Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

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

Greek mothers have been making up batches of this tasty soup to cure the common cold for centuries.  Even if you're not under the weather, why not try it for yourself?

Questions

How do you temper an egg?

Tempering means slowly heating up the eggs before you add them to the soup.  But why add eggs?  They'll thicken the broth and make it more creamy without adding dairy.  Don't skip the tempering, though, or you'll end up with scrambled eggs!

• Whisk the eggs with lemon juice until frothy.
• Slowly whisk in ½ cup of hot broth.
• Turn the temperature to low.
• Pour the egg mixture in a steady stream, all while constantly whisking.
• Keep it on low so it doesn't boil.

Why would you want to temper this with eggs?

• It helps thicken it.
• It helps make it creamy without adding milk or cream.
• It helps make it silky.

What are the calories for this recipe?

For one 1 ¼ cup serving size, the calories are 334 and it has 21.9 g of carbs.  This recipe is high in vitamin C with 17% of your daily dose in one serving.  To find out more nutritional facts, scroll past the recipe card.

How to Make

Prep the ingredients.  Start by chopping the onion, mincing the garlic, and cubing the bread.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Saute the onion for 4 minutes and add the garlic for a minute.

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.

While the rice is cooking, juice the 6 large lemons with a hand reamer.  Strain out any seeds and pour it into a measuring cup.  Zest the two lemons, and add half the zest to the juice.

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

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

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

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.)

Garnish with fresh chopped dill.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Add the garlic powder to the melted butter and stir.  Pour over the bread cubes and toss until well coated.

Toast the bread cubes for 15 minutes on a baking tray, stirring them halfway through.

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 recipe a try.  It's lemony, silky and creamy--what's not to like?  Plus, it could be a cure to the common cold.  Countless Greeks have thought so.

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.

Pro 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.

Enjoy a cozy bowl of deliciousness with these other chicken soups.

• Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

The pleasure of a 5 star review would be greatly appreciated.

Recipe

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

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5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Brooke
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 8 cups 1x

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Description

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.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

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 6 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

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Instructions

Making the Soup

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Mix the cubed bread with the melted butter and garlic powder in a medium-sized bowl.
3. 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.

• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Greek

Keywords: easy greek lemon chicken soup, avgolemono soup recipe