Greek Lemony Chicken and Orzo soup in under an hour with your Instant Pot!
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Fall is officially here, even though it’s 90˚ here in Texas. We’re still in the spirit, though, so I want to share this delicious Instant Pot Greek Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup. The Instant Pot makes it easy and gets dinner on the table in under an hour. It’s comfort food for the soul and is also known as the Greek penicillin. Doctors do not endorse it, but all grandmothers would feed Avgolemono to their kids if they came down with a little cold. We felt better the next day, so… I’m just saying!
Your family will love it
- A perfect burst of lemon
- Creamy orzo
- Velvety egg-lemon sauce
- Easy and dinner in under an hour!
Fresh Ingredients
The Stock:
- Whole chicken or bone-in skinless thighs
- Water
- Onion –quartered
- Carrots –peeled and cut into large pieces
- Celery stalks –cut in half
- Garlic cloves –whole
- Salt
- Turmeric powder –not traditional Greek, but is very nutrious and adds color to the stock
- Freshly ground black pepper
The Soup:
- Carrot –peeled and diced
- Uncooked orzo pasta or Arborio rice
- Egg yolks
- Fresh lemon juice
- Cornstarch
- Dried dill –or finely chopped fresh parsley
What type of chicken is best?
I like to use bone-in chicken thighs because they always stay moist, and you get the most nutritional value from the chicken when you cook it with the bone in. A whole chicken cut into pieces would also be a great option. After it’s cooked, be sure to remove all of the bones from the chicken before adding it back to your soup. If you prefer to use boneless chicken or only breast meat, it’s perfectly fine. Your kitchen, your rules!
Here’s a link (Amazon affiliate) for the Instant Pot that I have. You can see it here.
How to make Instant Pot Greek Lemony Chicken & Orzo Soup
- Add all of the stock ingredients to the Instant Pot. Stir and cover with the lid. Set to high pressure for 17 minutes, then set the pressure valve to the “seal” position.
- After the Instant Pot has come to pressure, allow 15 minutes to slow-release.
- Then, move the valve to “vent” to release the remaining steam.
- Carefully remove the chicken and veggies.
- Shred the chicken and set it aside.
- Add the orzo pasta or the rice to the stock along with the diced carrot.
- Cover with the lid and set to high pressure for 2 minutes.
- Allow 10 minutes to slow-release the pressure, then move the valve to vent.
- Add the egg yolks, cornstarch, lemon juice, and dill to a bowl, then whisk them until smooth.
- Add some hot broth to the egg mixture to temper it.
- Then, pour the egg-lemon mixture into the Instant Pot and add the shredded chicken.
- Set the Instant Pot to the sauté feature until the soup thickens slightly –about 3-5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serving
This lemony soup with orzo doesn’t need too much, but a good piece of crusty bread to dip in the delicious lemony broth would be amazing. If you’re serving it for lunch, you could even do soup and Greek salad. Kali Orexi!
Instant Pot Greek Lemony Chicken & Orzo Soup
Ingredients
The Stock:
- 1 whole chicken or 6 bone-in skinless thighs
- 12 cups (4 liters) water
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 2 celery stalks
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
The Soup:
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta or Arborio rice
- 8 egg yolks
- 1/4-1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Notes
Add all of the stock ingredients to the Instant Pot. Stir and cover with the lid. Set to high pressure for 17 minutes and set the pressure valve to the "seal" position.
Keep in mind that it takes about 10 minutes for the Intsant Pot to come to pressure.
Allow 15 minutes to slow release the pressure and then move the valve to "vent" to release the remaining steam.
Carefully remove the chicken and veggies.
Shred the chicken and set aside.
Add the orzo pasta or the rice to the stock along with the diced carrot.
Cover with the lid and set to high pressure for 2 minutes. Allow 10 minutes to slow release the pressure then move the valve to vent.
In a bowl, add the egg yolks, cornstarch, lemon juice and dill. Whisk them all together until smooth. Add some hot broth to the egg mixture to temper it.
Pour the egg-lemon mixture into the Instant Pot and add the shredded chicken.
Set the Instant Pot to the saute feature until the soup thickens slightly. About 3-5 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serve. Kali Orexi!
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Some of us don’t have an instant pot/ or are not comfortable with the instan t pot I resent that you are pushing this on us. You should also have the traditional method on the stove.
I’m definitely not pushing the Instant Pot on anyone. The traditional stovetop recipe is already on my blog and since, many people do have pressure cookers and Intsant Pots and they’ve asked me for those versions of my recipes, I’ve added them on the blog.
Wonderful! I remember having this at your restaurant and loving it. Thank you for sharing.
Hey, Dimitra! I’m making the Village Bread right now. My dough is MUCH stickier than yours. I rechecked the ingredients, and they were correct. What have I done wrong, and is it going to work?
Many people have run into this same problem. Things change depending on altitude, flour brands and a million other variables. Next time, if the dough is too sticky add a quarter cup more flour at a time and knead it until the dough is no longer sticky. Keep in mind that the dough should still be soft and tacky. Adding too much flour will create a dense bread. Let me know if this helps 🙂
Julia, I don’t understand why you have to be so rude! Instead of resenting the pressure cooker recipe, you might think about being grateful that Dimitra is taking the time to share her amazing recipes with us. You could just politely ask for a stove top version. You are a bit dramatic,
So what do you do with the vegetables that you removed from the soup?
I give them to my chickens 🙂
We have a insta pot that was to go off to college with our daughter last year but was left behind. I make the traditional
Avgolemono with my Greek husband which is our favorite soup! I’m looking forward to trying this new way.
Thank you Dimitra for sharing all of these great recipes:))
This is a delicious recipe. Although I really like things lemony, next tim I’ll add 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup lemon juice. Otherwise, it is very tasty!
I’m so excited about this! I grew up in Greek restaurants as my mom was a career server and she eventually married a Greek man who owned one of the places she worked in. This soup has always been a favorite of mine. I’m currently SICK along with my kids and hubby and wanted to see if I could find an instant pot version, so I am THRILLED to find that you have one. I’m familiar with your Avgolemono 2 ways from youtube, but thank you for adding this version for those of us who love our instant pots and need to make healthy foods quickly for whatever reason!! This is just what we need today.