Greek Lemon Rice Soup, or Avgolemono, is the best dinner when you’re feeling under the weather. Enjoy with a big hunk of crusty bread and you’ll be better in no time!
I used to have a lemon rice soup recipe on my old blog, but it looked very little like this one. The old recipe was deeply inauthentic and needed some major changes, but it was a reader favorite nonetheless, so I’ve taken that same recipe and made some tweaks. The soup you see here is the result of several attempts, and I think it is both better-tasting and more authentic than the old version.
What is avgolemono?
Pronounced ah-vo-le-mo-no (don’t say the G), avgolemono is a classic Greek soup whose hallmark ingredients are egg (avgo) and lemon (lemono). It typically also has chicken and rice, plus some vegetables on occasion. The simplest avgolemono recipes have no vegetables at all, but I like to add some in because that’s just my style.
The egg-lemon combo, or avgolemono sauce, is what makes this soup truly unique. You’ll whisk together a couple of eggs with a healthy dose of lemon juice, then stir it into the brothy soup. The sauce will start working its magic immediately, thickening the broth into a silky and sumptuous texture you may have only thought possible with flour or heavy cream.
Tips to make the best lemon rice soup:
While you may not be used to thickening your soup with eggs, avgolemono is actually very simple to make. Here are a few tricks to make it great:
- Always temper your egg-lemon mixture. This means whisking a bit of the hot broth into the egg and lemon before adding it to the pot. By introducing a small amount of hot liquid first, you’ll avoid ending up with a pot of scrambled eggs.
- Add the egg-lemon mixture to the pot at the very end, and turn off the heat right away once it’s thickened. Again, trying to avoid scrambled egg soup here.
- Make it your own with herbs and vegetables! The beauty of avgolemono is that it can really be a canvas for lots of different produce. I’ve kept the base simple so you can use it as a jumping-off point. Try adding finely chopped celery or parsley, or wilt in some spinach at the end.
More soup recipes to heal your body and soul:
Slow Cooker Potato Soup
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Lasagna Soup
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PrintGreek Lemon Rice Soup (Avgolemono)
Greek Lemon Rice Soup, or Avgolemono, is the best dinner when you’re feeling under the weather. Enjoy with a big hunk of crusty bread and you’ll be better in no time!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup dry rice (I used arborio)
- 5 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed from about 3 large lemons
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes, or until veggies are soft and carrots can be pierced with a fork.
- Add garlic and rice, and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked.
- While the soup is simmering, beat the eggs and lemon juice together in a medium bowl.
- Once the rice is cooked, add the shredded chicken and stir to warm through.
- Temper the eggs by whisking a ladle of the hot broth into the egg-lemon mixture. (This will prevent you from ending up with scrambled eggs in your soup.) Once combined, stir the tempered egg mixture into the soup.
- Stir in chopped fresh dill. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed, then serve topped with more fresh dill.
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