Lemony Chicken Soup
This lemon chicken soup is fresh, light, and easy to make! It’s a delicious twist on the classic chicken noodle soup.
If you love lemony soups, try our Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup.
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There’s no doubt chicken noodle is classic comfort food. There are many variations of this soup, such as Lemon Orzo Soup, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup, Sicilian Chicken Soup, and many more.
Today, I’m sharing a lemon-flavored chicken soup with everything that makes chicken noodle soup the best — juicy chicken, soft noodles, tender veggies, and lemon and oregano infused broth.
It comes together in one pot and it’s easy to pull off on any day of the week. Not to mention it freezes well, so leftovers never go to waste.
You’ll love this comforting lemon chicken noodle soup recipe year round!
Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Oil: We use olive oil to brown the chicken and soften the veggies. If preferred, avocado oil will also work.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work best for this soup, but chicken breasts can also be used.
- Herbs and spices: Kosher salt, black pepper, dried oregano, bay leaves, and fresh parsley create a savory, herbaceous taste.
- Veggies: Yellow or white onion, carrots, celery ribs, and garlic cloves add vitamins, nutrients, and flavor to the soup.
- Chicken stock: The base of the broth. Use store-bought or homemade chicken stock.
- Pasta: Use dried pasta such as fine egg noodles or fideo.
- Lemon: Both lemon juice and lemon zest add vibrant, refreshing flavor to the soup.
Most Important Ingredient for Lemon Chicken Soup
Salt. My tip is to salt the soup at every step, and taste as you go (as long as it’s safe). You’ll want to build on the flavors gradually.
Remember salt is meant to enhance the flavor of the ingredients and not make the soup taste salty. If the soup is tasting flat or even a little bitter, add a pinch of salt, taste, and add more if needed.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon
1. Cook the chicken: Toss the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a soup pot or a dutch-oven with olive oil. When hot, add the chicken and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes. Remove to a plate.
3. Cook the veggies: Add onions, carrots, and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook until beginning to soften. Stir in garlic and oregano.
4. Add stock and pasta: Add chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer. Stir in pasta and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until pasta and veggies are tender.
5. Finish with lemon and parsley: Remove and discard the bay leaves.
6. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and parsley.
Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe Tips
- Double the recipe! Chicken noodle soup freezes well for up to 3 months.
- Sweat the veggies. Soften the vegetables without browning them to get the most flavor.
- Make your own stock either the traditional way or in a crockpot.
- Salt as you go. Taste the soup at every step and season with salt as needed.
- For best flavor do not substitute thighs with breast. But if you must, see the recipe card for instructions.
- Do not overcook the noodles. Check the pasta package for cooking time.
What Goes with Chicken Lemon Soup?
Chicken soup is great on its own or with one of these sides for a more hearty and filling meal:
WATCH: How to Make Lemony Chicken Soup
More Soup Recipes
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Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Comforting lemon chicken noodle soup with tender chicken, soft noodles, bright veggies, and lemon oregano infused broth. It’s the perfect soup to make year-round!
Ingredients
- 2–3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into strips
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 medium onion, diced, about 1/2 – 1 cup
- 3 carrots, diced, about 1 cup
- 2 celery ribs, diced, about 1 cup
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 cups dried pasta, such as fine egg noodles or fideo (cut spaghetti)
- 1 Tbsp. lemon zest, about 2 lemons
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a 4.5-quart or bigger soup pot or a dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with 3/4 teaspoons of salt and 1/4 teaspoons of pepper and add to the pot. Cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil if needed. Add onions, carrots, and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook until the veggies are beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer. Stir in pasta and chicken. Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer partially covered until pasta and veggies are tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir the soup occasionally so the pasta does not stick.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and parsley.
Notes
- Can I substitute chicken breast for the thighs? Yes, you can. Follow directions as written until step 3. Add chicken breast in the last 3 minutes of cooking, otherwise, if you add it in with the pasta it will be tough by the time the soup is done cooking.
- Leftovers: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 288
- Sugar: 6.7 g
- Sodium: 601.1 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.4 g
- Protein: 23.2 g
- Cholesterol: 78.2 mg
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Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
I’m 72 years young and I made this soup for my wife and myself. It was wonderful, we had it for our lunch and dinner that evening. I will be making a lot more of it and put it in the freezer. Thank you so very much Katy’s, just superb.
Thank you so much Mike! I’m so happy you were able to make this soup for yourself and your wife.
This soup was wonderful! Will not make any other chicken soup! So easy ! I served corn bread muffins with it! Yummy!
Thank you Linda!
This is delicious! I’ve made this recipe twice this season so far. It easy to make and super tasty.
Do you think you can sub chicken thighs with already cooked rotisserie chicken?
Anytime you use cooked chicken meat you lose flavor in the soup, especially where it’s required to cook the chicken first. I think it will work definitely but it just might not be as flavorful.
I used breast meat that I cooked the night before. Made my stock from the bones. It’s yummy.
I had deleted important work I had done that afternoon, by mistake. My boyfriend found this recipe and made that soup while I re-did the work, and I was able to get it done and then eat that delicious soup, it was just a wonderful gift
I made the lemon chicken noodle soup. I was very impressed with how flavorful it was. Will be making this again.
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it