Warm, cozy and ultra creamy, this recipe for authentic Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono Soup) is the best kind of comfort food! It’s delicious, hearty, and nourishing, and you will want to make it any chance you get.
If you have not tried Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup, or Avgolemono soup, you are truly missing out. This authentic Greek avgolemono soup recipe is the perfect meal for a winter night or any night, really. It’s hearty, delicious, and comforting.
When we were little, my mom would always make us this Greek chicken soup and it instantly made us feel better. Like a hug from the inside. We also enjoyed it on other occasions as any excuse to eat this meal is a good one.
This traditional Greek lemon chicken soup has an extra creamy texture and is ultra comforting. This comes down to two soup components. The first is the type of rice used in this recipe- Italian rice or arborio rice. This short grain rice becomes extra creamy when cooked. The second component is the avgolemono sauce.
The authentic recipe I am sharing is my moms recipe. It has been a favorite in our family for years and I hope it becomes a favorite in your homes too.
What is avgolemono?
Avgolemono sauce is comprised of 2 main ingredients. As the name implies, this silky sauce is made with egg and lemon (Avgolemono is a mashup of 2 Greek works avgo meaning egg and lemoni meaning lemon).
This egg-lemon sauce is incorporated in a wide variety of traditional Greek meals including Youvarlakia Avgolemono (Greek Meatball Soup), or as a topping for Greek Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Lahanodolmades) and Dolmades (Greek Stuffed Grape Leaves), to name a few.
My avgolemono recipe is in the recipe card below but essentially, the sauce comes down to beating egg whites until they are frothy, whisking them with the yolks and lemon juice and tempering them with hot broth before they are added to the soup.
The lemon flavor in this classic Greek soup recipe is easily customizable. Add more or less lemon juice or less to suit your tastes. Or add a little and then serve the soup with lemon wedges so everyone can add as much as they desire. This is a good idea if you have picky eaters. Everybody can adjust it to meet their needs.
Ingredients in this recipe for authentic Avgolemono Soup
To make this easy recipe for chicken avgolemono soup, you will need:
- Chicken: any cut will do-chicken breast, chicken thigh, or chicken drumsticks. You can even use a whole chicken and double the rest of the recipe to make a large stock pot.
- Chicken broth: homemade or store-bought. Homemade chicken stock is the best option if you have it!
- Vegetables: onions, carrot, celery that are finely chopped.
- Italian rice or arborio rice: rinsed and drained
- Eggs: In order to avoid the eggs curdling when they mix with the hot liquid, it’s best to use room temperature eggs.
- Lemon: fresh lemon juice. You can adjust the amount of lemon you use depending on your personal preference. I often include just a little in the actual soup and serve it with lemon wedges so others can adjust it to their own liking if they like lots of lemon.
- Salt and black pepper
**Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
How to make this recipe for avgolemono soup
The full details of this recipe are in the recipe card below, but essentially this soup comes down to a few simple steps:
- Cook the chicken: In a large pot, boil the chicken in broth will onion, salt and pepper. Once cooked, remove chicken and set aside to cool.
- Boil the rice and veggies. To the broth, add the rice, carrot and celery and boil until the rice is cooked through.
- Shred the chicken and add it back. Shred the chicken once it is cool enough to handle. Add the shredded chicken back to the soup. Remove the soup from heat.
- Make the avgolemono sauce: Separate the egg whites and yolks in two bowls and beat them separately, making sure the egg whites are fluffy and hold their shape. Mix the egg yolks and whites together and add lemon juice while beating.
- Temper the sauce: Continue to beat as you add some warm broth from the soup to the egg mixture (to temper the eggs and prevent them from curdling, you slowly add the warm liquid until you’ve added about 2 cups of broth). Add the egg-lemon mixture to the soup pot and stir continuously. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve this traditional Greek avgolemono soup recipe with additional lemon wedges so everyone can add as much lemon as desired.
Tips for making the best avgolemono sauce
While the steps for making avgolemono sauce are simple, in order to achieve the best results (and prevent the sauce from curdling), follow these simple tips:
Tip #1: Use room temperature ingredients for the sauce. In order to prevent the sauce from curdling when I make it, I let the eggs and lemon sit out on the counter while the soup is cooking. This helps prevent them from getting shocked by the drastic temperature change when the warm broth is added to them.
Tip #2: Whisk your egg whites well. In order to get the frothiest sauce, I beat my egg whites with an electric hand mixer until they form stiff peaks (like a meringue).
Tip #3: Make sure the soup isn’t boiling hot. When adding broth to temper the eggs as well as when you add the avgolemono sauce to the pot of soup, you want to make sure it isn’t boiling hot as this will cause the eggs to cook immediately and therefore curdle. It should be warm, but not boiling hot.
Tip #4: Continuous whisking. While adding broth to temper the eggs, you want to make sure you are constantly whisking (and whisking quickly). You also want to continuously stir as you add the tempered avgolemono sauce into the pot of soup.
How to store leftovers
The delicious recipe makes several portions. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. If you would like to, you can also freeze the soup to heat up when needed.
If you are freezing this soup, skip the last step of adding the lemon-egg sauce. It doesn’t do well during the freezing-reheating process and is better off made fresh when you are ready to eat it.
I hope you enjoy this comforting soup as much as my family does! I have enjoyed this Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono) so many times in my life and never tire of it! It is easily a favorite soup in our home and I hope it becomes one in yours as well.
-Cathy
Looking for other easy soup recipes? Check out these other Greek dishes:
Youvarlakia Avgolemono (Greek Meatball Soup) (another traditional Greek soup)
Greek Chickpea Soup (Revithosoupa)
Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) Recipe
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken (breast, thigh, or drumsticks) [Alternatively, you can use a whole chicken and double the rest of the ingredients to make a larger pot of soup.]
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk finely chopped
- 1 cup Italian rice rinsed and drained
- 2 eggs
- juice of 1 lemon (adjust to personal preference or serve with additional lemon wedges so individuals can add more as needed)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the chicken, broth, onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium and cook on a low boil until the chicken is cooked through. Cooking time will depend on the cut of chicken used. Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
- Add the rice, carrot and celery and boil until the rice is cooked through.
- While the vegetables and rice are cooking, shred the chicken (once it is cool enough to handle).
- Once the rice and vegetables are cooked, add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Remove from heat.
- In 2 bowls, crack the eggs, separating the whites from the yolks. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until they are fluffy and hold their shape. Beat the egg yolks for a couple of minutes and then mix the egg whites and yolks together.
- Add the juice of 1 lemon and continue to beat. Continue to beat as you slowly add some warm broth from the soup to the egg mixture to prevent cooking the eggs. Continue to slowly add the broth until you have added about 2 cups of broth to the avgolemono sauce.
- Add the egg-lemon mixture to the soup pot and stir continuously. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with additional lemon juice if desired.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
Delicious and quite easy to make too!
Thank you Kristin! So happy you liked it! 🙂