Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
Recipe from Mediterranean Food & Diet | Easy Recipes | Suzy Karadsheh · original post · full recipe on themediterraneandish.com
Greek chicken and rice soup finished with a lemon-egg sauce that turns the broth silky and almost creamy, with no cream. A weeknight version in just over 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil15 ml
- carrots — finely chopped100 g
- celery stalks — finely chopped2 ea
- green onions — finely chopped6 ea
- garlic cloves — finely chopped2 ea
- low-sodium chicken broth1920 ml
- bay leaves2 ea
- white rice190 g
- cooked chicken breast — shredded225 g
- lemons — juiced3 ea
- large eggs2 ea
- fresh parsley — chopped, to garnish10 g
Method
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery and green onions, toss to sauté briefly, then stir in the garlic.
- Add the chicken broth and bay leaves and raise the heat to high. Once it reaches a rolling boil, add the rice and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the rice is tender. Stir in the cooked chicken (store-bought rotisserie chicken works).
- For the egg-lemon sauce, whisk about 120 ml (1/2 cup) lemon juice with the eggs in a medium bowl. While whisking, add 2 ladles of broth from the pot to temper the eggs. Once combined, stir the sauce into the soup and remove from the heat immediately.
- Garnish with parsley, if you like, and serve hot with your favorite bread.
Cooking for a different diet?
Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.
Pescatarian
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Fish Soup)
- 1920 ml Vegetable broth instead of low-sodium chicken broth
- 450 g Firm white fish fillets instead of cooked chicken breast
Once the rice is tender, add the fish in chunks and poach gently for 5 to 6 minutes until it just flakes, then stir in the egg-lemon sauce.
Vegetarian
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chickpea Soup)
- 1920 ml Vegetable broth instead of low-sodium chicken broth
- 250 g Chickpeas instead of cooked chicken breast
Stir the drained chickpeas in with the cooked rice and heat through for 2 to 3 minutes before adding the egg-lemon sauce.
Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.
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- extra virgin olive oil · 15 ml
- carrots · 100 g
- celery stalks · 2 items
- green onions · 6 items
- garlic cloves · 2 items
- low-sodium chicken broth · 1.92 L
- bay leaves · 2 items
- white rice · 190 g
- cooked chicken breast · 225 g
- lemons · 3 items
- large eggs · 2 items
- fresh parsley · 10 g