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My lemon chicken soup recipe is here to warm you through and through! There are few flavor pairings as satisfying as lemon chicken recipes. Throw that match made in heaven into a soup, and hold onto your bowls! That’s some serious flavor heaven you’ve got going on.
This soup recipe is versatile enough to soothe you when you catch that wintertime cold or classy-up your next dinner party. What other chicken recipe can do that much leg work with a simple, one-pot dish?
If you love cozy homemade chicken soups, be sure to try my Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken and Rice Soup, and Matzo Ball Soup next, or browse my full Chicken Soup Collection for even more comforting bowls. Each one has that same soothing, homemade comfort with its own delicious twist.
What I Love About This Recipe
- One-pot wonder
- Bright citrus flavor perfection
- Easy, delicious ingredients
- Fancy without the stress!
Lemon Chicken Soup Ingredients
- Oil: I like olive oil in this soup.
- Onion: Yellow onion.
- Garlic: Please only use fresh garlic, not the stuff that comes already minced in a jar.
- Carrots + Celery: I like them cut fairly small.
- Salt + Black Pepper
- Italian Seasoning: This is a great blend of just the right herbs.
- All-Purpose Flour: This adds a little thickness to the finished soup.
- Chicken Broth: I like low-sodium broth.
- Better Than Bouillon: This fortifies the broth with great chicken flavor. It doesn’t have as much sodium as many chicken bouillons do.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemon juice, not the stuff in the lemon-shaped bottle.
- Bay Leaf: Adds subtle herbal, almost floral notes.
- Rosemary: I love fresh rosemary. If you don’t have fresh, you can use dried.
- Parmesan Cheese Rind: This is the secret ingredient that will take the flavor of this soup to the next level. Don’t skip it. Cooking with the parmesan gives the same effect as cooking with bones — it infuses the broth with a deep, rich flavor that just can’t be replicated. You’ll get all the cheesy, creamy flavor of parmesan cooked right into each luscious bite! When it gets gooey, fish it out of the soup and discard it.
- Rice: I use long-grain white rice.
- Parmesan: I like to use freshly grated Parm.
- Rotisserie Chicken: Shred or cut into bite-sized chunks.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? The finished lemon chicken soup recipe will be a-okay in the fridge for up to four days. Just because there’s no chance of freezer burn in your fridge doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cool it off though — you don’t want to raise the temperature of your fridge with hot soup! And temperature change risks bacteria growth. Cool soup is the best soup (for storage)!
- Can You Freeze This? Yes! My lemon chicken soup recipe is great in the freezer. Cool it thoroughly (no freezer burn here!) and portion it out either into individually sized containers or in one big ol’ sealable soup bowl. I love doing the individually sized portions best — they’re so easy to grab on the go!
- Once frozen, your soup will last up to six months! That’s plenty of time to get you through the worst of what I like to call Soup Season (aka winter). If you get fresh, crusty bread delivered, you never have to leave the house!
- Make Ahead Tips: If you know you’ll want a fresh pot of lemon chicken soup but won’t have time to follow all the steps, you can make the soup base (step one) ahead of time, and store it in the fridge for up to four days. When you’re ready, follow the remaining steps to soup paradise!
- You can also follow through Step Four, then store the soup in the fridge again for up to four days. Reheat to a boil, and finish out the recipe when dinner calls!
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
A nice loaf of crusty bread, butter swim biscuits, cathead biscuits, homemade garlic bread, or olive garden breadsticks are all delicious with this and are great to dunk in the broth.
We also like our Mediterranean salad, 1905 salad, or strawberry spinach salad to add a nice freshness to the meal
How To Make Lemon Chicken Soup
- Chop the veggies.
- Sauté the aromatics and add the Italian seasoning.
- Saute until the onion is translucent.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly.
- Whisk in chicken stock until smooth. Add the other ingredients and add the chicken.
- Adjust seasoning, ladle into individual bowls, and sprinkle with parsley.
- Serve, passing extra Parmesan.
*** See Full Instructions On The Recipe Card Below.
More Cozy Chicken Soup Recipes
Looking for more cozy bowls? Browse my full Chicken Soup Collection for all my homemade chicken soup recipes in one place.
Italian Penicillin Soup — a soothing, garlicky chicken soup made with simple ingredients, tiny pasta, and old-fashioned comfort.
Chicken Potato Soup — thick, hearty, and filled with tender chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and rich comforting broth.
Chicken Vegetable Soup — loaded with tender chicken, colorful vegetables, and flavorful broth for a lighter cozy dinner.
Chicken Tortellini Soup — hearty chicken soup with cheese tortellini, vegetables, and rich flavorful broth.
Mexican Chicken Soup — bright, bold chicken soup loaded with vegetables, warm spices, and cozy Tex-Mex flavor.
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup — an easy slow cooker version of the classic comfort-food favorite with tender chicken, vegetables, noodles, and rich homemade flavor.
Tried This Recipe?
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If you make this chicken and rice soup, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and comment below.
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Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today — happy cooking, friends! Kathleen 💗
Lemon Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 6 carrots, diced
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons chicken flavor Better Than Bouillon
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 (2-3 inch) Parmesan cheese rind
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1 cup Parmesan, grated
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
Instructions
- Add oil (2 tablespoons) to a large pot heating over medium heat. Saute onion (1 large), garlic (4 large), carrots (6), celery (4 stalks), 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning (2 teaspoons) until onion is translucent.
- Sprinkle flour (2 tablespoons) over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Remove the pot from the heat and slowly whisk in chicken stock (8 cups) until smooth.
- Stir in Better Than Bouillon (2 tablespoons), lemon juice (1/2 cup), bay leaf (1), rosemary sprig (1), and Parmesan rind and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and Parmesan rind and discard.
- Bring the soup back to a high simmer and add the rice (1/2 cup) and Parmesan cook until it's tender about 15-20 minutes. Add the chicken (2 cups) until it is heated through, about 5-8 minutes.
- Adjust seasoning, ladle into individual bowls, and sprinkle with parsley. Serve, passing extra Parmesan.
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
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Hi Kathleen, I’m assuming teaspoons of salt and pepper? Thanks love your recipes, Jean
Hi, Jean! Oops, yes. Black pepper to taste. Thank you! Updated it 🙂
Yummy, i will make this
Yay! Enjoy, Marilena! 🙂
I used coconut flour…It turned out yummy T Y👍