Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
Avgolemono is the classic Greek lemon chicken soup: silky, cream-free, and bright with fresh lemon and tender rice. A finishing swirl of peppery extra virgin olive oil over each bowl makes it taste like a taverna made it.
Recipe Success Tips
Temper the eggs slowly to keep the soup silky.
Whisk the eggs and lemon juice together, then add hot broth one ladle at a time while whisking constantly. Rushing it or pouring the eggs straight into the pot will scramble them and leave you with a grainy soup instead of a glossy, velvety one.
Keep the heat low once the eggs go in.
After you stir the egg-lemon mixture back into the pot, never let it boil. Hold it at a bare simmer for a minute or two so it thickens gently. A hard boil will curdle the eggs and thin the texture.
Use fresh lemons, not bottled juice.
Avgolemono lives or dies on its lemon. Fresh-squeezed juice tastes round and floral, while bottled juice reads flat and sharp. Roll the lemons firmly on the counter before juicing to get every drop.
Shred the chicken, do not chop it.
Pulling the cooked chicken into rough shreds with two forks gives you soft, broth-catching pieces that feel at home in a silky soup. Neat knife cubes stay dense and firm and never soak up the lemon.
Finish raw with a peppery high-phenolic oil.
A swirl of Ultra High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil added at the table, off the heat, blooms into a fresh, grassy, peppery aroma with the first spoonful. Reaching for a fresh, high-phenolic bottle for that raw finish is how you get the most flavor and polyphenols onto the plate.
Ingredients
6
servings
- 3 tablespoons Ultra High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for finishing
- 2 tablespoons High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for the pot
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 to 3 lemons)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped, for serving
Kitchen Tools You'll Need
Large Pot or Dutch Oven
Chef's Knife
Cutting Board
Mixing Bowl
Whisk
Ladle
How to Cook Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
COOK
1
Warm the High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and just starting to turn golden. The High Phenolic carries the aromatics evenly and rounds out the base without fighting the lemon to come.
2
Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Pour in the chicken broth, add the whole chicken breasts, and bring to a gentle simmer.
3
Add the rinsed rice, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, partly covered, for about 18 to 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.
4
Lift out the chicken breasts and set them on a board. Shred into soft, rough pieces with two forks, then return the shredded chicken to the pot and reduce the heat to low.
FINISH
5
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice together until smooth and pale. Ladle in about a cup of the hot broth in a thin stream while whisking constantly, then a second ladle, so the eggs warm through gently without scrambling.
6
Slowly stir the tempered egg-lemon mixture back into the pot. Keep the soup at a bare simmer, never a boil, for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens and turns silky. Taste and adjust salt and lemon.
7
Ladle into bowls and finish each with a swirl of Ultra High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a scatter of fresh dill. That raw drizzle blooms into a fresh, grassy, peppery aroma with the first spoonful, the finishing flourish that makes it taste restaurant-made.
Recipe Notes
Serve avgolemono hot with warm crusty bread and an extra lemon wedge on the side. It makes a bright, light main on its own, or a starter before a plate of greek lemon chicken for a fully Greek table. A small bowl of lemony Greek rice alongside doubles down on the citrus-and-herb theme.
Swap the rice for orzo if you prefer a pasta base, or use cooked pearl barley for a heartier, nuttier bowl. For a lighter, brothier soup, cut the rice to half a cup. If you like this style of bright, lemony soup, try our lemon lentil soup, which trades the egg liaison for creamy lentils.
Cook the aromatics in the smooth, balanced High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is suited to everyday cooking heat. Save the bold, peppery Ultra High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the raw swirl at the table, where its fresh, grassy bite is tasted directly and defines the finished bowl.
Avgolemono keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a sealed container. Reheat it gently over low heat, stirring often, and never let it boil or the egg-thickened broth can separate. It does not freeze well because of the eggs. Store your olive oil away from heat and light, and use a fresh, high-phenolic bottle for the raw finish so its flavor stays lively.
Nutrition Facts per Serving
Nutrition Facts
Serving size about 1.5 cups
Calories
290
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g17%
Saturated Fat 2.5g13%
Trans Fat 0g
Unsaturated Fat 10g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 135mg45%
Sodium 640mg28%
Total Carbohydrate 24g9%
Dietary Fiber 1.5g5%
Total Sugars 3g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 22g44%
Vitamin A 210mcg23%
Vitamin C 12mg13%
Vitamin D 0.5mcg3%
Calcium 45mg3%
Iron 1.6mg9%
Potassium 480mg10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Avgolemono is a traditional Greek lemon chicken soup thickened with a sauce of eggs and fresh lemon juice, called avgolemono. The name comes from the Greek words for egg (avgo) and lemon (lemono). It is silky and cream-free, usually built on chicken, broth, and rice.
Temper them. Whisk the eggs and lemon juice together, then slowly add hot broth a ladle at a time while whisking so the eggs warm gradually. Stir the mixture back into the pot off a hard boil and hold it at a bare simmer, which keeps the soup glossy instead of grainy.
Yes. Orzo is a common swap and cooks in roughly the same time as rice. This version uses long-grain white rice for a classic, gluten-free bowl, but you can use orzo, pearl barley, or even shredded chicken alone for a lighter soup.
Made with rice, as it is here, avgolemono is naturally gluten-free. Check that your chicken broth is certified gluten-free, and avoid the orzo variation if you need to keep it that way.
Cook the aromatics in a smooth, balanced oil like the High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, then finish each bowl with a raw swirl of a bold, peppery Ultra High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The raw drizzle is tasted directly, so a fresh, high-phenolic bottle gives the brightest flavor.
Yes. Skip poaching raw chicken and stir in about two cups of shredded rotisserie chicken once the rice is tender. It cuts the active time considerably and still tastes bright and homemade.
Keep it refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring often, and do not let it boil, since the egg-thickened broth can separate at high heat. It does not freeze well because of the eggs.
The soup thickens from the tempered eggs, so it stays fairly light rather than stew-thick. For a fuller body, use three eggs, let it simmer gently after adding the liaison, and give the rice its full cooking time so its starch enriches the broth.
It is a light, protein-rich soup with lean chicken, fresh lemon, and no cream, which fits the Mediterranean-diet pattern well. Finishing with a fresh high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil adds monounsaturated fats and olive polyphenols like hydroxytyrosol to the bowl.
Warm crusty bread, a lemon wedge, and a simple green salad are classic. It also works as a starter before a Greek main such as lemon chicken or a side of lemony Greek rice.
