Avgolemono Soup is a fabulously lemony chicken soup made super creamy without any dairy! It’s classic Greek comfort food.
Avgolemono soup is a traditional Greek soup made by thickening hot broth with a mixture of eggs and lemon juice (avgó = egg, lemóni = lemon). The result is a silky, creamy texture without any dairy, balanced by bright lemon flavor. It’s most often finished with rice or orzo and tender chicken, both of which I added to my delicious version.
Chicken broth thickened with eggs and flavored with lemon is a Mediterranean idea so good that just about everyone claimed it in one form or another. You’ll find versions of avgolemono soup in Greece, Turkey, and Italy, as well as throughout Arabic and Jewish cuisines. The texture and flavor of the soup are remarkable ~ silky and lightly creamy (with no dairy whatsoever), balanced by a bright, pronounced lemon tang.
My lemon soup recipe is cobbled together from a handful of sources. I take what I love from each one until I get it just right for me ~ not too many eggs, extra lemon, no celery, and orzo instead of rice. Traditionally, this soup starts with a whole chicken simmered into broth, but I use a good rotisserie chicken and quality store-bought broth without sacrificing the character or flavor of this wonderful soup.
the avgolemono soup method
When you add the egg and lemon mixture to the hot broth, it immediately forms a creamy emulsion that thickens the soup without any dairy. To keep the soup smooth, add the mixture slowly and stir constantly, then keep the heat low ~ don’t let it boil, or the eggs may curdle.
This soup can be adjusted to suit your needs: keep it lighter with less chicken and rice, or make it more substantial by adding more of both. Its warm, lemony broth makes it an especially good choice for anyone who’s feeling under the weather.
The avgolemono soup technique to create a super lemony sauce thickened with eggs is one I’ve adopted time and again…
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Avgolemono Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 4 large eggs, well beaten
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strain pips and
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cut in chunks
- 2 cups cooked orzo or rice
- snipped chives or dill
Instructions
- Heat the stock in a large soup pot to simmering.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the 4 eggs well, and then whisk in the lemon juice, making sure the eggs are completely broken up and smooth.
- Slowly pour one ladle of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking all the while. Add another in slowly, and then a third. You are tempering the eggs so they don’t curdle when you add them to the hot broth in the soup pot.
- Off the heat, slowly, drizzle in the lemon egg mixture back into the broth, whisking constantly. (If you are good at that pat the head and rub the tummy trick, you’ll do fine with this…) The soup will turn a cloudy creamy color.
- Put the pan back on the burner and heat gently while stirring, I use a silicone spoonula for this. Don't heat too long, and don't bring to a simmer or boil. The lemon egg mixture will heat through and give the soup a silky body, but it won't get thick. Take off the heat and check the seasonings. I love to add lots of pepper, and you may need some salt.
- I like to put the rice and chicken in the individual bowls first, and then top with the hot soup. This way the orzo or rice doesn’t absorb too much of the broth and get soggy. Add the chives, and serve right away.
Nutrition
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Hi…I was wondering if I could eliminate the chicken and possibly replace with corn as my hubby is vegetarian. I had this soup on the weekend for the first time, it was mindblowing, I am now addicted and scouring around to find a vegetarian version if possible.
Great blog site.
You can definitely eliminate the chicken, although the flavor will be milder.
Wonderful soup Sue. It sounds terrific. So cool you updated and re-posted. That would be great about how since we can’t seem to shake this winter weather. We had a foot of snow last week and I think it will stay on the ground until June!
You would do my mother proud. I grew up eaten this soup-it is my favorite! It’s warm, comforting and soothing. There is nothing like it!
I love all these ingredients, and anything with lemon is a winner – the essence of the Mediterranean.
My partner calls this grandma food because it’s the kind of soup she always made for him. GREG
Yup, this definitely has a grandma quality to it 😉
I love this soup. My friend Leda first made it for me when she was visiting from Greece decades ago and it’s a go to comfort food for my family every since. We used orzo pasta instead of rice because I was out of rice. Either way is lovely. Just be sure to pre-cook and drain the orzo before adding it to the soup or it will be too starchy. Thanks for sharing your version.
Thanks Carol, I think I will try it with orzo next, for a change.
This soup sounds fabulous Sue. As a matter of fact, we are snowed in at our kids house right now and Kristen and I are planning to make this tonight, adapting it a little with what we have on hand. Thanks for the great recipe.
Hope it keeps you warm Penny!
I’ve been meaning to try out a veg recipe for avgolemono, though I feel like that would be heretical in some way. But I love the flavors in it! Such a comfort.
Hi! First time visitor to your page! It’s beautiful, tons of unique ideas here. I’m adding you to my Bloglovin’ feed so I can keep up with your new posts!
Hey Micheline, welcome in!
I had this soup at a Greek restaurant recently and it has been on my mind so I’m so glad to find this recipe for it. I wasn’t sure if it used whole eggs or egg yolks. Definitely going to give this a try – pure comfort food.
Some recipes do use egg yolks, This one works very well, I’ve made it numerous times and I never have had trouble with the eggs as long as I temper them first.