Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

This Greek Lemon Chicken Soup, also known as Avgolemono, is inspired by a traditional greek dish featuring lemon, broth, eggs, chicken and rice. It's light and healthy yet comforting and filling, making it the perfect winter dinner recipe! This soup recipe is simple, comes together in one pot and takes less than 35 minutes from start to finish.

Servings people

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Equipment

cutting board
knife
large pot
spatula
medium bowl
whisk
ladle

Ingredients

olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
½ cup diced carrots (about 2 large carrots)
½ cup diced celery (about 3-4 celery stalks)
5 cloves garlic minced
2 strips lemon peel
½ tbsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves (omit if you don't have any)
6 cups chicken broth (or chicken bone broth)
½ cup dry white rice
1 egg *
1 egg yolk *
2 cups shredded chicken breast **
3-4 oz baby spinach (about 3 large handfuls)
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Bring a large pot/dutch oven to medium heat. Once hot, add a bit of olive oil. Then, add onion, celery, carrots and lemon peel. Season with salt & pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until onions are turning translucent and veggies are getting tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
Add oregano, bay leaves and broth. Stir. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add rice, reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
Remove bay leaves and lemon peels from the pot and discard.
Then, reduce heat to low. In a medium sized bowl, add the egg and egg yolk and whisk. Very slowly add in a few ladlefuls of the broth into the egg bowl, whisking constantly & vigorously. This tempers the eggs so they don’t scramble when adding them to the soup. Then, slowly add the tempered eggs back into the soup pot, whisking constantly & vigorously.
Add in the chicken, spinach, dill and lemon juice. Stir and continue cooking for several more minutes until the chicken is warm and the spinach has wilted. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Enjoy!

Notes

*NOTE: The eggs are what make this soup creamy yet dairy free! It's safe to eat because they technically cook as they're tempered and added back into the soup. However, if you are freaked out by it, you can just omit them. The texture will be affected though.

**NOTE: I usually just boil the chicken as it's an easy and quick way to make shredded chicken. Add chicken breasts (a little less than 1 lb) to a large pot, season with salt and cover with 1 inch of water. Then, bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 10-15 minutes (depending on size of your chicken breasts). Use a hand or stand mixer to shred it easily! You can also use rotisserie chicken.

VEGETARIAN OPTION: Swap out the chicken for a can of drained & rinsed chickpeas, and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth.

Calories: 202kcal

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: Chicken Soup, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Greek, Lemon, Rice, Soup

Nutrition