BEST Greek Lemon Chicken Soup Ever
This delicious Greek lemon chicken soup recipe is my interpretation of a traditional Avgolemono. The lemon juice gives this creamy chicken soup an interesting flavor, making it more comforting. The best part? It only takes 30 minutes to prepare.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 382kcal
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup rice
- 12 cups chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 4 tablespoon flour
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup lemon juice fresh
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the carrots, celery and onion and cook until soft, about 3 - 5 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium high, then stir in the rice and cook for a minute or two, generously salt and pepper.
- Stir in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the rice and carrots are cooked.
- Stir in the chicken and remove from heat.
- In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour, until smooth.
- Gradually add about 4 cups of the broth mixture, and cook (stirring constantly) until slightly thickened, then remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs until they are foamy.
- Slowly beat the lemon juice and the thickened broth into the soup, then very slowly add the egg mixture, vigorously stirring constantly so the eggs do not 'split'.
- Heat the soup over medium heat until it thickens a bit, but do not return to a boil.
Recipe Notes
While this avgolemono soup recipe is simple, things can also turn no-fun if you don't put your heart into it. These are the most common mistakes people make when cooking this creamy chicken lemon rice soup:
Using high-sodium chicken broth - If you opt for store-bought chicken broth, always check the sodium content label. Your product should not have more than 140 mg of sodium per serving.
On the label, look for words like 'low-sodium,' 'sodium-free,' and 'salt-free.' These versions of broths are not only healthy but also fat-free and allow you to adjust the seasoning.
If this sounds like a hassle to you, make your broth. It's not as laborious as some people portray. It only takes a few minutes of preparation and simmering.
Overcooking rice or pasta - The idea of adding rice to lemon chicken soup avgolemono or any other soup for that matter is to make it thicker and heartier.
So if you overcook it, it'll be become mushy and bring zero texture to the soup. To avoid this, cook for 15 minutes, then try a grain. If it's not ready, cook for another 3-5 minutes.
However, if you're using brown rice, it'll take a bit longer to cook- let's say 30-35 minutes.
Forgetting to temper the egg lemon mixture - egg and lemon juice might be a weird combo, but it's the secret ingredient that thickens and enriches the soup.
So to get that smooth and silky end product, you need to temper the egg mixture. I'm pretty sure you don't want to end up with scrambled eggs floating in the broth.
Incorporate Mise en place - A French culinary concept that means putting everything in place before you start to cook.
This technique will save you a lot of time while helping you stay organized. It comes in handy if you're trying this recipe for the first time.