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 1/2 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
Mediterranean-Style Shrimp Stew
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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)
- 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 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)
- 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 1 tbsp 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 1/2 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.
Love this soup and have been making it regularly however my wife just asked if there is a way to make it with brown rice? Thanks!
Fernando
I’ve used brown rice – just made it up separately and added it to the soup in last 5 minutes to heat up the rice. It was delicious.
Thanks for sharing that, Stephanie!
I had to make avgolemeno soup for the first time this Orthodox Easter. This was a very easy to follow delicious recipe! My family loved it and couldn’t believe I made it so easy and tasty on my first try! Thank you!
Wonderful! Thanks, Kara!
We are traveling to our sons home which is 6 hours away. I would like to make this in advance to serve for lunch. Can this be made a few days in advance?
Sure. I think that would work. See the section entitled “Leftovers. Can you Freeze Avgolemono?” for tips.
This soup was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! My mom said it was probably the best soup ever. It was very lemony and flavorful. However, I forgot to add bay leaves to the soup but it still turned out very good! 🙂
Wonderful! Thanks so much!
Love….love…love this soup! I am not much of a soup person…
But this is the best and I add EXTRA lemon because I just love it!
Thank you for the recipe!
Hi , I’m a very proud Greek Canadian and we don’t traditionally put carrots and celery in avgolemeno, only when making the chicken broth base, then we strain everything.This is more what non Greeks would make.
I didn’t really like this recipe because it was too lemony (I am a huge fan of lemon!). I followed the recipe exactly. However, I’m still giving it four stars because I believe with only 1/4 a cup of lemon juice instead of 1/2 a cup, it would be phenomenal. I love that the tempered eggs make it creamy without any dairy or non dairy substitute. I also like that the rice absorbs most of the broth and so it’s a thicker soup rather than extra brothy.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, Krystal!
hi Suzy, I never leave comments but I have to make an exception in this case: this soup rocks! Thanks for expanding my cooking repertoire.!
Thanks you so much, Susan! This soup is one of my favs!! I’m glad you loved it as much as I do!
I made this soup last night. It was already getting late, but I was hungry for something satisfying. We had eaten out, but the food was not satisfying, I was still hungry. It was quick and easy to make. About thirty minutes and I had the most delicious , comforting, filling soup I’ve ever tasted. It’s May favorite soup now. I will make the other soup recipes on this website so I can try the others, but this avgolemono is absolutely delicious!! Thanks. Suzy.
So glad you enjoyed it, Joyce!
I just made this for the first time and this recipe is fool proof and delicious! It’s super easy to make (although it’s good to have an extra set of hands to help with tempering), but comes out tasting like you spent hours on it. It easily pairs with bread or as part of a meal with soup/salad or soup/sandwich. I made it with chicken thighs cooked in my instant pot and then shredded (the same way I cook chicken for the Healthy Chicken Salad recipe). This is going to be a favorite!
Thanks so much, Melissa!
I made it with the leftover chicken of this BEST Chicken Marinade recipe. Skin removed. I work from home and I cook slow. During my break I took the brown rice that I had and soaked it in hot water from the tap for a couple hours. (Time got away from me.) I took my broth and started heating it up then threw in the rice and chicken (easier to shred when to warm). While that was going I cut up my vegetables (did I mention I cook slow). Took the chicken out to shred. Sauteed vegetables then added to the pot. Added my egg mixture (I was so proud of that!) Viola! Another amazing soup! Thanks again!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Charlene!
Do you have to make any adjustments in how much broth when using brown rice? We are eating more whole grains, and this looks like a wonderfully healthy and comforting dish.
Hi, Lisa! That is awesome that you are working to incorporate more whole grains into your diet. While not traditional, brown rice will work here. Since I have not tried brown rice personally with this recipe, it’s hard to give you and exact amount of rice/liquid measurement here. I would take a look at what ratio is required for the particular brand of brown rice you are using and go from there. If you give a try, please stop back and let us know your adaptations. That’s always super helpful to other readers :).
This recipe is fantastic! I sauteed about half a pound of chicken cutlet, dusted in flour, in three tablespoons of butter. After setting the chicken aside, I followed the recipe to the letter starting with the drippings in the Dutch oven. The soup was out of this world delicious! One other note – I used Arborio rice, so I didn’t soak it. The starches add dimension to the soup. This recipe is a keeper!
Thanks you for sharing, Anne!
We do use an orzo/rice combo and my wife uses 12 eggs, we love it but we eat it about once a yr when I get a hankering for it. lol
Love these video recipe. thx Greg
When I use orso I cook it separately then add it right before serving. It helps keep the orso from overcooking.
Thanks for sharing that tip, Susan!
Is recipe for uncooked white rice? Would it work with brown or wild rice? Thanks! (Apologies if it is written somewhere and I missed it!)
-Christy
Hi, Christy. Yes, the recipe is for uncooked white rice. Brown rice would work… you just may need to adjust the liquid and cooking time accordingly.
Today I made this soup and it was delicious. Easy and quick to make. The evening before, I made the chicken broth. So half work was already done. The thing with the egg was for me the first time I made it in this way. It turned out really good. I watched your You tube video. So the cooking was a succes! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Wonderful! Thanks, Ira!
Hello Suzy,
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Could you please confirm that amount of chicken to use? In recipe it says 2 breasts or 6-8 oz rotisserie. The video looks like more than 8oz and 2 breasts would normally weigh more, so I just wanted to double check. I’ve made a similar version before but figure it’s time for improvement and to try something new. Looking forward to making this!
Best,
Mark
Hi, Mark! Yes… it would depend on the size of the chicken breasts. Some do weigh more :). I do lean more towards adding 8 oz of the chicken, but adding a little more or a little less won’t make too much of a difference here.