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    Home > Recipes > Soups and Stews

    Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Orzo Soup

    Published: Nov 14, 2014 · Modified: Jun 10, 2022 · by Jess Smith · Jump to Recipe · 11 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Orzo Soup

    Delicious and satisfying chicken noodle soup with sweet butternut squash, herby sage, and orzo pasta is the perfect answer to chilly nights. 

    Chicken and Orzo Soup in a black bowl

    Four years of living abroad, and I'm still humbled by it.  Every day.

    Today I needed to get a dress pressed on my lunch break...for a wedding on Sunday. Just pressed. Many hand gestures and botched-Thai phrases later and I left my office with the dress. Still a wrinkled mess.

    Four years of this has, I hope, gifted me with patience. Most days I find it more funny than frustrating – the absurdity of an American girl trying to get her pink dress ironed when she doesn't know the Thai word for "iron". I no longer expect that everything will get done in my timing. And that's for the best. In a city where it's possible to sit in traffic for hours to move a couple kilometers there are many reminders that my schedule is insignificant.

    And while I'll readily admit that my schedule at home is also now secondary to two adorable yet demanding people, there's a lot less chaos here than outside our four walls. I'd like to say that we're slowing down and embracing some quiet moments at home with the holidays on the horizon, but the truth is we're ramping up for so much in the next few weeks: our first Thanksgiving as a family of four, Frank's graduation from business school, four weeks in Spain (jamón! Rioja! boots! scarves!), and a whole lot of holiday fun with our extended family.

    All this is my roundabout way of telling you that I've found that the best complement to chaotic days is quiet nights. Sleepy babies and dinner with Frank. And all the better with something simple and homey to eat. We loved this soup with crusty bread to chase away the tail end of a cold. It's sort of a glorified chicken noodle soup with sweet butternut squash, herby sage, and orzo pasta bits that you'll chase around the bottom of your bowl.

    More Cozy Soup Recipes

    • Butternut Squash Soup with Turmeric and Ginger
    • Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup
    • Leftover Turkey Tortilla Soup
    • Taco Soup with Ground Beef
    • Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
    • Simple Chicken Noodle Soup with Miso
    • Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
    • Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup
    • Sweet Potato Soup with Miso
    • 20-Minute Smoky Tomato Soup with Pasta and Chickpeas

    Favorite Tools

    • Dutch Oven - A good Dutch oven will last a lifetime and can be used for everything from making soup to baking bread. 
    • Flat-Edge Spoon - I love a spoon with a flat edge that works for stirring everything as it cooks and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
    • Ladle - A sturdy ladle is a must-have for serving soup. 
    orzo soup in a black bowl
    Print Recipe
    5 from 5 votes

    Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Orzo Soup Recipe

    Stepped-up chicken noodle soup with sweet butternut squash, herby sage, and orzo pasta.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Main Dish
    Keyword: Chicken Recipe, easy soup, weeknight-friendly
    Servings: 4 Servings
    Calories: 624kcal
    Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
    Cost: $9.00

    Equipment

    • Stockpot or Dutch Oven
    • Saucepan

    Ingredients

    • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
    • 1 medium Onion, roughly chopped
    • 3 pounds Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
    • 4 sprigs fresh Sage, finely chopped
    • 2 cups Water
    • 8 cups Chicken Stock (see note)
    • 1 cup Orzo Pasta (dry)
    • 2 cups shredded, cooked Chicken (see note)
    • Salt and Pepper, to taste

    Instructions

    • To a large soup pot over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onion and butternut squash. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, until the onions are softened but not brown. Add the fresh sage and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the water and simmer (adjust the heat, if needed, so that the water is gently boiling) until the squash is tender, 7-8 minutes.
    • While the squash is cooking, bring another small pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orzo pasta just until tender. Drain and divide orzo between four serving bowls.
    • When the squash is tender, add chicken stock and shredded chicken to the soup. Bring to a simmer and add salt and pepper, as needed. Ladle soup over orzo in prepared bowls. Serve immediately.

    Notes

    To make the chicken and stock from scratch, I simmer a whole (3ish pound) chicken in a stockpot with about 12 cups of water, 1 chopped carrot and 1 onion cut into quarters for about 1-1.5 hours. When the chicken is cooked, take it out of the stock, shred the meat and toss it with some salt and pepper (discard the bones). Strain the stock and discard the carrot and onion. Et voila - continue with the recipe as above!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 624kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 762mg | Potassium: 1987mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 36206IU | Vitamin C: 74mg | Calcium: 207mg | Iron: 5mg

    Between bowls of soup and Bangkok craziness we had a beach vacation!  More on that coming soon, but Molly and Clara say that they loved lounging in bed with some good beach reads...

    IMG_9605

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    About Jess

    Hi! I'm Jess. I am the recipe creator and photographer behind the 900+ recipes you’ll find on Inquiring Chef. As a mom to three young kids and professional cook, my mission is to make every moment in the kitchen and around the table count. If you’re looking for easy, flavorful, family-approved recipes, you’ve come to the right place! Learn more about me here.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mary Ann

      November 14, 2014 at 9:40 pm

      I appreciate this recipe so much... my husband has just gone on dialysis and this is a nourishing
      soup I can make for him.... he can only have a bowl at a time... but I'll cut the amounts down and make a smaller
      amount. It looks delicious!

      And the twins are getting to be dolls!

      Reply
      • Jess

        November 14, 2014 at 10:35 pm

        Mary Ann - thanks so much for your note. Sending warm thoughts your way for your husband's health and peace for you both.

        Reply
    2. MM

      November 15, 2014 at 12:38 am

      Forget about the wrinkled pink dress........the fact that you can get into that beautiful dress in just 6 months after the twins birth is the IMPORTANT thing!!!!!! Good For You Jess 🙂

      Reply
      • Jess

        November 15, 2014 at 10:41 am

        You're so right M2 - I'm super thankful for that! Although truth be told, it's still a bit of a squeeze. 😉

        Reply
    3. MIKE PANDZIK

      November 16, 2014 at 9:49 pm

      Jess: Sorry I'm not bright enough to figure this out on my own, but did you get steps #3 and #4 out of order in your recipe for CHICKEN, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, AND ORZO SOUP? I'd like to make it but I'm a little stumped. The end of #3 says, "Serve immediately", but then #4 goes on to add some other ingredients. What am I missing? MLP

      Reply
      • Jess

        November 22, 2014 at 10:34 am

        Whoops Mike!!! There were some rogue instructions that snuck in after "serve immediately". That would have made for an interesting dish. I think it's fixed now - thanks so much for your note!

        Reply
    4. Ashley

      November 18, 2014 at 9:18 am

      Those two! Gosh, they are just so adorable Jess!

      And this soup sounds wonderful - perfect for this time of the year. I need to be better about patience and being thankful - and this is definitely the season to do just that!

      Reply
    5. Rina

      December 20, 2014 at 8:55 am

      Jess, can I sub orzo for something healthier? Any ideas?

      Reply
      • Jess

        December 20, 2014 at 9:06 pm

        Definitely! What about farro or pearl barley? Cook it before and just add it at the end! I just made this again this week and used tiny little pasta shells, but obviously that's not healthier than orzo. 😉

        Reply
    6. Sarah Chandler

      January 02, 2015 at 11:18 pm

      This is by far, my favorite recipe for chicken soup. Spoonful Of Comfort

      Reply
      • Jess

        January 06, 2015 at 11:39 am

        Thanks so much for your comment, Sarah - there's something really special about Chicken soup, isn't there?

        Reply

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