Avgolemono soup (Greek lemon chicken soup)

Avgolemono soup is a tasty traditional Greek soup made with chicken broth flavored and thickened with a lemon-egg mixture. The lemony undertone gives it a lovely bright flavor, while the chicken and rice make it hearty and comforting. Perfect for a cold day.

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I have lots of memories of enjoying soup on a cold day as a child, and it's something I fall back on as an adult as wll. There's something particularly comforting about a cozy bowlful to warm you through and fill you up.

We love a broad range of soups in our house, whether ones I grew up with like cock-a-leekie soup (chicken and leek) and broccoli and Stilton soup or others we've adopted, like short rib udon and chorba frik (lamb and freekeh soup). 

This Greek avgolemono soup is one I love on a chilly day, though the fresh flavors mean it fits in pretty much any time. It's easy to make, can be speeded up as well, and needs only a handful of ingredients for a bowl of tastiness.

What does avgolemono mean?

Avgolemono literally means egg-lemon in Greek - "avgo" is egg and "lemoni" is lemon. While egg and lemon give avgolemono it's name, the other key ingredient is warm broth or stock that helps bring everything together. The three combined give a wonderfully silky smooth texture and tangy flavor. 

While avgolemono is often considered Greek, it's origins are actually from Sephardic Jews. It's generally traced back to Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish inquisition in the 15th century who brought "agristada" with them. It has since been adoped and become well loved in both Greece and elsewhere in the region. 

Technically, avgolemono is a sauce or thickener that you can use in a range of ways, such as over roast vegetables, dolmades, fish or stuffed cabbage leaves. But it is probably best known used in soups.

For people outside of Greece, when you think of avgolemono you probably mean this kotosoupa avgolemono, Greek lemon chicken soup. The avgolemono is added into the soup, giving it both a lovely flavor and smooth texture. It's almost creamy, though you don't add any dairy. 

Ingredients in Greek lemon chicken soup

This soup uses just a handful of ingredients:

• Egg - the other key part of the avgolemono, it helps make the smooth texture and gently thickens the soup slightly.
• Chicken broth/stock - this is the base and main component of the soup so it's worth making sure it's a good one.
• Chicken - this adds a bit of bulk as well as flavor. See below on options for preparing both the chicken and stock. 
• Rice - this also adds bulk and texture to the soup and helps make it a heartier bowlful. A starchier rice like arborio is more typical, but you can use other types as you have.
• Lemon - it wouldn't be avgolemono without it! Please use fresh lemon juice for this rather than bottled, you really want that fresh flavor. 

The traditional from scratch method

The most traditional way to make this starts with raw chicken on the bone. This lets you both cook the chicken and make a tasty stock at the same time. I recommend chicken drumsticks or bone in thighs as they allow for a little longer cooking to get a nicely flavorful stock without overcooking the chicken itself. 

To add more flavor to the stock, add in some carrot and onion. These are classic aromatics when you make any homemade stock. If you like, rather than using whole chunks of vegetables, you can use scraps from cooking other things - just keep the skins and ends over the course of a few days ready to add in.

Once the chicken has cooked, remove the chicken from the bone and shred it up. Set this aside for later while you make the rest of the soup. You can prepare the stock and cooked chicken ahead of time, if that suits your timeline better. Store both separately in the fridge until needed for the soup.

The speeded up method

If you don't quite have time to start from scratch, you can also cheat a little and use either leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken and ready made chicken stock. Ideally, I would still recommend homemade if at all possible but if not, a good store bought version will also work.

You can use chicken breast or thigh meat as you have and prefer. I tend to find thigh meat juicier, but breast meat shred a little more easily. But since both will be mixed in with the soup, it doesn't make a huge amount of difference. 

Whether you start from scratch or not, the next part is the same. Warm the stock and cook the rice in it, then add in shredded chicken. You can also add it after the lemon-egg mixture if you prefer - since it's already cooked, you just need to warm it through.

How to keep avgolemono from separating

Adding a lemon and egg mixture to warm liquid comes with a slight risk of separation. If you don't get it quite right, you can end up with streaks of egg that's curdled-looking and lumpy, rather than the smooth texture you're looking for. 

The good news is it's easy to avoid separation. The key step is tempering, which means adding the warm liquid (in this case broth) little by little to gradually bring up the temperature.

Secondly, as you add the broth, ensure you whisk constantly to make sure the broth and lemon-egg mixture blend quickly and evenly. Once you have the egg mixture gently warm from having added a few spoonfuls of stock, you can add it to the main soup.

Ways to adapt this soup

As with many traditional recipes, you will find a few variations. For example, you can make the avgolemono in a few different ways. Some use whole eggs, others use just the yolks. Some separate the eggs so that you can beat the egg whites separately and add them at the end so they are more of a foamy texture.

Here I've gone with whole eggs. This saves having leftover whites and personally I prefer the smooth, fully incorporated texture rather than adding the whites separately. 

While I've used rice here, you can also make this with orzo or other small pasta such as pastina. I believe it's more typical to simply have the rice/pasta and chicken in the lemony broth mixture, but some also add in some vegetables, in particular carrot.

In some cases, this is as much out of being frugal as anything. Since you generally add carrot as you make the stock, you can cut it up and add it to the soup. But it also adds an extra pop of color and flavor. I haven't added here, as I like it a little more simple, but feel free to add if you like.

You often add some slices of lemon and a little dill on top, as I have here, to add a fresh finish to the soup. Instead of dill, you can also add a little fresh parsley for a slightly different, but equally fresh herby flavor. But even without any garnish, this has plenty deliciousness.

Can avgolemono soup be reheated?

Yes, you can re-heat this soup but just make sure you heat it gently rather than boiling it. The egg mixture isn't going to separate when it is cooled and reheated, but it is still more heat-sensitive than a simple broth.

Avgolemono soup is a really simple but delicious combination of warming comfort food with a little bit of Mediterranean brightness from the lemon. Smooth, satisfying, and a bowlful that's perfect whether you need something warming, to fight off a cold or just to enjoy some tasty flavors.

Try these other warming soups from around the world:

• German white asparagus soup (with a lovely delicate flavor)
• Mexican sopa de lima (lime and chicken soup, in a light broth)
• French chestnut soup (super smooth!)
• Irish fish chowder (a classic mix of fresh and smoked fish, bacon and potato)
• Thai tom yum soup (flavored with lemongrass and chili)
• Plus get more comforting ideas in the winter recipes archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

This post was originally shared in January 2018 and has been updated, primarily with additional information and new photos.

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