Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)

I don’t’ know what it is about the summer, but it always puts me into the mood for anything lemony. I start buying lemons by the bag when the weather gets warm so I can include them in as many recipes as possible, whether it’s the main course, side dish, dessert, or beverage. Today it will be a main in the form of Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup). This soup promises to be light, bright, and a little creamy thanks to the combination of chicken, lemon, and arborio rice. I’m looking forward to it!

A light and bright Greek style lemon chicken soup with rice that is thickened with eggs.

Recipe Author: Kevin at Closet Cooking
Get the recipe

The Ingredients

The list of ingredients for avgolemono is pretty short. I opted to go the traditional route and skipped the white miso paste. It’s not something I normally keep around, and I was afraid most of it would go to waste.

The ingredients were standard fare, and I found all of them easily at my local grocery store. The one that piqued my interest was the arborio rice.

A quick search and I found out arborio rice is a starchy short-grained from Italy. The high starch content gives it a creamy consistency when cooked, and it’s most famously used for risotto. I’ve never prepared it, but I have eaten my share (mental note: idea for a blog post), and it’s delicious! I’m sure it will give this soup a beautiful consistency.

Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup) Ingredients
Chicken breasts, eggs, olive oil, onion, lemons, chicken broth, and arborio rice

The Process

This soup was quick and easy to make, but I had to start by making the cooked chicken. To do that, I brought a saucepan of water to a rolling boil and dropped in a whole chicken breast. I boiled it for 20 minutes, removed it, shredded it once it was cooled, and popped into the refrigerator until I was ready to use it. That gave me a little over 2 cups of chicken, but I used it all in the avgolemono.

So making this recipe went pretty smoothly until I realized I used a pan that was too small. I began with the 2.5-quart saucepan I used to boil the chicken breast, but I realized it was too small when I added the chicken broth and nearly filled the pan. I had to switch to my 4.5-quart pan in the middle of cooking.

The pan switch happened as I was bringing the broth to boil, so I’m sure it slowed me down by a few minutes. Otherwise, it wasn’t a big deal, and I quickly got back on track. Finishing the soup went according to the instructions, although I skipped adding the miso paste (Step 5). Here’s how my time was spent:

  • 7 minutes to prep
  • 26 minutes to cook
  • 33 minutes total
Arborio rice
Arborio rice

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
I've always felt that soup is a wintertime meal, but that has changed! This Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup) was light enough for warm weather and full of lemony goodness. The addition of egg and arborio rice added creaminess without heaviness. In addition to being incredibly yummy, this recipe was quick and only has a few simple ingredients. I had mine ready in about half an hour and got four generous servings out of it.
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you, I’ve just been searching for a good recipe for a long time and yours is the best I’ve found out till now.

    • This is a favorite of mine, and I make it regularly. Sometimes I add a little sauteed garlic to change things up. Please let me know how it turns out for you!

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I've always felt that soup is a wintertime meal, but that has changed! This Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup) was light enough for warm weather and full of lemony goodness. The addition of egg and arborio rice added creaminess without heaviness. In addition to being incredibly yummy, this recipe was quick and only has a few simple ingredients. I had mine ready in about half an hour and got four generous servings out of it.Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)