Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup

Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup

I am a soup fan! As the weather begins to change in the fall… I start making soup!! One of my favorite lunch spots for many years was called Fresh Thyme Soup Company. The soup was ALWAYS amazing! There were creative flavors and it’s where I learned that the garnish levels up the soup. A soup garnish is a must in my kitchen, even in a casual setting! You can go simple, creative, unusual… but definitely garnish your soup!

Lemon soup caught my eye several years ago and I just love the lemony undertones! My husband also enjoyed the lemon flavor, but felt the soup wasn’t filling enough with just orzo pasta. I went on the hunt for lemon soups to see how other recipes differed. The Lemon Chicken Soup at abountifulkitchen.com was an amazing find and used country style egg noodles–that to me feel homemade. Recipes from abountifulkitchen.com are so trustworthy; I gave it a try and the enhanced lemon flavor was amazing.

One of the techniques for the enhanced lemon flavor included cooking chicken broth, lemon juice and butter until it’s reduced and more concentrated. Wow! I loved the flavor so much that I doubled it for my recipe!  I also wanted a more flavorful chicken in the soup. You can use your rotisserie chicken, but I highly recommend flavoring your cooked chicken through the Instant Pot method in the recipe. The chicken is sprinkled with freeze-dried poultry seasoning before cooking it and I loved the bites of flavor in the soup.

Ingredients for Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup:

• Chicken broth: I prefer bone broth chicken broth. It’s much more healthy and the flavor is delicious. And definitely use the reserved chicken broth from the Instant Pot method of cooking your chicken!
• Fresh-squeezed lemon juice: Since this ingredient really shines in this recipe. Please use fresh-squeezed lemon juice!!
• Unsalted butter: I prefer adding the amount of salt I choose, so I just buy unsalted butter as a norm.
• All-purpose flour: You could substitute cornstarch or GF flour here without any consequence.
• Heavy cream: This soup is a creamy soup. Use heavy cream to create a thickening with the roux from the butter and flour, and added heavy cream. Non-dairy alternatives would work great as well, such as thick coconut milk.
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts: For this recipe, I cook the chicken in the instant pot with poultry seasoning. However, rotisserie chicken works great too.
• Freeze-dried poultry seasoning: I love this seasoning. It’s a mix of onion, thyme, sage, marjoram, spring onion, garlic, and rosemary. I used Litehouse Poultry Herb Blend.
• Fresh Vegetables: onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms. I think you could also add potatoes, cabbage, and other root vegetables.

• Country egg noodle pasta: This is one of my favorite pastas for soup. It feels like homemade pasta and creates substance in the soup. I used Mrs. Miller’s Old Fashioned Medium Egg Noodles.
• Garnish: parmesan or cheddar cheese, dried parsley. Garnish makes a delicious soup even better. Don’t dismiss it as unnecessary. Everyone at your dinner table will appreciate the level up!

This post might contain affiliate links, please check out my full disclosure policy. I only refer products I have tried and tested.

How to Make Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup:

1. In small saucepan, combine 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup lemon juice, and ½ cup butter. Bring to a boil, and let reduce to 1 cup. It takes about 45 minutes. After reduced, can cool and store in fridge until ready to make soup.
2. While lemon mixture is reducing, place frozen (or unfrozen) chicken breasts into Instant Pot, with 1 cup water and 2 Tablespoons freeze-dried poultry seasoning. Set to pressure cook on high for 25 minutes if frozen (12 minutes if unfrozen). Quick release. Remove breasts and cut into cubes and small pieces. Reserve chicken broth for soup.
3. When reduced lemon mixture is ready: in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, mix ½ cup flour with 1 cup cold water until a smooth roux. Add ¾ cup of the lemon mixture (reserving ¼ cup of mixture until later as needed) and 2 cups heavy cream. Bring to almost a simmer, constantly stirring with whisk, until thickened. Set aside.
4. Add onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms to a large pot with reserved chicken broth and other chicken broth to equal a total of 5 cups. Bring to a boil and then add pasta. Cook covered until pasta is al dente, about 15 minutes.
5. Add thickened lemon mixture and 2-3 cups cooked chicken to vegetables and pasta. Add poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Add reserved ¼ cup lemon mixture according to desired lemon flavor. Stir and heat through, but don’t boil.
6. Serve with cheese and dried parsley as garnish.

I can’t wait for you to try this soup! It’s amazing!

–Kim

Print Recipe

Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup

Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup is a creamy soup with delicious lemon undertones and filled with seasoned chicken chunks, vegetables and country-style egg noodles.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course, Soup

Keyword: chicken, lemon, noodles, soup, vegetables

Servings: 6 people

Author: Kim Melanson

Ingredients

• (recipe based on abountifulkitchen.com)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons freeze-dried poultry seasoning
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 cup carrots (3-4 medium) diced
• 1 cup celery (4 ribs) diced (4 ribs)
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms diced
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 8-10 ounces country egg noodle pasta
• 3 Tablespoons freeze-dried poultry seasoning
• 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
• Parmesan or Cheddar cheese for garnish
• Dried parsley for garnish

Instructions

• In small saucepan, combine 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup lemon juice, and ½ cup butter. Bring to a boil, and let reduce to 1 cup. It takes about 45 minutes. After reduced, can cool and store in fridge until ready to make soup.
• While lemon mixture is reducing, place frozen (or unfrozen) chicken breasts into Instant Pot, with 1 cup water and 2 Tablespoons freeze-dried poultry seasoning. Set to pressure cook on high for 25 minutes if frozen (12 minutes if unfrozen). Quick release. Remove breasts and cut into cubes and small pieces. Reserve chicken broth for soup.
• When reduced lemon mixture is ready, mix ½ cup flour with 1 cup cold water until smooth. Add to medium saucepan, plus ¾ cup of the lemon mixture (reserving ¼ cup of mixture until later as needed) and 2 cups heavy cream. Bring to almost a simmer, constantly stirring with whisk, until thickened. Set aside.
• Add onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms to a large pot with reserved chicken broth and other chicken broth to equal a total of 5 cups. Bring to a boil and then add pasta. Cook covered until pasta is al dente, about 15 minutes.
• Add thickened lemon mixture and 2-3 cups cooked chicken to vegetables and pasta. Add poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Add reserved ¼ cup lemon mixture according to desired lemon flavor. Stir and heat through, but don’t boil.
• Serve with cheese and dried parsley as garnish.