Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)

Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Greek

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 3 20

Total Time: 3 50

Servings: people

Calories: 171kcal

Author: Aleka Shunk

This Greek Avgolemono Soup is a classic Mediterranean dish known for its creamy and tangy flavor, combining chicken broth, lemon juice, and beaten eggs to create a luscious, velvety texture. Growing up Greek, it's a comforting and nostalgic soup recipe.

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Ingredients

1 4 lb whole chicken
water
3 ribs celery, cleaned and chopped into thirds
3 carrots, peeled and choped into thirds
1 large yellow onion *or two medium onions
4 large garlic bulbs
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
½ tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup rice *see note below
2 large eggs
⅓-½ cup lemon juice, frreshly squeezed *see note below
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

Instructions

Add whole chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorn, salt, thyme and parsley to a stock pot with about 10 cups of water depeding upon the size of your pot. (You want the chicken to be completely covered with water.)
Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 3-4 hours on medium low heat.
Add a strainer over top of another large stock pot and strain the stock into the new pot so the strainer catches the cooked chicken and veggies. The new pot will have JUST your clean chicken stock now.
Add 2 cups of water and rice to the strained broth and boil for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender. At this point, season the broth with salt to your liking.
Pull the chicken from the strainer and discard the rest of the veggies/herbs.
Remove all the bones and cartilidge from the chicken gently trying not to break apart the chicken too much.
Chop the chicken into small pieces and set aside 2 cups for the soup. The rest of the chicken can be frozen. See note below.
When the rice is tender, turn off the heat.
Crack both of your eggs into a medium sized bowl and scramble.
Remove 2 cups of the hot broth from the pot using a measuring cup and VERY slowly, pour the broth into the eggs as you scramble. This is called tempering. If you don't do this slowly, you will have chunks of scrambed eggs in your soup so take your time. Ask someone to help pour as you scramble if you can! :)
When all the broth is incorporated into the eggs, pour it all back into the pot and stir.
Add in your chicken, lemon juice and fresh herbs and stir. Serve hot!

Notes

Notes*

I have step-byu-step photos in my post above so feel free to scroll up to see them!

This soup looks more complicated than it is. The only mistake you can make is not slowly incorporating the hot broth into the eggs. Everything else is foolproof.

If you want to add in more chicken, rice or lemon juice, you can!

Always season your soup in the middle and at the end. Salt is essential. Salt to your liking.

Nutrition