Greek Chicken & Pearl Couscous (Print Version)

Comforting Greek-inspired soup with tender chicken, zesty lemon, pearl couscous, and feta crumble.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Chicken & Broth

01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 14 oz)
02 - 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
03 - 1 bay leaf

→ Vegetables & Aromatics

04 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
05 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
06 - 2 celery stalks, diced
07 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
08 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

→ Soup Base

09 - 3/4 cup pearl couscous
10 - Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
11 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
12 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
13 - Salt to taste

→ Garnish

14 - 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
15 - 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
16 - Lemon wedges for serving

# How to Make It:

01 - In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Pour in the chicken broth, add the bay leaf, and bring to a gentle simmer.
04 - Add the chicken breasts to the pot. Simmer for 12–15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
05 - Remove the chicken and bay leaf. Shred or chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
06 - Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Stir in the pearl couscous, oregano, lemon zest, and black pepper. Simmer for 10–12 minutes until the couscous is tender.
07 - Add the lemon juice and season with salt to taste.
08 - Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each serving with crumbled feta and fresh dill. Serve with extra lemon wedges.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • The soup comes together in under an hour and tastes like you've been simmering it all day.
  • Lemon juice added at the end keeps everything tasting fresh and alive instead of heavy.
  • Pearl couscous adds texture without requiring a separate pot, which honestly changed my weeknight cooking.
02 -
  • Add the lemon juice at the very end, not during cooking, or it'll fade and the soup will taste flat by the time you eat it.
  • Pearl couscous needs about the same cooking time as the chicken simmering, so they're done at nearly the same moment—this is what makes the recipe so perfectly timed.
03 -
  • If your chicken breasts are thick, pound them gently to an even thickness before cooking so nothing gets overcooked waiting for the thickest part to finish.
  • Taste the broth before adding salt because low-sodium broths can vary wildly in how much salt they actually contain.
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