Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup also known as Avgolemono is now one of my favorite easy soups to make! This is pure comfort food!
I know this yummy soup has been around for a very long time, but my first time trying this was a few years ago when I visited San Francisco. San Francisco is an amazing foodie city where you can find restaurants that serve food from all different parts of the world at any given time of the day.
We came across a lovely Greek restaurant in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood where I tried Avgolemono Soup.
My taste buds were bursting with every single bite. It was like the ultimate comfort food for me on a chilly San Francisco day after spending hours upon hours of walking the city.
When I got back from San Fran, I knew I had to try making this wonderful soup. After scouring the internet for recipes and finally tweaking this soup to my own liking, I was shocked by how easy this was to make!
What is Avgolemono?
Avgolemono is a Greek sauce made with egg yolk and lemon juice, then mixed with chicken broth until it’s heated through. That’s what thickens this chicken soup and gives it a nice aroma and flavor.
The addition of chicken, rice and dill makes this a totally satisfying soup!
Ingredients for Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup
- 2 Tbs EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 large Sweet Onion chopped
- 3 cloves minced Garlic
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 cup Arborio Rice
- Juice from 1 Lemon
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill Weed
I used a 6-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven to make this. It’s the perfect size and makes for easy cleanup because nothing gets stuck to the sides or bottom of this pot. I love it!
How to Make Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup
In a 6 Qt Dutch Oven or pot add Olive Oil and Onion. Sauté over med/high heat 5-6 min until Onions are translucent and softened. Add Garlic and sauté 1 minute.
Then add Chicken Broth, Bay Leaf, Salt, Pepper, and Chicken Breasts. Bring to boil over med/high heat, cover and turn heat down to med/low. Let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove Chicken and shred it up, then add it back to the pot along with the rice. Cover and simmer 20 more minutes or until rice is fully cooked.
Remove Bay Leaf and discard.
Next in a small bowl, whisk together Eggs and Lemon Juice. Slowly add in 1 ladle of the broth while whisking, then add egg mixture into the soup.
Toss in the Dill Weed and stir. Let it cook about 5 minutes before serving. Taste and add more Lemon juice if needed.
Garnish with Lemon Slices and more fresh Dill Weed if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the eggs are cooked when you slowly add in the broth, then add it to the soup.
Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. You need to add the broth to the eggs very slowly while whisking vigorously, this is called tempering.
Yes, you can use rotisserie chicken instead.
Yes, you can reheat this. I recommend reheating it slowly in a pan over medium heat on the stovetop.
Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze this soup for up to 3 months.
It doesn’t taste eggy. The eggs just give it a nice silky texture.
More Soup Recipes
- Gluten Free French Onion Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Soup
- Curry Cauliflower Soup
- Spicy Sausage and White Bean Soup with Spinach
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup with Lemon
- Italian Sausage and Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Parmesan Crisps
- Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup with Spinach
- Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
If you try this recipe let me know what you think! Leave a comment, rate it, share it on social media, or take a picture and tag it #tastefulventure on Instagram! I LOVE seeing what you guys cook up.
Cheers!
More Chicken Recipes:
- Creamy Chicken Sausage and Spinach Pasta
- The Best White Chicken Chili
- Grilled Mojo Spatchcock Chicken
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Thighs
- Spinach and Provolone Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Brie and Rosemary
Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup (Avgolemono)
Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup also known as Avgolemono is now one of my favorite easy soups to make! This is pure comfort food!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 large Sweet Onion chopped
- 3 cloves minced Garlic
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 cup Arborio Rice
- Juice from 1 Lemon
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill Weed
Instructions
- In 6 Qt Dutch Oven add EVOO and Onion.
- Saute over med/high heat 5-6 min until Onions are translucent and softened.
- Add Garlic and saute 1 minutes.
- Add Chicken Broth, Bay Leaf, Salt, Pepper, and Chicken Breasts.
- Bring to boil over med/high heat, cover and turn heat down to med/low.
- Let simmer 20 minutes.
- Remove Chicken and shred.
- Add Chicken back to the pot.
- Add Rice.
- Cover and simmer 20 more minutes.
- Remove Bay Leaf.
- In a small bowl whisk together Eggs and Lemon Juice.
- Slowly add in 1 ladle of the broth while whisking, then add egg mixture into the soup.
- Add in Dill Weed and stir.
- Let cook about 5 minutes before serving.
- Taste and add more Lemon juice if needed.
- Garnish with Lemon Slices and more fresh Dill Weed.
- Enjoy!
Notes
I prefer this soup on the thicker side, if you like your soup more brothy feel free to add more Chicken Broth to your liking. See reader tips below.
When tempering the sauce, it helps to have your eggs at room temperature before adding the broth. It’s key to add the broth very slowly to the eggs while whisking the vigorously.
Keywords: Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Soup, Lemon Rice and Chicken Soup, avgolemono, lemon rice chicken soup, soup, Greek soup, lemon chicken soup, chicken rice soup, gluten free
*This post first appeared on Tastefulventure on April 2017 and has recently been updated with new information and media to benefit the reader.
Can not wait to try this soup recipe
Hope you like it Linda, it’s one of my favorite comfort foods! 🙂
Is the egg considered cooked once it is added or is it still raw?
Hi Emma, Yes the egg gets fully cooked when made this way.
I cheated a bit and used rotisserie chicken and did not have fresh dill, but it was delish and pretty! I will make it again for sure!
Rotisserie chicken works just as well! Glad you liked it Shelly:)
Hi, I made this soup last night for dinner it was a pretty color, looked so nice with the fresh dill on sprinkled on top and absolutely delicious!
I doubled the recipe and used bone-in chicken breasts it was easy to make and well worth the effort.
Awesome Cindy, glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorite soups to make:)
Great soup! Will double the next time I make it.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Linda!
I literately just finished making this and it is AWSOME! I used the juice of 2 lemons and a different rice thought.
Thank You!
You’re welcome Kerry, so glad you liked it!
I did go ahead and made if on the day I needed it. It was very well received by all and my only comment was to possibly add more chicken broth next time.
I do want to thank you for having the comments be the kind that you can click to see any further comments that are made. So often I forget to go back to see if a question has been answered on other blogs. Thanks for that and your great recipes
Thanks for the feedback Annebelle! 🙂
Can this be made a day ahead and then reheated and kept warm in a crock pot to take to a traveling dinner party? It looks beautiful and my mouth is watering already. Thank you.
Hi Annabelle, I have not tried that method. If you do try it let me know how it works out!
Did anyone try making ahead? Cooking it and reheating? I’d like to try!
Made this tonight. Added extra lemon and made 2.5 recipe. Just had regular long grain rice and that worked just as well. Fed my hubby and I, filled a pint size mason jar for his lunch and still have a big container for the freezer. Yummy!! Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad you liked it Tracy! It’s one of my favorite soups to make!
Mine didn’t turn out like this at all. I went to get some of the broth out to put in with the eggs, and it was all gone!! What did I do wrong?
Sorry to hear that Alyece. Maybe you had the heat too high? It’s hard to say what went wrong without actually being there. I’ve made this soup several times and have never had that happen. I do hope you give it another try:)
Hi, I felt the same, like there wasn’t enough liquid so I added about 2 more cups of water because it was too thick with rice and chicken. I only had 1 lemon so I’d suggest having an extra on hand in case you like more lemon. Was very good!!
★★★★
This exact same thing happened to me and it was on the lowest setting on my stove the whole time. It just needs way more broth. Taste was great though.
★★★★
Same thing happened to me too. I added more broth. I think my chicken breasts were too big too cause it’s a lot of chicken. Might just need more broth.m again.
Thank you for the recipe! Made it this afternoon but cut the recipe in half just in case my husband wasn’t a fan but it was delicious and will definitely be on our list of soups this winter. I used long grain rice and it was fine. Half a batch would be great for singles or people who don’t,like leftovers but for us…I’ll be doubling the recipe next time. Delicious!
Thanks for the feedback Carolyn, so glad you liked it! 🙂
O.M.Geeeee …. Made this last night to accompany our Chicken Kebobs and Greek Potatoes and wasn’t certain how it would turn out as I’ve tried to make this soup from other recipes but WOW, this one was easy to follow, tons of flavor and turned out amazing. My husband commented on the smell going through the house and I couldn’t help but sneak a small cup of it before bedtime. The soup is for dinner tonight so i’m guessing it will have gotten even tastier from the flavors sitting overnight. Looking forward to it again this evening. Great job on this one!!!
★★★★★
Hey Stephanie, Love the great feedback! So glad you all liked this! 🙂
This is my new favorite soup! I have made this three times in the past two weeks. My husband LOVES it too. I don’t use any dill because I don’t like dill, and instead of 1 lemon I used 1 and a half lemons. It’s delicious, thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Hey Sarah, Thank you so much for the great feedback, so glad you liked it! 🙂
Hello!
I’m dying to try this recipe. However, why do u add the eggs? I’m not a fan of eggs. And actually dnt eat them at all. Will u tAste the egg?
Hey Maida, The eggs work as a thickening agent for this soup. You can’t really taste the eggs in this. Let me know if you try it out! 🙂
I had Pieces of egg in my soup, did I just cook to high or long?? Good still ?
★★★★
Is there something else we can sub for the eggs? Like cornstarch?
This was FABULOUS! I will definitely make it again. I, too, used long grain rice and Had very little broth when I went to ladle it into the eggs. I added 3 more cups of chicken broth and warmed it before ladling into the eggs. The juice of a large lemon was just right for us. Good thing I did because we all wanted seconds and had a little leftover.
★★★★★
P S. I live in the sunshine state, too!
🙂
So glad you liked this Melanie, that’s for the feedback!
I thought this recipe was quite good and easy to make. Next time I think I may try using only 2 eggs and a bit more lemon juice.
★★★★★
I made this and it was delicious! I had the chicken stock on hand, so I doubled the amount of broth and seasonings and it was still very thick. I can’t imagine it with only one quart of stock. Well worth the effort!
So glad you liked it Nancy:)
Has anyone tried this in an Instant Pot?
Sauté the chicken first in the pot lightly browning (not cooking all the way). Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. All all other ingredients and pressure cook for 20 minutes with quick release. Remove chicken, shred, and then add back to the pot. I had chunks of egg adding the lemon and egg to the pot prior to cooking. I may follow the recipe more closely and add lemon/egg mixture after cooking next time. I would also add more lemon. It was delicious!
★★★★
This looks delicious and I am a huge fan of Lemon Rice Soup. I’m curious to know how this soup is, re-heated, the day after it has been made. I would like to make it for a school function and would have to make it the night before. Should I add more broth when reheating?
Hi Jodi, Once the eggs have been added, there’s no sure way to reheat the soup without the risk of curdling. This is the kind of soup that is best to eat as soon as it’s been made. Not to say you can’t reheat it, it just won’t be the same.
Hmmm. I wonder if I could do everything except the egg and then do that the next day. Or maybe I could use something else as a thickening agent? Any advice?
I would suggest making this for yourself first, reheat it the next day to see how you like it. I’ve reheated this and it still tastes great, but it’s just never the same as when it’s fresh out of the pot. 🙂
FYI, I’ve made it the day of and the day before and I didn’t have any curdling issues. This is our favorite soup! So yummy. Thank you
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!!
Jodi, thats exactly how I would do it, add eggs only to the portion you are going to consuming and save the rest for later, reheat repeat and enjoy.
Cheers.
We have it for lunch the next day we make it every time and it reheats wonderfully. Just low and slow.
To reheat the next day, I simply used the Defrost setting on my microwave in 30-second increments, stirring and testing the temperature after each cycle until the soup was warmed to my liking. No curdling occurred using this method to reheat.
I made this today and it was amazing! I even messed up he recipe, and it still turned out wonderful! I misread the amount of rice, and added two cups! Well, that rice soaked up all of the broth. I added water, and it soaked hat up too. We ate it anyway, and it was just as delicious. Next time, I will make sure to read the recipe better! Thank you for the recipe! 🙂
Awesome Jessica, so glad it turned out for you!
I used to work next to a Soup place that would make lemon chicken soup and it would sell out within an hour. It was the best soup I’d ever had. The place ended up leaving and I miss their soup, so I tried finding one online and came across this one. It came out SOOOO delicious! Even better than the soup place. I love it and will be making it again. But I have a question in regard to step #6. I assume this initial 20 minute simmer is to cook the raw chicken breasts that you added in step #4?… In my soup, I had gotten a rotisserie chicken, so the chicken breast was already cooked. If I do this again, would I be able to skip that first 20 minute simmer in steps #6-#8 and go right on to step #9? That would almost cut the time in half for me which might make this a lot easier to make during the weeknights after I get home from work. Thanks!
Wow Mark, better than your favorite soup place?! Thank you so much! 🙂
Yes the 20 minute simmer is to cook the Chicken. You could certainly use a rotisserie chicken, but you would still need to cook the rice. Depending on what type of rice you use will depend on the cook time. Try tasting the rice after about a 10 minute simmer. Once the rice is fully cooked add in the cooked chicken and finish the rest of the steps. If you try this out, let me know how it goes, Cheers!
I made it again tonight with a rotisserie chicken and it came out great again. I didn’t change anything because I didn’t realize the bay leaf probably needs the full 40 minutes total so I didn’t skip the first 20 minute summer. I like the rotisserie chicken because it adds another level of flavor.
So great to hear your tips Mark! I’m going to try this with a rotisserie chicken next time! 🙂
Delicious! Easy and fantastic!!! I use only one egg and 2-3 lemons. I also add a bit of thinly chopped carrots and celery. This soup freezes beautifully in a mason jar and has never curdled for me when reheated! This recipe is definitely a winner. Thank you!
★★★★
Thank you so much for the tip on freezing and re-heating!
Dill flavor was too strong for me and not lemony enough. Will skip the dill and use 2 lemons next time. It certainly will help with cold symptoms in any case.
★★★
I’ve been making this for years and had never used an egg before, it added a great new texture. I used brown basmati rice this time too and it really held up well. Also did not absorb as much broth over night. Thanks!
Love your feedback Hunter, so glad you liked it!
Ditch the dill and it’s perfect
★★★★
This soup with German spaetzle is also the bomb! Had to adjust for more broth. 1 quart not enough for us.
★★★★
So glad you liked it Scott!
Absolutely delicious recipe, thank you. I’ve made this soup a few times now for the family and we can’t get enough of it! I only used one egg and I added diced carrots to the recipe (at the onion stage) and it gives the soup another dimension. Many thanks for adding it online, I’ll definitely check out your other recipes.
★★★★★
Awesome Margi so glad you liked it! I appreciate you checking out my other recipes as well! 🙂
How many calories do you think are in this soup and what is a serving size?
I made this soup twice and I love it!
Hi Samara, I’m working on getting nutritional facts added to my recipes, so as of right now I don’t have this information. Stay tuned!
Can I use already cooked long grain rice for this recipe?
Hi Peggy, I have not tried this using cooked long grain rice, so I’m not sure the results would be the same. If you do try it please share how it turns out!
Absolutely delicious soup – I’ve made this umpteen times now and we love it! The only things I changed was I only add 1 egg instead of 3 and I add chopped carrots to the sauté onion stage – everything else is perfect! Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome Margi, so glad you love it! It’s one of my favs! 🙂
What Happens if I don’t add the eggs? I just don’t like the idea of it mentally.
Rahel, the egg acts as a thickener for the soup. You can omit it if that’s your preference.
This soup is delicious! I discovered it last year and we’ve been making it *at least* monthly ever since! Even the kids love it! I always double the recipe so we have leftovers for lunch. I do find 2 chicken breasts to be too much in a single recipe, when I double it I only use two breasts. Maybe the chicken breasts at our local stores are just bigger? I’m not sure. Either way amazing recipe and everyone I make it for absolutely loves it!
Thank you!
★★★★★
This makes me so happy Elysia! 🙂 Yes chicken breasts can vary in size. I buy the organic ones which tend to be on the smaller side.
I love this soup!
I just have to say a quick “Thank you for sharing the recipe“ while the soup is simmering 🙂
Best wishes from Austria,
Bernadette
★★★★★
We did not have luck with this soup. The eggs are not worth any thickening they might give it. I’d try it again but definitely stay away from the eggs as they are definitely not needed. Wish I had known. Good flavor but now I have a pot full of soup that tastes like scrambled eggs.
Hi Kim, Adding raw eggs to hot broth without scrambling the eggs can be a little tricky. Tempering is the process of adding a small amount of the hot broth to the eggs while whisking vigorously. You’ll slowly raise the temperature of the eggs enough to add them to the soup without the eggs curdling. Remove the soup from the heat before you being tempering and never bring the soup back to a boil once the eggs have been added. You can see in the video that’s attached to this recipe how I added a ladle of the hot broth to the eggs and then whisked, then added them to the soup.
Hope you give this another try!
Made this soup for my husband and mother. 5 STARS from everyone! The only changes I made were adding sautéed wild mushrooms to the onion and garlic mix. Also, I used long grain white rice instead of Arborio.
★★★★★
Thanks for the awesome feedback Kelly! So glad you all liked it:)
I made this recipe last month and it was absolutely delicious even though didn’t have any dill at the time. I bought some dill and I’m making it again today. The only thing I will change is to add more broth because last time it was quite thick. But this recipe it the Best! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Thanks for the great feedback Toi!
Was really tasty! Have you used reduced sodium chicken broth to lessen sodium? Wonder how that would taste? Also I’d say a half more lemon would be good. Thank you for providing the recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Mike! I have used reduced sodium chicken broth, and honestly I think it tastes just as good.
Great recipe. I made a delicious stock with a stew hen and cut the recipe in half for just 2 bowls for lunch. Couldn’t have taken more than 25 minutes (I already had the chicken from the stew hen). And in a pinch I used risotto style rice so it might have been even a little creamier! Lovely. Thanks!
Awesome Patty, glad you liked it!
Excellent recipe. I love all soup and always order Avgolemono when at our little local Greek diner. It is pure comfort food with a lemon kick. This recipe is better than theirs!
I tripled it and make a few changes (14 cups of broth, 6 eggs, 1 cup rice, etc) so I could share with family and neighbors. For extra nutrition, I added 2 celery stocks diced and 4 diced carrots in with the onion, garlic and oil for 5-10 minutes before adding the broth. I also added the zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 was perfect for this large amount.
***TIP*** Before tempering the eggs, I used an immersion (hand held-stick) blender to blend the eggs, lemon juice and zest until frothy, about 2 minutes. Then slowly added hot broth to eggs/lemon to temper before slowly adding the now warm eggs and lemon juice into the hot pot of soup. It had zero egg particles, and was smooth as silk. You wouldn’t even know there were eggs in it, using this method. It does thicken it nicely. And it only took a little more time, yet well worth it for uber silky results if you don’t want solid egg particles in the soup. 😉
I also froze 2 quarts for later and reheated Low and Slow and the egg did not scramble or break. It was as smooth and thick as when it was fresh. So, it does well the next day or month (in my case) if you want to make ahead and re-heat slowly, but I am certain the immersion blending of the eggs/lemon juice helped with this smooth texture. If you don’t have a hand held blender, you can do this in a regular blender.
I also added the fresh dill just before serving as a garnish, not to the soup pot or it is likely to brown the fresh dill.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the feedback Kelly! So glad you liked it:)
Such a great soup!
Is there any chance that you would have the caloric and /or the nutritional information?
I’m currently working on getting nutrition labels on all my recipes, they will be in hopefully be the end of this year:)
This soup was easy to make and delicious, but way too thick. Needs more than 4 cups of chicken broth.
★★★
You can definitely adjust to your preference, I prefer it on the thicker side:)
This was delicious and I will make again but will use rotisserie chicken as my chicken was not tender enough. Flavor was perfect but will add a little more broth and lemon juice. Thanks for this recipe
★★★★
Hey Sheral, rotisserie chicken works well too! Glad you liked it:)
I have made this recipe now 4 times and it is my favorite soup! The first batch my husband was blown away and asked me to please make it again 2 days later! Only thing I change is I use about 8 cups of chicken stock (2 cartons) and 3 lemons (2 whisked with the eggs and 1 lemon juiced at the end when I add the fresh dill. Has turned out perfect every time!
★★★★
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Katie! 🙂
This is my favorite soup recipe. I use a rotisserie chicken and I also use diced carrots and some sliced celery.. yuummm!!!
Do we know how this freezes? Its way too much for just me
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the great feedback Michelle! You can definitely freeze and reheat this soup!
I’ve made this about 6 times. An absolute favorite. I usually at least double it so we can enjoy it for 2-3 days. Makes a delicious supper loved by all.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the great feedback Ron!
Obsessed with this soup! I am happy I doubled it. Can not just eat one helping. Will be made again next week and added to rotation.
It is addicting:) Glad you liked it!
This soup is delicious! I love lemon so I used 2-3 lemons and I had to use dried rather than fresh dill, which was still good. I used the recommended 2 chicken breasts, but the breasts were so large I may use less next time if I want to stick with the 4 cups of broth. Because I had so much chicken and the soup was too thick, I added an additional 2 cups of broth at the end along with some additional salt and pepper and that gave it the right consistency. Love this recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Mindy! Yes I always add more lemon too, love the flavor!
Sometimes when a soup calls for plain rice or pasta I will cook in another pot and add at the end then let it sit till it cools enough to eat.
First time making this soup. I substituted past for the rice and finely chopped some fresh collard greens to add for more nutritional value and it tasted great. Next time though I will use the rice instead of the pasta.
★★★★★
This recipe is delicious. I add celery and carrots with the onion.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the feedback Roseann!
So good but my rice didn’t seem to cook thoroughly. It was crunchy. Any ideas on why that happened? Used the Arborio and a half cup at the correct time.. Maybe increase the heat a bit next time?
★★★★★
Hi Ashley, did you cover the pot after adding the rice and check to make sure it’s simmering the whole time?
Can this be made in a crockpot? I really want to make this but I’m a very beginner cook and only comfortable with slow cooker soups right now. Also don’t own and can’t afford a Dutch oven pot right now