Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono)

Name: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1 Whole Chicken (about 3 lbs, cut into 8 pieces); 8 cups Water; 1 Onion (quartered); 2 Carrots (roughly chopped); 2 Celery Stalks (roughly chopped); 1 Bay Leaf; 1 tsp Salt (to taste); ½ tsp Black Pepper (to taste); 1 cup Cooked Rice (or orzo pasta); 3 Eggs; ½ cup Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed); ¼ cup Fresh Parsley (chopped, for garnish)

Chef DefneKitchen Studio chef · October 19, 2026

A comforting and bright Greek soup made with a rich chicken broth, tender chicken, rice, and a creamy lemon-egg mixture.

15 minPrep

45 minCook

6Servings

400 kcalCalories

Calories are an AI estimate, for information only.

Ingredients · 12

6 servings

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For the Broth

Whole Chickenabout 3 lbs, cut into 8 pieces1
Water8 cups
Onionquartered1
Carrotsroughly chopped2
Celery Stalksroughly chopped2
Bay Leaf1
Saltto taste1 tsp
Black Pepperto taste½ tsp

For the Soup

Cooked Riceor orzo pasta1 cup

For the Avgolemono Sauce

Eggs3
Lemon Juicefreshly squeezed½ cup

For Garnish

Fresh Parsleychopped, for garnish¼ cup

Method · 8 steps

1
Place the chicken pieces in a large pot. Add water, quartered onion, chopped carrots, celery, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
2
Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool slightly. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, discarding the solids. You should have about 6 cups of broth.
3
Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones from the chicken and shred or dice the meat. Discard skin and bones.
4
Bring the strained broth back to a gentle simmer. Add the cooked rice (or orzo) and the shredded chicken to the pot. Heat through for about 5 minutes.
5
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and fresh lemon juice until well combined.
6
Temper the egg mixture by slowly ladling about 1 cup of the hot broth into it while whisking constantly. This prevents the eggs from scrambling.
7
Gradually pour the tempered egg mixture back into the simmering soup, stirring constantly. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the soup thickens slightly. Do not boil after adding the avgolemono sauce.
8
Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve immediately.