Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono)

This soup is a traditional Greek recipe that eats like a meal. It’s loaded with chicken, eggs and rice and has lots of herbs and lemon to add freshness. This recipe is dairy and gluten free.  

Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono)

Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings


INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil

  • 1 yellow onion, finely chopped

  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped

  • 1 large carrot, finely chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • ½ tsp. red chili flakes

  • 6 cups chicken broth

  • 2/3 cup uncooked Arborio rice

  • Zest of 1 lemon

  • Juice of 2 lemons

  • 4 eggs

  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken and removed the skin)

  • ¼ cup chopped chives

  • ¼ cup chopped fresh dill

  • Cracked black pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until onions are translucent and vegetables are soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add in garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Pour in chicken broth and rice and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender.

In a large bowl whisk together eggs, lemon juice and zest. Slowly whisk one ladle of the hot soup into the egg mixture. Once combined, continue to add the soup to the eggs one ladle at a time until the egg mixture is heated. Pour the egg mixture back into the soup and stir to combine.

Mix in the shredded chicken, chives and dill. Season with pepper (the soup will probably already have enough salt in it from the chicken stock unless you used low sodium) and serve hot.

Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup (Avgolemono)