Avgolemono Soup (or Greek Lemon Chicken Soup) boasts rich, thick broth, hearty vegetables, tender chicken, comforting rice, and eccentric lemon for a unique and delicious soup recipe.
Shredded chicken, rich creamy broth with just the right amount of lemon flavor with classic onion and garlic undertones is what this luscious soup has to offer.
Because I’ve been on a soup kick lately, I have had my eyes open to new and exciting soup recipes.
As I mentioned in my Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup article, I’ll use any excuse to try a new and exotic soup!
I stumbled upon Avgolemono soup, which is also known as Greek Lemon Chicken Soup, which is essentially an upgraded version of our classic feel-good favorite: chicken and rice soup.
Before I get ahead of myself, I’ll fill you in on the basics. The origin of Avgolemono soup was new to me the first time I made it, so I figured I would provide some context.
What is Avgolemono Soup?:
Avgolemono soup is a traditional Greek soup that translates literally to “egg lemon.” Avgo means “egg” in Greek, and Lemono means “lemon.”
You can probably guess where we’re going with this based on the title. If you assumed the soup contains both eggs and lemon, you would be correct!
You see, eggs thicken the soup and provide richness, similar to egg drop soup. This traditional Greek lemon chicken soup is also considered a sauce (avgolemono sauce) in addition to a soup.
Lemon brings bright citrus flavor for a unique spin on classic chicken soup.
What is Avgolemono soup made of? Let’s discuss all of the simple ingredients, as each one serves an important purpose.
Ingredients for Avgolemono Soup:
Chicken: One of the all star ingredients here, we need some form of chicken. I like using boneless skinless chicken breasts and poaching the meat to shred it. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
As opposed to shredding the chicken, you can easily chop the raw chicken before adding it to the pot for chunks of chicken rather than shredded.
Lemon: The “lemono” portion of Avgolemono soup! Fresh lemon juice brings vibrant citrus flavor to the soup. Use the juice from one large lemon or add lemon juice to your personal taste.
Egg Yolks: A few egg yolks are added in to provide richness to the soup as well as thick creamy texture. Save the egg whites to add to scrambled eggs or an omelet!
Chicken Broth: Used for the liquid, we need chicken broth or chicken stock. I love using chicken bone broth or homemade chicken broth for added nutrients and richness.
White Rice: The traditional Greek Avgolemono soup recipe includes either orzo pasta or rice.
Because I eat a gluten-free diet, I use rice instead of orzo, but feel free to swap the rice for 1 cup of uncooked orzo. I use long-grain white rice such as jasmine rice.
Avocado Oil: Used to sauté the vegetables, we need a quality high-temperature cooking oil.
I prefer using avocado oil over olive oil because olive oil has a tendency to burn when used at high temperatures.
Nevertheless, olive oil works here too. Just be careful to keep the heat at a manageable level.
Yellow Onion, Carrots, and Celery: This holy trifecta is used in many cuisines worldwide to produce wonderful flavor.
Fresh Garlic: Minced fresh garlic cloves add a burst of flavor to the soup. Increase or decrease the amount based on your personal taste.
Bay Leaves and Fresh Dill: Adding more herby flavor to the soup, we need some fresh sprigs of dill and a bay leaf. If you don’t already have bay leaves on hand, it’s completely fine to skip it.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper: Season the soup with sea salt and pepper to your personal taste.
Recipe Customizations:
- Save time by using 4 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken.
- Use a whole chicken rather than using boneless pieces. This creates more depth of flavor and results in incredible tender chicken. If you use a whole chicken, consider cooking the chicken for 1 hour to 90 minutes before adding the rice.
- Some people prepare the soup with whole eggs, which works too! If you don’t mind curdled egg yolks, feel free to use two full eggs. Otherwise, stick with egg yolks for silky texture.
- You can use brown rice or wild rice instead if white rice if you’d prefer, but note that you’ll need to increase the cooking time to about 40 minutes with the rice added in, rather than 15-20.
- In addition to using pre-cooked chicken, you can also save time by using 2 cups of cooked rice.
Now that we have covered the essential ingredients for Greek chicken soup, let’s make it!
How to Make Avgolemono Soup:
Heat the avocado oil in a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove top. Add the chopped yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in the chopped carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to soften the veggies.
Place the chicken breasts on top of the vegetable medley and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.
Pour in the chicken broth into the pot and add the bay leaves. Cover the pot and bring it to a full boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes to poach the chicken, or until the chicken is cooked through. Chicken breasts are fully cooked once they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and place them on a cutting board.
Ladle a small amount (about ½ cup) of the broth into a small bowl and set it aside. This hot broth will be used to temper the egg yolks.
Pour the uncooked white rice into the pot, cover, and return the soup to a boil. Reduce to low heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking in the soup, transfer two egg yolks to a small bowl and whisk them together. Pour the reserved broth into the bowl with the egg yolks along with the fresh lemon juice and mix well to temper the yolks.
Pour the egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the soup and stir well. Continue cooking the soup with the egg-lemon mixture until the rice is fully cooked and the 15 minutes is up.
Use two forks to shred the chicken and add the chicken back into the pot with the soup once it is all shredded.
Taste the soup for flavor and add sea salt, black pepper, or more lemon juice to taste.
Remove the bay leaves and discard. Stir in the fresh chopped dill.
Serve soup in big bowls with crusty bread or a side salad.
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze soup in a large freezer bag (or ziplock bag) in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The next time you’re craving a big bowl of soup, whip up this classic Greek soup!
Hot soup is the ultimate comfort food for a delicious springtime dinner.
If you enjoy hearty soup recipes like this, also try these reader favorites:
More Healthy Soups:
- Ground Beef and Cabbage Soup
- Immunity-Boosting Turmeric Chicken Soup
- Creamy Rosemary Chicken Soup with Rice
- Egg Drop Soup with Bok Choy and Mushrooms
- 30-Minute Vegetarian Pho
- Tunisian Breakfast Soup
Best chicken soup, let’s go!
Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup carrots chopped (about 1 medium-sized carrot)
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 1.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 large breasts
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅔ cup uncooked rice
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 sprigs fresh dill chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove top. Add the chopped yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to soften the veggies.
- Place the chicken breasts on top of the vegetable medley and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.
- Pour in the chicken broth into the pot and add the bay leaves. Cover the pot and bring it to a full boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes to poach the chicken, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and place them on a cutting board. Ladle a small amount (about ½ cup) of the broth into a small bowl and set it aside. This hot broth will be used to temper the egg yolks.
- Pour the uncooked white rice into the pot, cover, and return the soup to a boil. Reduce to low heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking in the soup, transfer two egg yolks to a small bowl and whisk them together. Pour the reserved broth into the bowl with the egg yolks along with the fresh lemon juice and mix well to temper the yolks. Pour the egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the soup and stir well. Continue cooking the soup with the egg-lemon mixture until the rice is fully cooked and the 15 minutes is up.
- Use two forks to shred the chicken and add the chicken back into the pot with the soup once it is all shredded.
- Taste the soup for flavor and add sea salt, black pepper, or more lemon juice to taste.
- Remove the bay leaves and discard. Stir in the fresh chopped dill.
- Serve soup in big bowls with crusty bread or a side salad.
Notes
Nutrition
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This rocks! As usual directions are clear and precise.
Thanks, Matt! I’m happy you enjoy the soup 🙂
Can’t wait to try this, it sounds like perfect spring soup! I noticed that the ingredients list 3 egg yolks and the instructions list 2. Should we incorporate three or two into the recipe? What would the serving size be per person?
Hi Gina! My apologies for the confusion. Either two or three will work, but I like using three because it gives that extra richness. The serving size when divided into six portions is about 1 heaping cup. I typically eat two servings when it comes to this recipe 🙂 Happy cooking!
Definitely am going to try this sounds very tasty.
Thanks, Jo Anna! I hope you enjoy it! xo