Greek Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe is a delicious dinner. Easy to make in the instant pot, crock pot or on the stove. Lemony and healthy!
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This Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup recipe is one of my favorite meals. Packed with veggies and hearty portions of chicken, it’s super filling and loaded with light lemony flavor.
This Greek Lemon Soup is delicious with rice, orzo, pasta, or quinoa! It’s not a traditional avgolemono soup, but it’s just as delicious!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: You can make this in the crockpot, instant pot or on the stovetop.
- Loaded with flavor: The fresh lemon juice adds a TON of flavor to this soup.
- Customizable: You can make this with pasta, zoodles, add more veggies, or use precooked chicken – the options are endless!
Easily made in the instant pot or in your crockpot, I promise this Greek Lemon Soup will make you want to enjoy soup year round! We are huge soup fans in our house, but this is one I make over and over again!
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need a few pantry/fridge staples to make Lemon Chicken Soup. You probably already have them on hand!
- garlic, carrots, onions, celery
- olive oil
- chicken breasts
- spices (bay leaves, salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried parsley)
- chicken stock or chicken broth
- lemon juice
- pasta
A citrus juicer will also be helpful to have! You can find all the substitutions for this post in the green shaded box below.
How To Make Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
You can make this soup in the instant pot or crockpot. Here is how to make it in the instant pot, although making it on the stove or in the crockpot is very similar!
- Sauté onions/celery, garlic until translucent.
- Add in carrots/spices.
- Lay chicken on top of veggie mixture. Add chicken broth.
- Cover the instant pot and cook per the directions below.
- While the soup cooks, cook your pasta.
- Remove & discard bay leaves. Remove chicken, shred the chicken, and add back to the soup.
- Add lemon juice and stir together.
SO delicious and easy.
Recipe FAQs
You can add richness to chicken soup by starting with a great chicken broth or stock. The best broth is bone broth for soups because it is so rich and flavorful. Herbs, spices, and a parmesan cheese rind can also add richness to chicken soup.
Yes, you can put raw chicken directly into soup. If you are going to be boiling the soup or cooking it for an extended period it’s totally fine to put raw chicken into it. Chicken breasts need to cook for at least 15 minutes. I’d cook them for at least 30 in a soup.
What cut of chicken is best for soup? Boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs are the best cut of chicken for soup. Chicken breasts are lower in fat and higher in protein while chicken thighs are higher in fat.
Instead of sautéing your veggies in the instant pot in step one of the recipe, sauté your celery, onion + garlic on the stove in a pan. Add sautéd veggies to the crockpot. Stir in carrots, halved lemons, fresh lemon juice + spices. Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables in crockpot. Cover with chicken broth. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. You can also make it on the stove! This is all outlined in the recipe below.
Recipe Substitutions
This soup is SUPER easy to make substitutions. Use whatever you have on hand to make it!
Olive Oil: You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil or melted butter.
Herbs: You can use most herbs interchangeably here. If you don’t have thyme or parsley, use rosemary or dried basil. Any of them will be delicious! You can also use dried or fresh herbs. The recipe calls for dried herbs, but if you’d like to use fresh herbs double the amount.
Pasta: We recommend cooking the pasta separately and then adding it to your soup once the soup is completely cooked. (Don’t try to add raw pasta into the soup when it’s cooking.. it will turn to mush!) Gluten free pasta will work just fine. Quinoa, rice, or cous cous will also be delicious! We also have Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken Tortellini Soup recipes that are great!
Zoodles: If you’re looking for a whole30/paleo/gluten free noodle option I like adding zucchini noodles to this soup.
Cauliflower Rice: Cauliflower rice is a great low carb addition to this soup instead of pasta or in addition to pasta!
Chicken: You can make this using chicken tenders or chicken thighs if you prefer. You can also use pre cooked/shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken! If you love your crockpot, this Crockpot Chicken Stew is our favorite!
Leftover Chicken: You can use this instant pot shredded chicken, slow cooker shredded chicken, or chicken from a rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken. Cut the cook time in half if you’re not using raw chicken. You could also try this Rotisserie Chicken Soup!
Spinach: You can add a couple of cups of chopped spinach when the soup is finished cooking. It’s a delicious addition!
Broth: Any broth will work in this. You can use beef broth, chicken stock or vegetable stock.
Vegetarian: You could substitute beans for chicken in this recipe and it would be delicious. You’d also need to sub for vegetarian broth.
Creamy Chicken Soup: I have not tried making this chicken soup creamy. I worry that adding milk with lemon will make it curdle. Try at your own risk.
Parmesan Cheese: Add a parmesan cheese rind with the soup while it’s cooking – it adds so much flavor! You can also top with parmesan or feta.
Extra Veggies: I like to add cauliflower rice, frozen green beans or extra carrots to this recipe. You can also try this Chicken Vegetable Soup!
How To Serve This Recipe
You can make lemon chicken soup with any pasta you like or zucchini noodles. My tip is to keep either the pasta or zoodles separate until you’re ready to serve.
Zoodles: I like to serve this soup with zucchini noodles. I will squeeze the zoodles with a paper towel and trim them so they’re in smaller pieces. It’s delicious + extra veggies.
You can also serve this recipe with cooked pasta (pastina, ditalini, orzo, etc) rice, quinoa, cous cous, or farro!
The soup is also fine without any of those additions. If you do choose to add pasta or zucchini noodles, I do NOT recommend adding either directly to the pot. Rather, add your serving of pasta or zoodles to your soup bowl, pour the soup over it, and stir.
This will help you avoid soggy noodles or pasta!
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Storing: This soup keeps for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freezing this soup: This soup freezes very well and will last for months in the freezer! We like these containers for freezing.
I do not recommend freezing or refrigerating it with zucchini noodles or pasta as they will get mushy. Check out this post on How to Freeze Soup.
Reheating: When you’re ready to eat, defrost the night before in the refrigerator. You can also heat in the microwave or on the stove directly from frozen.
For storing: This soup keeps for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
We love making healthy soups for dinner. They’re an easy, light dinner that everyone loves! You can get our free Healthy Soup Ebook here.
Make sure to check out these 35+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Here are some other healthy soup recipes you may like:
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup celery chopped finely
- 1 cup onion chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced, about 5 cloves
- 2 cups carrots sliced in small circles
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 3 chicken breasts
- 6 cups chicken broth low or no salt (1.5 quarts)
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (off to the side)
- 1 cup dry orzo or other pasta sub zoodles or GF pasta
Instructions
StoveTop Instructions
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put mine in the food processor!) In a large pot, heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened (about 5-10 minutes)
- Once cooked, stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaves).
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer over low-medium heat for 45 minute to an hour.
- While the soup cooks, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta per the directions.
- After one hour, remove bay leaves from the chicken broth and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Add shredded chicken, lemon juice and cooked pasta or zoodles to the pot. Stir to combine and enjoy!
- Pro Tip: To avoid soggy pasta/noodles: Add cooked orzo or zucchini noodles to a bowl. Serve soup on top of the zoodles/pasta. This prevents the pasta/noodles from absorbing chicken broth and turning mushy
Crockpot Instructions:
- In a pan, heat olive oil over stovetop. Sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Add sautéd veggies to the crockpot. Stir in carrots and spices.
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables in crockpot. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours
- While the soup cooks bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta per the directions.
- Remove bay leaves from the broth and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Add shredded chicken, lemon juice and cooked pasta or zoodles to the pot. Stir to combine and enjoy!
- Pro Tip: To avoid soggy pasta/noodles: Add cooked orzo or zucchini noodles to a bowl. Serve soup on top of the zoodles/pasta. This prevents the pasta/noodles from absorbing broth and turning mushy
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Chop all vegetables. Set instant pot to Sauté mode for 10 minutes
- Heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened.
- Once cooked, stir in carrots and spices.
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables/spices in instant pot. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Cover instant pot and set to sealing, ‘Soup’ OR Pressure Cook for 12 minutes.
- Allow the soup to come to pressure and cook. It should take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, but can take longer if your broth is cold.
- While the soup cooks, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta per the directions.
- Once the soup has cooked, quick release the pressure.
- Remove bay leaves from the broth and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Add shredded chicken, lemon juice and cooked pasta or zoodles to the pot. Stir to combine and enjoy!
- Pro Tip: To avoid soggy pasta/noodles: Add cooked orzo or zucchini noodles to a bowl. Serve soup on top of the zoodles/pasta. This prevents the pasta/noodles from absorbing broth and turning mushy
Video
Notes
- Pasta – You can add orzo or pasta noodles to this and it will be delicious. Cook the pasta separately and then add it to your soup once the soup is completely cooked.
- Parmesan Cheese – I recommend tossing in a parmesan cheese rind with the soup while it’s cooking – it adds so much flavor!
- Broth – Any broth will work in this. You can use bone broth, chicken stock, vegetable stock, etc.
- Vegetarian – You could substitute beans for chicken in this recipe and it would be delicious. You’d also need to sub for vegetarian broth.
Mack says
Made this and its so good!!!!
Liz Marino says
So glad you liked it, Mack!! Thank you!
Cheryl says
This recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup is so easy and delicious! I have made this a second time since my husband really liked it the first time. We had lemons, fresh thyme and fresh parsley in the fridge so I used it all up!
I had to add more chicken broth and juice because we had so much chicken in the original recipe. Thanks for a keeper!
Barbara Shelton says
Yes! This Greek Lemon Soup is so good!!!!!! I cubed my chicken breast instead of shredding and used angle hair spaghetti pasta. I thank you very much for it.
Barbara Shelton says
This Greek Lemon Soup is so good!!!!!! I cubed my chicken breast instead of shredding and used angle hair spaghetti pasta. I thank you very much for it.
Karen says
Absolutely delicious! Made it as written except I used rice noodles as that is what I had on hand. Very flavorful! Thank you!
Karen L Moran says
Absolutely delicious! Made it as written except I used rice noodles as that is what I had on hand. Very flavorful! Thank you!
JENNIFER GRIFFIN says
I finally found a healthy and delicious chicken noodle soup recipe! I make it in bulk and freeze it, so I can eat it daily for lunch. The best part of the recipe is the twist of lemon which makes it stand apart from every other chicken noodle soup recipe!
Gwen says
This soup was amazing! The flavor was fantastic! I opted to make it noodles on the side since I didn’t have gluten free noodles. Putting this into rotation
Jane P says
I cannot seem to find your numeric chicken soup recipe
MY daughter in law made it and it was outstanding! Can you share that recipe? Jane P
The Clean Eating Couple says
Here’s the link to our Turmeric Chicken Soup
Nate says
I’ve never commented on a recipe before, but I cook a lot and this recipe is perfect. I did however modify it slightly. I cooked the veg like the recipe says, but used 6cups of water and 6 chicken bouillon. I did NOT cook chicken in the pot, but instead added a rotisserie chicken and juices from the bag. Made it so easy. I cut back just barely on the lemon juice, but added the zest of a lemon for a little color. Finally, a shake of turmeric for health and color and it was perfect.
Gina says
I’ve made this for the second time. This is quick and easy to make. The soup freezes well making it easy to grab and go for lunch at work. I increased the veggies, because I’m limiting carbs. The flavor is so good…delicious!
Wild Bill says
Just made this tonight for my girlfriend. She said “this is the best soup I’ve ever had”. She hasn’t been feeling well and it really hit the spot!
JENNIFER GRIFFIN says
The best chicken noodle soup with lemon recipe! It has a nice tang to it!
Michelle says
I love a lot of their recipes. But this one….. THIS ONE!! is my favorite!! However, I like to take this recipe and make it my own. NOTE: it is perfect the way it is, these are just my personal preference changes as I have experimented with over time.
Highlights:
-Can be child friendly
-Picky eater friendly
-light enough for the summer months yet warm and cozy enough for fall and winter months
-basically can put together and leave it do its own thing
Changes I made (In case anyone is wondering):
-I make my own beef bone broth to use instead of chicken and I do add a tiny bit of beef bullion to taste.(I make sure to get all that bone marrow in there)
-I use couscous in stead of orzo
-Despite using beef bone broth, I still use the chicken. The Flavors mix perfectly IMO.
NOTE: Do not squeeze the lemon directly into the soup UNLESS you are positive all the seeds are out. (I just squeeze mine into a bowl and go from there). I made this mistake one time and it was the most god awful taste when I accidently got the lemon seed… my mistake!
Overall I am in love this recipe, so is my family, and it is worth making it everytime!!!
Bjorn Olson says
excellent. Our whole family loves. Only suggestion is maybe a slow release(?) as the chicken pieces turned out tough.