Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono Soup)
Excellent served hot or cold, this creamy yet citrusy soup is perfect any time of year. Tempered eggs lend the soup its rich texture while fresh squeezed lemon offers a delightful twist on this otherwise traditional chicken soup. Great as an appetizer or standalone meal when served with a hunk of fresh bread and one of the best “feel better” soups around thanks to the extra blast of vitamin C.
- Prep Time: 1/2 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 3 large onions, diced
- 8 celery stalks, diced
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
- 12 cups homemade chicken stock
- 1 cup cooked rice OR 1/2 cup uncooked rice*
- 3/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 3 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup lemon juice
*See Notes
Instructions
- Heat oil in large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat until warm.
- Add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic and cook until soft, about 15 minutes.
- Add chicken, chicken stock, rice, oregano, thyme, and salt and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
- Turn off burner and remove dutch oven or stock pot from heat.
- In a separate, large bowl, whisk eggs. Ladle hot soup into egg bowl one ladle at a time, whisking constantly, until the egg and soup mixture is the same temperature as the rest of the soup. If in doubt about the temperature, err on the side of adding more soup to the egg mixture.
- Add the egg and soup mixture back to the dutch oven or stock pot with the rest of the soup, stirring constantly.
- Add lemon juice.
- Serve warm or cold with sliced lemon wheels for garnish. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Notes
- Uncooked Rice – If using uncooked rice, add one extra cup of chicken stock or water in Step 3.
- Tempering the Eggs – Adding hot soup to the egg mixture one ladle at a time while stirring constantly prevents the eggs from scrambling when you add them to the soup. Do this correctly and your soup will take on a nice creamy texture; try to rush it and your soup will have a watery consistency with stringy egg whites.
- Best Eaten Fresh – The eggs and lemon are best enjoyed fresh and will taste sour after a couple of days in the fridge. If planning to make soup several days in advance, store the soup in an airtight container after completing Step 4 and wait to add the eggs and lemon until the day you’re serving. Just remember to heat the soup all the way through before tempering the eggs in Step 5.
- Freeze It! – This is a large batch recipe so you’ll have plenty of extra to store in the freezer for future use. Always good to have some homemade soup ready for when you’re feeling under the weather and not up to cooking.
Keywords: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup, Avgolemono Soup, Chicken Soup