Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Want a spin on chicken soup?  Try making avgolemono (pronouned avo-LEYM-ono), a Greek lemon chicken soup that is tempered with eggs.

Need more tasty soup options? Try our Creamy Lemon Chicken and Chicken Fricassee Recipe with Tarragon.

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Ingredients

All the ingredients for this Greek Lemon Chicken soup are very easy to find at your local grocery store. In fact, you probably have most of the ingredients already in your pantry.

• Fat: We used salted butter with the croutons.
• Vegetables: We used yellow onion and garlic.
• Broth: We used reduced sodium chicken broth.
• Meat: We used 4 cups large boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

How to Make

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Saute the onion for 4 minutes and add the garlic for a minute.
2. Add 4 cups of the broth and the ½ cup of uncooked rice.  Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Once the rice is cooked, add the remaining 2 ½ cups of  broth.

3. Whisk 3 eggs in a medium bowl.  Pour in the lemon juice and zest and whisk until well combined.

4. Add ½ cup of the hot broth in a slow steady stream to the egg mixture while constantly whisking.

5. Turn the stovetop temperature to low, and slowly pour the egg mixture into the pot while vigorously whisking.

6. Add the 4 cups of shredded chicken and the spices.  Let it cook on low until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and the chicken is heated through.  (The starch from the rice helps stabilize the tempered egg.)

7. Garnish with fresh chopped dill.

8. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual bowls.  Garnish with lemon slices,  zest, and croutons.

If you love chicken soup, you have to give this Greek Lemon Chicken recipe a try.  It's lemony, silky and creamy--what's not to like?  Plus, it could be a cure to the common cold - according to the Greeks.

Recipe FAQs

Variations

• Don't want to use rice?  Try orzo.
• Don't want to make croutons?  Toast ciabatta rolls under the broiler and serve them buttered.

Expert Tips

• Don't have time for shredded chicken?  Use rotisserie.
• Don't substitute freshly squeezed lemon juice for concentrated bottled juice; the taste will be different.
• Once the tempered egg has been added, don't let the soup boil.

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Recipe

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Greek lemon chicken soup is a healthy, low carb soup recipe.  This made from scratch Mediterranean dish is fantastic for soothing colds.  This creamy soup is made with rice, shredded chicken, lemon, dill, and homemade croutons.  This simple, make ahead dinner idea is comfort food at its best.

4.5 from 4 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: avgolemono soup recipe, easy greek lemon chicken soup, lemon chicken soup

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 8 cups

Calories: 296kcal

Author: Brooke

Ingredients

 

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US ImperialMetric

For the Soup

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• ▢ ⅓ cup yellow onion, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup white jasmine rice, raw
• ▢ 6 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 4 large lemons
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 4 cups shredded chicken, from 2 ½ large poached chicken breasts
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Croutons

• ▢ 2 cups ciabbatta bread, cubed (1 large ciabatta roll)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons salted butter
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Garnish

• ▢ 6 lemon slices, from one large lemon
• ▢ ⅓ cup fresh dill, chopped
• ▢ zest of two large lemons
• ▢ homemade croutons

Instructions

Making the Soup

• Heat the oil in a large pot set over medium high heat.  Cook the onion for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, roughly a minute.
• Pour in 4 cups of broth and ½ cup of rice.  Stir, cover, and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Once the rice is cooked, scoop out ½ cup of hot broth for tempering the eggs.  Stir in the remaining 2 ½ cups of broth and the shredded chicken.  Cover and simmer.
• To temper the eggs, whisk the eggs until smooth, then pour in the lemon juice and half of the lemon zest.  Keep whisking until the mixture is frothy.  Slowly pour in ½ cup of the hot broth, constantly whisking as you pour.
• Lower the heat, uncover, and slowly pour the egg mixture in, constantly whisking as you pour.  Season with salt and pepper, then let it simmer until the soup coats the back of a spoon and the shredded chicken is heated through.
• Garnish each bowl with half of a lemon slice, a sprinkle of dill and lemon zest, and the homemade croutons.  Serve immediately while still warm.

Making the Croutons

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Mix the cubed bread with the melted butter and garlic powder in a medium-sized bowl.
• Spread the cubes on a small baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.  Stir and rotate the tray halfway through baking.

Notes

• Use rotisserie chicken if you don't have time for shredded chicken.
• The taste will be different if you subtitute freshly squeezed lemon juice for concentrated bottled lemon juice;.
• Don't let the soup boil, once the tempered egg has been added.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 296kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 17g (6%)Protein: 25g (50%)Fat: 14g (22%)Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 134mg (45%)Sodium: 506mg (22%)Potassium: 413mg (12%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 416IU (8%)Vitamin C: 8mg (10%)Calcium: 39mg (4%)Iron: 2mg (11%)

This post was originally published on Oct. 26, 2018.