This delicious creamy Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup - Avgolemono - is made with no cream at all. The creaminess comes from eggs which are tempered and added to the broth.
Lemons are a defining flavor in Greek cuisine. They're squeezed over meat, fish and seafood, mixed with olive oil and oregano in Greek Salads and Dressings, combined with eggs for rich egg-lemon sauce or in Greek Lemon chicken Soup. There are endless Greek recipes where lemons play a central role. So when life gives you lemons....cook up some Greek food [sorry, I couldn't resist :)]
I love soup in the winter and this one is both hearty and light. I'll explain. It has plenty of chicken and rice and a rich creamy texture, despite having no cream in it. The lightness comes from the lemon. I think lemon juice makes all foods taste lighter and brighter, like a sunny day on the beach on a Greek Island. Ok, I'm getting carried away - I clearly need a vacation!
How to make Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup (Avgolemono), from scratch
Homemade chicken soup is a nutritious and delicious foundation for avgolemono, and it's easier than you might think to make. You throw a chicken and veggies into a pot with water, simmer it for an hour or so, and you end up with a rich tasting broth plus plenty of poached chicken to shred and add to the Greek lemon chicken soup.
Plain old chicken soup has lost a little of its glamour in my house because I'm always making it as soon as someone gets sick. Avgolemono is just a few eggs and 2 lemons away from Jewish penicillin, yet it has a whole different gestalt. The egg-lemon mixture clouds, thickens and enriches the broth. The rice and chicken add body. Every spoonful is lemony and substantial.
Quick and Easy Avgolemono
No time to make chicken soup from scratch? No worries! You can make delicious chicken lemon rice soup using your favorite store-bought chicken broth (I recommend Swanson's low salt) and a rotisserie chicken. Heat the broth, add the flavorful egg-lemon mixture, cooked rice and shredded chicken. That's it!
How to temper eggs for Greek lemon chicken soup
The key to making creamy Greek lemon chicken soup is properly tempering the eggs. Tempering is the technique for adding the eggs to hot soup so they don't curdle. If you use a proper tempering technique, the eggs create a creamy thick broth. If you don't temper the eggs, you'll end up with a thin broth that has scrambled eggs floating in it.
- Eggs cook quickly and easily when they come into contact with heat. They must be tempered before they are added to the hot soup pot. Tempering means bringing the temperature up...slowly.
- By combining the eggs with lemon juice and whisking them first with just a small amount of hot broth to heat them, you can then whisk them into the hot soup pot and they won't curdle.
- When reheating Greek lemon chicken soup, don't let it fully boil. Heat it slowing, keeping it at a gentle simmer, barely bubbling, to prevent it from curdling.
Here's the Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup Recipe. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup: Avgolemono
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Description
Delicious creamy Greek lemon chicken soup with rice is made with no cream or dairy at all. The creaminess comes from tempered eggs added to the broth.
Ingredients
For The Chicken Broth (For the quick version, skip this section and use store-bought chicken broth and rotisserie chicken. You'll need 8 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken)
- 1 small chicken (about 3 ½ pounds) cut into 8 parts
- 1 carrot, chunked
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 stalks celery, sliced into thirds
- ½ bunch parsley, washed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 12 cups cold water
For the Greek Lemon Chicken Soup:
- 8 cups of homemade or store-bought chicken broth
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 ½ or 2 lemons)
- 3 ½ cups cooked white rice
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make the Chicken Broth: (For the quick version, skip this step and use store-bought chicken broth and rotisserie chicken) Put the chicken, carrot, onion, celery, parsley, and salt in a large Dutch oven or stock pot. Add 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered. After 10 minutes, skim the white solids that rise to the top. (this will ensure a clearer broth) Simmer gently for an hour more. Remove the chicken from the pot. Take the meat off the bones. Shred or cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Pour the soup and vegetables through a strainer, reserving the broth. (The cooked vegetables will not be needed for this recipe). Using a large spoon, skim the fat that pools on top of the broth. If you have time to make a broth a day early, a night in the fridge makes it easy to remove the fat. The fat becomes a thin hard layer, sitting on top. Return 8 cups of chicken broth to the pot and heat to a simmer before continuing.
- Make The Greek Lemon Chicken Soup: Whisk the eggs and lemon juice in a small bowl until fully mixed. While whisking, slowly drizzle one cup of hot broth into the egg-lemon mixture. Then pour egg-lemon-soup mixture into the heated pot of broth while whisking to combine. Reheat gently but don't allow the soup to boil or the eggs will curdle.
- Scoop ½ to ¾ cup of hot rice into the bottom of each soup bowl. Add some shredded chicken. Pour in 1 to 1 ½ cups of broth. Season, to taste, with salt and fresh ground pepper. Garnish with a lemon slice and some parsley, if you like. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Greek
Roland
I have used similar recipes of Chicken Lemon Soup and I found that this one was as close to a soup made at a local restaurant that I love. I tweaked the recipes to how I personally like the soup. I added a little more broth, lemon juice and used chicken thighs. Otherwise, the consistency is perfect when the lemon/eggs are and jasmine rice are added to the mix. The rice slowly breaks up to add thickness to the soup. This is one of my comfort foods on a cool Fall weekend or soothing a mild cold.
Michelle
Fantastic!
Quinlan
I have been looking for this recipe for several years. Clearly, I was in the wrong place. I grew up in Chicago(land) and was always so excited when my parents took me to a Greek diner on Sunday. Sunday was cream of chicken rice soup day. What a treat. Under comfort food in the dictionary it should say "Avgolemono" a new work for me today. And, as is pointed out, without cream, this is a creamy dish and relatively healthy. Thank you so much.
Mary
My uncle was Greek and this was his after Thanksgiving special. He made his broth with the turkey carcass. His though, was made with orzo rather than rice. His process was quite a bit more laborious than yours as the whites, yolks, lemon and broth were all added together separately and so slowly that my arm about fell off whisking it by hand. (Use an electric whisk now, shhh). But now I see yours I am excited to try a slightly easier version. Thank you
nina
OMG I love this soup! A friend just made it for me and now I can't wait to make it for my family.
Perfect blend of light flavors and warm, filling broth.
DELICIOUS!!!!
Laura @MotherWouldKnow
What a gorgeous version of this beautiful and amazing soup.I have never made it myself, but with your recipe and beautiful photos, I will definitely put it on my recipe "to do" list.
Elizabeth
Such a beautiful sounding recipe! Bookmarked to try later!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
Dear Lisa, I would love a bowl of this today when I finish raking this afternoon. The wind is blowing, the leaves are swirling and there's a chill in the air. Perfect for a bowl of this flavorful soup.
Sheila
taste just like the soup I get at our favorite Greek restaurant. Thanks for the recipe!
Matt down the hill
Made your Aleppo Pepper Chicken last week and it was a big hit with the family. Looking forward to this tomorrow on a cold early winter Sunday before the Pats game!
Lisa Goldfinger
Great Matt! So glad the Aleppo chicken was a hit!
Jac Fin
Having been struck down with a horrible cold this weekend, I was craving Chicken Soup for comfort. Delighted I found this recipe. It worked exactly as written.....and provided the comfort I was looking for. Thank you
Sarah
My boyfriend is Greek so I am super excited to try this recipe. Curious- does it hold well if frozen? I would love to make a big batch of it to save for future sick days!
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Sara, you can definitely freeze the chicken broth. I do it all the time. I don't recommend freezing it with the rice because you risk the rice getting soggy and disintegrating. I've never tried freezing it with the eggs and lemon mixed in. The safest would be to freeze the broth and add the egg-lemon mixture and the rice just before serving. Lisa
Mary Apotsos
Do not freeze the soup after you add the eggs and lemon. It does not freeze well. Just make the broth and finish it after you take it out of the freezer. I Make the avoglemono in the blender. Add the eggs and beat then add the lemon and beat keep the blender going and add the hot soup to the mixture. add as much hot soup the blender will hold. Then quickly pour it into the pot of soup and stir. Hope this helps. Mary
Donna
This looks yum. I like the idea of using canned broth because I never seem to budget my time well. I poach the chicken in the broth and it makes for a quick and easy alternative to homemade stock.
Mary
Can't wait to try this.....
Eddie
This is totally delicious!!
marisa smith
Want to make this right now, it looks so perfect for a cold day, especially when we are all so tired of the same old chicken soup!