When life gives you lemons, make Avgolemono Soup!
Avgolemono Soup is the most famous of all the Greek soups. Every time I wasn’t feeling well when I was younger my yiayia would make me a giant pot. Luckily, now my husband knows how to make it and will make it for me when I’m feeling less than 100 percent.
I love making this soup for my Los Angeles personal chef clients. It’s so hearty and satisfying. It’s probably one of my most favorite Greek recipes to make next to Spanakopita.
Try this easy recipe
You can make Avgolemono Soup in a number of different ways, and every family has their signature recipe. Most know it as a chicken soup with a beautiful egg-lemon sauce folded into it. Avgolemono is the Greek word for the egg-lemon sauce. Some recipes include chicken in the actual soup, some don’t. Just like some recipes include vegetables like carrots, celery and onion, and a starch like orzo pasta or rice. I love the Agrozimi Spelt Orzo available from Zelos Authentic Greek Artisan. Like I said, it’s up to you to make it to your taste. There is no right or wrong way. It’s fun to experiment with all the options too!
What chicken should I use in Avgolemono Soup?
This recipe is hearty and packed with protein. I recommend using succulent chicken thighs instead of traditional shredded chicken breasts, which tend to dry out and get chewy in the soup. I start the recipe by browning cubed chicken thighs. This creates a fond on the bottom of the pot, which equals more depth of flavor.
However, you can skip this step and add in the chicken with the broth. Additionally, you can use whole chicken thighs, or chicken breasts. Either on on or off the bone. Cook them fully in the broth, shred them, and add them back into the soup. If you want to further streamline your cooking time and have some cooked chicken on hand (think leftover rotisserie chicken) add that in at the end.
The long game
If you’re playing the long game, you can start by making your chicken broth from scratch, slowly simmering a whole chicken with aromatics for about two hours, and using the chicken from that in the soup; then adding the avgolemono sauce like I do here. This is how my yiayia used to do it and the payoff is worth it.
Working with the avgolemono sauce
The most important aspect of making the soup is not curdling the avgolemono sauce when you fold it back into the soup. Achieve this by slowly tempering your broth into the blender with your eggs and lemon. Your soup should be off the heat at this point. Then give it a few stirs to bring down the temperature and fold the sauce in while you’re rapidly stirring.
This recipe calls for flour in the avgolemono sauce. This helps thicken the sauce/soup. You don’t need to use it, or you can substitute some corn starch whisked in a bit of water for it.
Add more lemon to taste. I also like my avgolemono soup with a lot of cracked black pepper and some chopped fresh dill.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed; (or substitute whole chicken thighs/breasts) (follow recipe for additional instructions)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
- 2 carrots, chopped (optional)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped (optional)
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 2 lemons (if you're sensitive to acid start with 1/4 cup of lemon juice)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (more for garnish)
- 1/2 cup rice (long or short grain) or orzo
- 1 tablespoon flour (optional)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper.
- In a large pot over medium high heat, brown cubbed chicken thighs in olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes then add in veggies (if using) and the rest of the salt + pepper and saute for another 5-10 minutes. If you're using whole chicken thighs/breasts, start the recipe by sautéing the onion, celery, and carrot the rest of the salt + pepper over medium high heat for 5-10 minutes. (If you're not using any of the veggies, start by pouring the broth into the pot and bringing it to a boil.)
- Stir in rice and sauté with chicken (if using cubed chicken). Then pour in chicken broth.
- Bring contents of the pot to a boil over medium-high heat (add the whole chicken thighs/breasts here). Then turn down the heat to low/simmer (lightly bubbling). Simmer soup for 20 minutes, or until chicken and rice/orzo are fully cooked.
- If using whole chicken thighs/breasts, remove them now and let rest until cool enough to handle. Then shred them into bite-sized pieces and return them to the soup before serving.
- While soup is simmering, blend eggs on medium speed in a blender or with a hand mixer (or whisk by hand) until light and frothy.
- While the blender is still running, add in the lemon juice and flour (if using).
- Remove the soup from the heat. Immediately temper the egg mixture by slowly ladling in 2 cups of hot broth to the blender.
- Take the soup off the heat, and slowly fold in the egg-lemon sauce, continuously mixing it until it is all incorporated.
- Adjust the levels of salt, black pepper, lemon to your taste. You can also garnish the soup with lemon wedges and even some fresh herbs like dill. Serve immediately
Notes
The most important aspect of making the soup is not curdling the avgolemono sauce when you add it back into the soup. Achieve this by removing the soup from the heat source and slowly tempering your broth into the blender with your eggs and lemon. Then fold the sauce back into the soup while you're rapidly stirring.
The benefit for starting the recipe by browning the chicken thighs is that they will create a fond on the bottom of the pot, which will add more depth of flavor to the soup. You can easily skip this step and just simmer/shred the chicken thighs (or breasts) if you want to go faster.
This recipe calls for flour in the avgolemono sauce. This helps thicken the sauce/soup. You don't need to use it or you can substitute some corn starch whisked in a bit of water for it.
If you're sensitive to acid, you can start with one lemon and adjust to your taste at the end with additional lemon.
Nutrition Facts
Avgolemono Soup - Greek Egg Lemon Chicken Soup
Serves: 4 servings
|
Amount Per Serving: 1 Bowl
|
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|---|---|---|
| Calories | 315.21 kcal | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 10.92 g | 15.4% | |
| Saturated Fat 3.08 g | 15% | |
| Trans Fat 0.04 g | ||
| Cholesterol 239.89 mg | 79.7% | |
| Sodium 568.68 mg | 23.7% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 19.7 g | 6.3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 0.22 g | 0% | |
| Sugars 1.07 g | ||
| Protein 34.52 g | ||
| Vitamin A 65.4 µg | Vitamin C 7.87 mg | |
| Calcium 46.03 mg | Iron 2.43 mg | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Sweet Greek Personal Chef and Culinary Services Los Angeles, CA