meatballs. Add the meatballs back into the pot along with any juices they’ve accumulated (9). Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low.
Season. Season the soup with salt, pepper, and add a bay leaf (10). Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Leave a little crack open for the steam to escape.
Add orzo. Stir in orzo and herbs (11) and cook until orzo is done (12). Discard the bay leaf.
PRO TIP: Orzo usually needs about 8-10 minutes to cook. Taste it to make sure it’s done before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! You can use ground turkey just like ground chicken. I just recommend that you use “lean” ground turkey and not “extra lean.” You need a little fat in the ground meat to make it juicy, otherwise the meatballs will be on a dry side, even in a soup.
Yes, of course. If you don’t like dill weed, you can use just parsley. Parsley is a nice and mild herb that goes with just about any flavor. I would be careful about using other herbs because of a strong flavor, so if you do, stick to smaller amounts.
There are several ways you can customize this soup! Feel free to add some other hearty vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, or green beans. You can also add a squeeze of fresh lemon to the cooked soup for a zesty lemon note! Speaking of customizing, you can always make it a little spicy if you wish by adding red pepper flakes.
Yes, you can use another type of small pasta like pastina, ditalini, stellini, anellini, or another one you can find at your local grocery store.
Tips for the Best Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup
- Make sure to roll the meatballs before starting to cook!
- Remember to preheat the Dutch oven before adding meatballs. This will ensure a nice sear.
- Let the meatballs and veggies get a nice sear when cooking, this will contribute greatly to the overall flavor of the soup.
- Feel free to use fresh herbs or dried herbs, just remember that dried herbs have a stronger flavor, so you’ll want to use a smaller amount of dried herbs than fresh.
- Throw in a parmesan rind during the last few minutes of cooking for a delightful cheesy flavor!
Storing Instructions
Store the soup in an airtight food storage container in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should be good for 3-4 days.
To reheat the soup, you can do it in individual portions in the microwave. Or, reheat portions in a small sauce pot, over medium to medium-low heat.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
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Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup minced yellow onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh minced dill weed (or 1/2 tbsp dried dill weed)
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley (or 1/2 tbsp dried parsley)
- salt and pepper to taste
Soup
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil to cook vegetables
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2-3 medium carrots shredded
- 2 celery ribs
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil to cook meatballs
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 1 tbsp fresh minced dill weed (or 1/2 tbsp dried dill weed)
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley (or 1/2 tbsp dried parsley)
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Meatballs:
- Note: make sure to prepare meatballs first, before starting to cook.
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in the mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Use a cookie scoop to get equal amount of mixture for the meatballs. Cover a cutting board with parchment paper and place meatballs onto the paper.
Soup:
- Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add some oil. Place the meatballs in one even layer. Cook meatballs on one side until golden brown and flip.
- Cook meatballs on the other side until golden brown as well. Once meatballs are seared of both sides, remove them from the pot and set aside.
- Add a little more oil to the pot if needed. Add diced onion, celery, and shredded carrots and sauté until they begin to caramelize. Make sure to stir from time to time but not too much to let them brown.
- When veggies are soft and nicely golden, add crushed and minced garlic to the venter and let it sauté until fragrant. Mix with the other veggies.
- Add the meatballs back into the pot (and the juices that may have ran off onto the plate). Pour in the stock while scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and lower the heat to low.
- Season with salt, pepper, and add a bay leaf. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes. (Make sure to leave a little crack open for the steam to escape.)
- Stir in orzo and herbs and cook until orzo is done. (About-8 10 minutes but make sure to taste the orzo to check.)
- *Remember to discard bay leaf once the soup is done.*
Notes
- Gluten Free Notes: You can easily make this soup gluten free by using your favorite, small gluten free pasta and make sure to use gluten free bread crumbs when making meatballs. Remaining ingredients should already be gluten free but double check all the packaging.
- Substituting ground turkey: You can use ground turkey just like ground chicken. I just recommend that you use “lean” ground turkey and not “extra lean.” You need a little fat in the ground meat to make it juicy, otherwise the meatballs will be on a dry side, even in a soup.
- Substituting herbs: If you don’t like dill weed, you can use just parsley. Parsley is a nice and mild herb that goes with just about any flavor. I would be careful about using other herbs because of a strong flavor, so if you do, stick to smaller amounts.
- Dried herbs: You can swap these with dried herbs if you’d like, just cut the measurements in half since dried herbs are more potent.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in November 2013.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Family fave
Staple in our house. I double the recipe and freeze portions! We cook our orzo separate so it doesn’t absorb too much liquid. This soup caters to all and is such a comfort meal.