It’s my new twist on a classic Chicken Noodle recipe, but this particular one has much more flavor and it’s much more fun! It’s a delicious soup made with chicken meatballs, veggies, and orzo pasta.
CHICKEN SOUP
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 taste and they loves 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 onion 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.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN MEATBALL SOUP
Meatballs:
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 into the paper.
Soup:
Preheat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and shredded carrots and saute until it begins to caramelize. Make sure to stir often.
When it’s nicely golden, add crushed garlic and lower the heat to medium. Saute until garlic is fragrant then take the veggies out of the pot and set aside.
Add a little more oil and the meatballs. Cook meatballs on one side until golden brown and flip. Cook meatballs on the other side until golden brown as well. Once meatballs are almost cooked, add the veggies back into the pot and then pout in chicken stock.
Season with salt and pepper and add a bay leaf. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes.
Stir in orzo and dill weed and cook until orzo is done. (About 10 minutes but make sure to taste the orzo to check.)
*Remember to discard bay leaf once the soup is done.*
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Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- salt and pepper to taste
Soup
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil to cook vegetables
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil to cook meatballs
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 1 tbsp minced fresh dill weed
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Meatballs:
- 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 oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and shredded carrots and saute until it begins to caramelize. Make sure to stir often.
- When it’s nicely golden, add crushed garlic and lower the heat to medium. Saute until garlic is fragrant then take the veggies out of the pot and set aside.
- Add a little more oil and the meatballs. Cook meatballs on one side until golden brown and flip. Cook meatballs on the other side until golden brown as well. Once meatballs are almost cooked, add the veggies back into the pot and then pout in chicken stock.
- Season with salt and pepper and add a bay leaf. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes.
- Stir in orzo and dill weed and cook until orzo is done. (About 10 minutes but make sure to taste the orzo to check.)
- *Remember to discard bay leaf once the soup is done.*
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on November 3, 2013. Updated August 1, 2019.
Tonia@thegunnysack says
My daughter and I were just taking about how much we love soup! This one looks amazing!
Cara says
This looks amazing! Just wondering, how much meatballs should you end up with? Just so I have a rough estimate, I guess it’s not too important, they just might need more cooking or something? Thanks!
lyuba says
Sorry for the late response, Cara!
Honestly, it really doesn’t matter. I made smaller meatballs for my son to easily eat them but you can make them any size!
Carrie @ Frugal Foodie Mama says
This looks amazing, Lyuba! I love orzo, so I am going to have to give this recipe a try soon. 🙂
Thank you for sharing at Marvelous Mondays this week! Pinned.
Erin says
Oh yes, this is just the recipe my kitchen has been missing! How perfect for these first few weeks of breaking in the chillier temps! I’d love for you to share this recipe with my link party Life Created Tuesdays! Thanks for the recipe inspiration 🙂
Theresa @DearCreatives says
I can’t wait to try your recipe! Looks delicious. We have soups at least once a week. Perfect to add to my meal plan. & pinned it
Michelle @ Elegance & Enchantment says
This sounds so yummy, and I can’t wait to make it. I don’t have any kiddos, but my hubby isn’t always open to soups. He does, however LOVE orzo, so hopefully I can use that to coax him into trying it. If not, more for me to enjoy! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Marisa Franca says
I meant to ask you, do you grind your chicken? If not, have you ever tried? We grind our own meat but have never tried the poultry.
lyuba says
Sorry for the late response, Marisa!
I don’t grind my own mean right now but when I lived with my grandma, we did all our own ground meat. I do like it much better!
Marisa France says
I can smell the heavenly aroma!! Just this morning I woke up and said – what kind of soup are we going to make next?? This sounds great. We’ve made chili, lemon chicken orzo, beef vegetable barley. My kids have insisted that along with Thanksgiving dinner they want my Gnocchi en brood. It is my mom’s recipe and the gnocchi are not made of potato but light as a feather little pillows made with egg, parmesan, and farina.
Amy | Amy's Cooking Adventures says
Mmmmm…I’m a soup fanatic, especially as the weather gets cold! I totally get the picky eaters, too! I have three men in my house (1 big & 2 littles) Thankfully my husband isn’t picky, but the kids sure are!
Karen Goodman says
OMG, this looks SO good. I’ve never known what to do with ground chicken, so I’ve stayed away from it. And I love orzo. I am so going to try this.
And your timing is perfect. My Future Expat Required Ingredient Link Party that went live today is featuring chicken. I hope you’ll stop by and link it up so my readers can find this great recipe too!
Gloria // Simply Gloria says
My youngest is the same way. Usually surprises me, though with his taste buds. Sometimes picky and when I expect him to be picky… he’s not! My boys would definitely love this kind of soup. And, so would I! Have a happy Sunday, my friend!!
Janet says
I just threw together a chicken and veggie soup for lunch. Tis the season! Thanks for the recipe. I do not eat orzo but would substitute potatoes, maybe even sweet potatoes. YUMMY!