Best Greek Lemon Soup Recipes

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP AKA AVGOLEMONO

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and then lower to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked through and the internal temperature registers 160 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes; remove to a bowl. Once cooled, shred the chicken and reserve.
• Add the orzo or rice to the pot with the chicken stock and cook until al dente, 5 to 8 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and most of the lemon juice, reserving some to add later as needed. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Once combined, ladle in some hot stock to temper the egg mixture, whisking constantly and adding the hot liquid slowly. Very slowly, add the warm whipped egg/lemon mixture into the pot, whisking constantly to prevent any curds or clumps from forming. Continue to cook over medium-low to medium heat, whisking, until the soup thickens, about 10 minutes more.
• Add the shredded chicken and any reserved juices to the soup. Add the lemon zest and season with salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Taste and add additional lemon juice if needed. Garnish with chopped parsley.

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, carrots, onions, celery, soup base, and white pepper. Bring to a boil on high, then simmer for 20 minutes.
• Blend the butter and the flour together. Then gradually add it to the soup mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring frequently.
• Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until light in color. Gradually add some of the hot soup to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Return the egg mixture to the soup pot and heat through. Add the rice and chicken. Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with lemon slices.

AVGOLEMONO (GREEK EGG AND LEMON SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups stock to a boil. Add orzo; cook until al dente, 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
• Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup water. Heat remaining 2 cups stock until hot; do not boil.
• In an electric mixer, beat eggs with whisk until fluffy; add cornstarch mixture and lemon juice. With mixer on medium-low speed, slowly add 1 to 2 cups hot stock until incorporated and mixture thickens slightly. Add any remaining stock to orzo.
• Over low heat, slowly add egg mixture to orzo, stirring constantly until thickened and creamy. Do not let it come to a boil; eggs will curdle. Serve immediately.

GREEK LEMON AND CHICKEN SOUP (AVGOLEMONO)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add carrot, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring continuously, until vegetables start to soften and turn translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add chicken broth, parsley, and oregano. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Add chicken and orzo. Reduce heat to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a heat-safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Add the lemon juice and whisk until well combined.
• Slowly add a ladle of hot broth to the egg mixture, whisking quickly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Repeat with a few more ladles until the egg mixture is hot and steaming. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk until incorporated.
• Add 1/2 of the lemon zest to the soup; reserve remaining zest for another use. Taste soup; if too lemony, add chicken bouillon. Add hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook until orzo is tender yet firm to the bite, about 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the chicken stock with 4 cups water, the carrot, celery, dill, shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breast, lower the heat to a bare simmer, and cook, turning occasionally, until just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the breast to a plate. Remove the carrot, celery, dill and shallot from the broth, and discard.
• Raise the heat to a brisk simmer. Add the orzo to the broth and simmer until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken.
• Whisk the eggs with the lemon juice in a medium bowl. When the orzo is cooked, slowly ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and cook, whisking occasionally, just until the broth returns to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shredded chicken, and season with salt.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with dill.

GREEK CHICKEN & RICE SOUP WITH EGG & LEMON (AVGOLEMONO) RECIPE - (3.9/5)

Steps:

• If you have homemade chicken broth such as our Classic Chicken Broth, we recommend using it in this recipe, as it gives the soup the best flavor and body. Our preferred commercial chicken broth is Swanson Chicken Stock. Use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of zest from the lemons. Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise. Toss with 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to 30 minutes. Cut 8-inch square of triple-thickness cheesecloth. Place lemon zest, dill sprigs, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and garlic in center of cheesecloth and tie into bundle with kitchen twine. Bring broth, rice, and spice bundle to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, add chicken, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate and discard spice bundle. Using two forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Using ladle, transfer 1 cup cooked rice to blender (leave any liquid in pot). Add lemon juice and eggs and yolks to blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Return soup to simmer over high heat. Remove pot from heat and stir in egg mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in chopped dill and season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste. Serve.

GREEK LEMON-RICE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat broth to boiling in medium saucepan; stir in rice and garlic.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 25 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low.
• Mix lemon juice and egg; slowly stir mixture into soup.
• Stir in parsley; season to taste with salt and white pepper.
• Pour soup into bowls.

YOUVARLAKIA AVGOLEMONO (GREEK MEATBALL-EGG/LEMON SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the meat, minced onion, garlic, rice, 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, the mint, oregano, salt and pepper, and 1 egg, slightly beaten.
• Knead for a few minutes, then shape into walnut-sized meatballs and set aside.
• In a soup pot, bring the water or stock to boil and add the meatballs.
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Add chopped onion, celery, carrot, zucchini and potato. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Lower the heat and gently simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes (until the vegetables are tender), then remove from the heat.
• To prepare avgolemono: beat the two remaining eggs for 2 minutes and whisk in the corn flour.
• While beating all the while, gradually add the lemon juice.
• Then add 1 cup of the hot broth in a slow, steady stream (ladle), beating steadily, until nearly all the hot liquid has been added.
• Add the egg/stock mixture back to the soup pot and heat, being careful not to let it boil, stirring, until thickened.
• Serve hot, garnished with parsley.
• Serve this with feta cheese on the side- goes great with the little meatballs.

CHICKEN SOUP (GREEK, WITH AVGOLEMONO - EGG/LEMON SAUCE)

Steps:

• Put chicken, water, parsley, onion and salt in a large pan and bring to a boil.
• Cover pan and let simmer for 45 minutes.
• Remove chicken and parsley, discard parsley.
• Let chicken cool a bit, so you don't burn yourself, and cut into cubes.
• Set aside.
• Add rice, carrot and celery to broth and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add lemon juice to the soup.
• Stir.
• Turn off heat.
• Beat the eggs and cornstarch in a small bowl.
• While whisking, slowly dribble in hot chicken stock- never stop whisking.
• Do this until you have used up a couple of ladlefuls of stock.
• This tempers the eggs so they do not curdle.
• Slowly add egg to the hot soup and give a good stir.
• Add chicken and serve, sprinkled with a bit of pepper (if desired).
• Note: I would just like to point out that the eggs in this soup are not raw - they are cooked by the hot stock. That is what the tempering process is all about (and to make sure the eggs don't curdle :-) ).

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the farro and cook, stirring, until toasted, 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and 3 cups water; cover and bring to a boil. Add the lemon zest, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the farro is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken.
• Whisk the eggs and lemon juice in a bowl; drizzle 1/2 cup of the hot broth into the eggs, whisking constantly. Gradually stir the hot egg mixture into the pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• Combine the feta and dill in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Fill the pita halves with the feta mixture and lightly brush with olive oil. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until the cheese melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Top each serving of soup with more dill; season with pepper. Serve with the stuffed pitas.

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN-ORZO SOUP

Steps:

• Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the orzo and cook 2 minutes less than the label directs.
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg, yolks, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice. Reduce the heat under the orzo to low; scoop out 1 cup broth with a ladle and pour it into the egg mixture in a steady stream, whisking with the other hand. Then pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining broth and orzo in a steady stream, whisking constantly.
• Stir the chicken into the soup. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring often. Cook, stirring, until the soup thickens slightly, about 4 minutes. Stir in the peas and carrots and warm through.

AVGOLEMONO WITH ROTISSERIE CHICKEN AND ORZO (GREEK LEMON AND EGG SOUP)

Steps:

• Cook the orzo according to package instructions.
• Cook the shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper in olive oil in a large pot over medium low for 10 min.
• Add the broth and the chicken. Simmer 10 min.
• Remove 1 cup of hot broth in a heat-proof measuring cup.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl. Slowly add the reserved broth, whisking constantly. Stir in lemon juice and then add to the soup.
• Stir in the orzo and chopped herbs.

GREEK-STYLE CHICKEN LEMON RICE SOUP AKA AVGOLEMONO

Steps:

• Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large stockpot over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and then lower to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked through and the internal temperature registers 160 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a bowl. Once cooled, shred the chicken and reserve.
• Add the rice to the pot with the chicken stock and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.
• Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg yolks and most of the lemon juice in a medium bowl, reserving some juice to add later as needed. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Once combined, ladle in some hot stock to temper the egg mixture, stirring constantly and adding the hot liquid slowly. Add the lemon zest and shredded chicken with any reserved juices to the soup and, very slowly, add the warm whipped egg/lemon mixture. Whisk to incorporate the egg mixture and prevent any curds or clumps from forming. Continue to cook over medium-low to medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the soup thickens, about 10 minutes more.
• Season with salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper and add the remaining lemon juice if necessary. Add most of the parsley. Garnish individual bowls with the remaining parsley.

AVGOLEMONO SOUP (GREEK EGG-LEMON SOUP)

Steps:

• Stir the milk and cornstarch together and beat in the egg yolks.
• Set aside.
• Bring the stock to boil in a 4 quart soup pot and add the rice.
• Cook, covered, until the rice is puffy and tender, about 25 min.
• Remove the soup from heat, add milk and egg mixture, stirring carefully.
• Continue to cook for a moment until all thickens.
• Remove from the heat again and add the butter, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and finely grated lemon peel.
• Note: the amount of lemon juice in this recipe has been halved from its original 1 cup amount.
• (An adopted recipe.)

GREEK EGG LEMON CHICKEN RICE SOUP

Steps:

• Boil the chicken until done, 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the stock and debone. Hold chicken meat on the side.
• Add the rice to the chicken stock and cook at a boil for ten to fifteen minutes, or until done.
• Meanwhile, beat two eggs in a bowl and add the lemon juice. Measure one cup of hot stock. Add slowly to the bowl containing the eggs and lemon and continue to beat until combined.
• Add egg mixture into stockpot. Add chicken meat, stir well and serve. Makes 6 servings.

GREEK LEMON AND ORZO SOUP

Steps:

• In a soup pot, bring the broth, lemon peel, bay leaf and saffron to a boil.
• Stir in the orzo and boil for 5 minutes.
• Cover, remove the pan from the heat and let the orzo steep for 5 minutes.
• Discard the lemon peel and a bay leaf.
• In a bowl, whish the eggs and egg yolks, lemon juice and hot sauce.
• Whisk in ½ cup soup to temper the eggs, then whish the egg mixture into the soup.
• Cook on low heat, whisking, for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the parsley; season with salt and pepper. Serve with pita chips.

GREEK-INSPIRED LEMON CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Place olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium-low heat. Saute onion and garlic in the hot oil until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add chicken broth, chicken breasts, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes to the pot. Increase heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in pearl couscous, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Remove chicken breasts from the pot using tongs. Use a fork and the tongs to shred the chicken. Return to the pot. Stir feta cheese and chives into the soup. Taste and season as needed. Serve warm.

GREEK LENTIL AND SPINACH SOUP WITH LEMON

Steps:

• In a large, heavy soup pot, combine cleaned lentils, stock (or water), chili, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, oregano, basil, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to very low and let simmer, partially covered, about 30 minutes.
• Add potatoes and spinach, cover again and let simmer another 15 minutes. Add the butternut squash. Cover again and let simmer while you do the next step.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the onion and sauté until it starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the celery and garlic and sauté another 3 minutes, stirring often. Add this mixture to the soup; deglaze the skillet with a little soup and add the pan contents to the pot. Add salt, taste for seasoning.
• Just before serving, add the lemon juice, stir well and taste again for seasoning. Serve hot with a lemon slice floating on top of each bowl of soup.

AVGOLEMONO - GREEK LEMON & RICE CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• To add depth to the store bought chicken broth I add the drippings from the bottom of the rotisserie chicken. The stuff that turns to jelly when refrigerated is the good stuff! I also break a few bones to get the most flavor out in the quickest amount of time. Bring the broth with the rotisserie extras to a boil.
• In a food processor add the two eggs and the juice of your lemons. Blend. * I don't have a juicer so I squeeze my lemons through a small strainer to catch the seeds.
• Now for the "difficult" part. Made easy with your food processor. Slowly add spoonfuls of the broth while blending the egg mixture until the eggs are the same temperature as the broth.
• Now slowly stir the heated up egg mixture back into the main pot of broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Optional - add shredded chicken from rotisserie)
• Place rice in bowls and ladle soup over rice. Add more lemon or pepper to personal taste.
• *Notes* I keep the rice separate because if their are leftovers the rice can get weird if left in the soup overnight.

GREEK LEMON, ARTICHOKE, AND EGG SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse the rice thoroughly and place it, along with the water, in the slow cooker insert.
• In a sauté pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion, celery, and artichokes over medium-high heat until just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.
• Add the vegetables to the water and rice, cover, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or until the rice is tender. Add the cumin and 1/4 cup of the parsley to the soup.
• In a medium bowl and using a whisk or a handheld immersion blender, beat the eggs and lemon juice together until frothy. Slowly add 2 ladles of broth, 1 ladle at a time, stirring constantly, to the lemon and egg mixture.
• Add the lemon and broth mixture back into the soup, stirring constantly, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes more, or until heated through and beginning to thicken. (If you allow the soup to boil, the eggs will curdle.)
• Add salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowls, garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup parsley, and serve immediately.
• Suggested Beverage
• A nice Sauvignon Blanc or an artisanal Greek retsina, if you can find one, would pair well with this soup.