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I absolutely love the flavor of this creamy chicken orzo soup. It’s so delicious and your family will have no idea that this recipe is healthy too. It is on 4 points for my WW personal points!
It all begins by cooking 1 pound of chicken tenderloins in a large pot with just a teaspoon of olive oil. You use tenderloins because the cook fast. They also are easy to shred when the time comes. Then you mix in some garlic and cook for just one minute.
At this point, you add in chicken broth, onion, carrots, celery, oregano, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper. You bring it all to a boil. Then you reduce to a simmer and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Once it has simmered, you are going to remove the bay leaf along with the chicken. Now is time to add in the ozro. You just cook it for the amount of time required on the package until tender.
Meanwhile, while to orzo cooks, this is where you shredded the chicken.
Once the orzo is cooked, you add the chicken back in along with the chopped spinach. There is just enough spinach to add color to the soup, but not too much to have my family complain about there being spinach in there. Really this is a great trick for just about any soup. It adds nutrition and color without changing the flavor of the soup.
To make this a creamy soup, you mix in 1/4 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese. Stir that in, once it’s melted, you mix in some fat free half and half. That’s it. This soup is ready to enjoy. All in all this creamy chicken orzo soup is ready in about 40 minutes. This is one of my favorite new recipes. I am going to make this one often!
Here is what you need to make the
Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup
- BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN TENDERLOINS
- OLIVE OIL
- GARLIC
- FAT-FREE CHICKEN BROTH
- ONION
- CARROTS
- CELERY
- OREGANO
- BAY LEAF
- SALT & PEPPER
- ORZO
- SPINACH
- FAT FREE HALF AND HALF
- REDUCED FAT MEXICAN CHEESE
Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Click here to get your WW Personal Points for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups fat-free chicken broth
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup uncooked orzo
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1/4 cup fat free half and half
- 1/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat over medium heat and add oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot. Cook to brown chicken on both sides. Add the minced garlic and stir together with the chicken for one minute.
- Add the chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and the bay leaf. Discard the bay leaf. Add the orzo to the pot and cook according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, shred the chicken. Add it back to the pot along with the chopped spinach the last minute when orzo is cooked.
- Stir in the Mexican cheese. Once that is melted mix in the half and half. Makes 4 servings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: chicken
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
This recipe is adapted from Keeping On Point.
