You'll love this authentic Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe. Ah-vgo-le-mono, as the Greeks pronounce it, is a silky, rich, fragrant chicken soup, prepared Greek-style with avgolemono sauce (lemon-egg sauce.) Best part, this weeknight version comes together in just over 30 minutes.
A couple of important tips make all the difference, be sure to read through this post and watch my video for how to make Greek avgolemono.
Chicken soup is one of those nostalgic dishes known as a home remedy to comfort the sick or relief the cold chill in the air. It's also one of those universal foods every culture, and every household, has some version of--noodles or not.
I'll never pass up a warm bowl of homemade chicken soup, but one of my favorites for sure is the Greek version: the egg and lemon soup known as Avgolemono.
Avgolemono is no ordinary chicken rice soup. There is just something special, and extra luxurious, about Avgolemono, a combination of egg and lemon that's used in many Greek dishes, from this soup to Youvarlakia (Greek Meatball Soup). Here, the fluffy and lemony combination makes for a decidedly rich, comforting chicken soup with a silky broth that's heavily scented with lemon. Delicious!
I'm telling you, if you have not tried Greek avgolemono soup, you are in for a treat!
What is Avgolemono?
Avgolemono, pronounced ah-vgo-le-mono (the "g" is there, but it's a lighter g...almost silent), refers to the tasty Greek sauce from which this chicken soup gets it's name. Avgolemono sauce is a silky and fragrant sauce made of eggs, lots of lemon, and warm broth.
Greek cooks use avoglemono sauce to augment or dress a number of things from Avgolemono soup, to roast chicken, vegetables, and even dolmades (grape leaves.) Avgolemono sauce does make a difference, infusing a dish with richness and bright notes of lemon.
30-Minute Weeknight Avgolemono Soup
Avgolemono soup may start like any ordinary chicken soup--onions, carrots, celery, broth, chicken etc.
But--at the very end--is delightfully transformed into a silky, tangy, absolutely unforgettable bowl chicken rice soup, thanks to the addition of Greek avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon sauce.)
Now, to make traditional avgolemono soup, Greek yiayias would spend more than two hours--starting from scratch to make homemade chicken stock from a whole chicken, then shredding the chicken to be used in the soup.
But in my 30-minute weeknight version, I two major shortcuts: ready chicken stock or broth (low-sodium, preferred); and store-bought rotisserie chicken. Since I often have leftover rotisserie chicken on hand, avgolemono is a great way to put it to use.
This weeknight avgolemono never disappoints, and it is as comforting and authentic-tasting as the traditional version.
Two Important Tips for Making Avgolemono Soup:
So, it's the avgolemono sauce that makes all the difference in this chicken soup, providing a silky thick consistency and adding that extra zing. Two important tips when it comes to this sauce and making avgolemono soup:
1. Make sure to temper the sauce. To make avgolemono sauce, you'll need to whisk two eggs with ½ cup of lemon, and while whisking with one hand, pour in two ladles of the hot chicken broth from your soup. That's really the trickiest part of this soup, but it's not that difficult. And if you need to, ask someone to help you pour in the broth, while you do the whisking.
2. Add avgolemono sauce to the soup at the very end, and immediately remove from heat. This is your very last step in the process, be sure to remove the soup from heat immediately or the eggs might begin to cook and the soup separates (you're not looking for an egg drop soup here.)
Let's get to the step-by-step of how to make Greek avgolemono soup, and you'll see how easy it is...
Step-by-Step for Greek avgolemono soup:
1- In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute carrots, celery and green onions...and, a couple minutes later, add garlic.
2- Add broth and bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil, then add the rice (Tip: I like to soak rice in water for a few minutes before using, this helps it cook quickly and evenly.) Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Now, stir in shredded cooked chicken (I used rotisserie chicken.)
3- Prepare the avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon sauce). In a medium bowl, whisk two eggs with the lemon juice. While whisking, add in 2 ladles-full of the broth from your cooking pot (this is to temper the sauce.)
Add the sauce to the chicken soup and immediately remove from heat (this is important you do not want the eggs to cook and the soup to separate.)
Can you use orzo instead of rice in this Avgolemono recipe?
Yes, orzo is fine to use instead of rice in this recipe. You can use 1 cup orzo, and watch cooking time as orzo will cook more quickly (about 7 minutes or so)
Leftovers. Can You Freeze Avgolemono?
To store leftover avgolemono soup, make sure the soup cools to room temperature. Transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Because this is a cream-free soup, you can also freeze avgolemono soup, particularly if you make a larger batch. Whether you freeze a large family-size amount or in small individual servings, be sure to leave enough room the freezer-safe containers to allow for soup to expand.
Thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat; it helps to add a little bit of liquid, broth or water. Heat until warmed through and be sure to stir regularly (it can tend to separate.)
What to Serve Along?
For a simple dinner, my family enjoys avgolemono soup and Greek salad. But this comforting chicken and rice soup can also be served as a warm starter to a special Greek feast! Browse our Greek Recipes collection for more delicious recipes!
Watch this video for How to Make Avgolemono
More Recipes to Try
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Avgolemono: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe. Silky, rich, fragrant chicken soup, prepared Greek-style with avgolemono sauce, which is a Greek lemon-egg sauce with warm broth. Best part, this weeknight version comes together in just over 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Private Reserve Greek olive oil)
- ½ to 1 cup finely chopped carrots
- ½ to 1 cup finely chopped celery
- ½ to 1 cup finely chopped green onions
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup rice
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cooked boneless chicken breast pieces, shredded ( about 6 to 8 oz store-bought rotisserie chicken will work)
- ½ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium-high. Add the carrots, celery and green onions, toss together to saute briefly then stir in the garlic.
- Add the chicken broth and bay leaves then raise the heat to high. Once the liquid has come to a rolling boil, add the rice, salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Now stir in the cooked chicken.
- To prepare the egg-lemon sauce, in a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and eggs. While whisking add 2 ladles-full of the broth from the cooking pot (this helps temper the eggs). Once fully combined, add the sauce to the chicken soup and stir. Remove from the heat immediately.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, if you like. Serve hot with your favorite bread. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cook's Tip for Rice: Be sure to rinse the rice well. And it helps to soak the rice in water for about 15 minutes or so or until you are able to break one grain of rice easily. The rice will cook quickly and evenly.
- Can you use orzo instead of rice? Yes, orzo is fine to use. You can use 1 cup orzo, and watch cooking time as orzo will cook more quickly (about 7 minutes or so)
- Important Tips: 1. Make sure to temper the sauce. To make avgolemono sauce, you'll need to whisk two eggs with ½ cup of lemon, and while whisking with one hand, pour in two ladles of the hot chicken broth from your soup. That's really the trickiest part of this soup, but it's not that difficult. And if you need to, ask someone to help you pour in the broth, while you do the whisking. 2. Add avgolemono sauce to the soup at the very end, and immediately remove from heat. This is your very last step in the process, be sure to remove the soup from heat immediately or the eggs might begin to cook and the soup separates (you're not looking for an egg drop soup here.)
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- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek
*This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in January 2016 and has recently been updated with new information and media for readers' benefit.
Excellent! Family loved this! They never had it before so I ended up doing 1/4 lemon juice because I didn’t know how they would react. It came out perfect and even my son likes it! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Fabulous, Justine! Thank you!
I am following you on pinterest and youtube. I am a vegetarian and tweak all your meat dishes. In this soup, which came out fabulously, I used naked chicken cutlets (faux chicken) spiced with a little salt and pepper and poultry seasoning. I was a little worried about the tempering of the eggs but it worked perfect. This soup is my new favorite. I hope I can freeze it and not loose any flavor. Next soup I am trying is your meatball tomato.
Thank you so much for sharing, Patricia! I'm excited to hear what you do with the Meatball soup 🙂
This is SOOO good and so easy. YUM.
Thanks, Angela!
I did as you said, to temper the lemon & eggs & removed from heat right away but it still looks like super fine egg drop soup (tiny curdled look)... any way to fix this batch??? It taste pretty good but kinda of bitter... please advise!
hi there! Thanks so much for sharing. This is the hardest part about Avgolemono is to keep the egg and lemon mixture from breaking, but as you said it will takes fine still. A couple of things, once you've tempered and added the mixture in, keep stirring constantly for a bit so it won't break. Some folks actually mix the egg mixture in a blender adding about 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and blending until frothy, this could help but to me it makes the soup quite a bit thicker (which some like as well). As far as the bitterness, it could easily be that the lemons were nearing their end time or perhaps you might like to use a little bit less. The amount of lemon can be adjusted to your liking.
I rarely leave reviews.. but this soup was a delightful surprise! I love lemons, this soup is fabulous: light, silky, with a hearty fresh lemon glow! My pantry stocks were low but the rotisserie chicken & subsequent stock worked well, I added an entire bunch of chopped parsley as it was getting past it's best before date.
Thank you so much!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Robin! Thank you!
So good!!! I love Avogolemeno and aside from doing a total from scratch recipe with a whole raw chicken this is hands down the best! I did use raw chicken breast instead of rotisserie and just added it in cubes when I added the rice. Came out perfect. Thank you!!
My pleasure! So glad you liked it, Jenny!
thanks for this recipe! I am by no means a cook and I purchased ingredients to make this but I only have raw chicken breasts - can I just add the breast in the beginning at let it cook along with veggies and rice?
thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Jacyln, that could work. If you're not sure, it may be better to boil the chicken breast separately first, then shred and add to the soup later.
Big hit. Followed recipe as much as I follow any recipe. Used a rotisserie chicken and made broth from the bones. The eggs tempered beautifully. Went a little shy on lemon juice and added some oregano. Parboiled rice with some of broth and water before adding to soup. Flavors are outstanding and silky smooth. Thank you for recipe and will definitely be checking out some of your others.
Sounds delicious, Holli! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This looks like a great soup. I have 4 egg yolks that need using. Can I use them rather than 2 whole eggs??
Hi Jane, I would only use 2 eggs in this recipe, otherwise you may compromise the taste and it may be too "eggy"
Tasty, but extremely lemony. I couldn't even eat it, was too acidic. If I were to make it again, I would make it with 1/4 cup lemon juice.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Anon!
Haven't made this yet, but, definitely will. Do you think leeks would do well in this dish not replacing anything, but, in addition to? I absolutely love leeks and try to add to all soups when I can. Since I haven't made this yet was wondering if you had an opinion. Thanks!
Hi, Heidi! Sure! You could add the leeks! I would chop them up and sauté them with the rest of the veggies.
Love the recipe. But could you just pronounce it properly? AV(G)OLÉMONO. The emphasis is on É. NOt avgolemóno. It's just too terrible for words. I almost didn't finish watching the video for that reason.
Rosmarie, thank you. Well aware of how this word is pronounced as mentioned at the top of the post. When someone has a hard time or mispronounces a word I grew up with, I typically find it endearing and always appreciate the effort. That said, the recipe is delicious.
LOL! so there!
Enjoy! 🙂
Pull the stick out of your bum, jeez...
Love this soup! So delicious. I used to order from a Greek restaurant but not anymore! I love all of your recipes. Stuffed eggplant recipe just came out of the oven for dinner and I will also be making fattoush salad to go along with it. Thank you for all these wonderful recipes!
That's so sweet, Margo! Thank you!!!!
Love this soup. My partner says it's his favorite soup now. Very filling with wonderful flavor.
That's great! Thanks, Andie!
I love this soup! Do you have any suggestions for making it a little thicker? I’ve had it before at a Greek restaurant where it was a bit thicker and I was thinking it would be easier for my toddler to eat that way 🙂
Hi Diane! Once you've made the Avgolemono soup, if you let it sit for a brief few minutes, it typically thickens (the rice expands a bit more and the egg mixture too does it's magic in thickening the soup). Some restaurants actually add a thickening agent like starch, which I do not do. Glad you enjoyed it!
This soup is delicious, I have already made it twice in the last week. Super easy instructions, simple ingredients, and So flavorful and healthy. Thank you!
My pleasure! So happy to hear you enjoyed it!