Chicken Meatball & Orzo Hearty Soup

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.

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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.*

SOME MORE RECIPES TO TRY:

Broccoli Bacon Cheese

Butternut Squash Potato

Chicken Bisque

Italian Broccoli Cheese Soup

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Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

Fun 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.

4.20 from 56 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken meatballs, Orzo, soup

Servings: 4

Calories: 528kcal

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

US Customary - Metric

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.*

Notes

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 a slight variation.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 1067mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5155IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 3mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on November 3, 2013. Updated August 1, 2019.