Greek

Serving

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup)

Name: Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 8 cups chicken stock; 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2/3 cup long-grain rice; 3 large eggs; 1/3 cup lemon juice; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill, for garnish

A silky, comforting soup of chicken and rice thickened and brightened with a whisked egg and lemon mixture.

45 minutes

Serves 6

Dinner

16 min prep

25 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg

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Good to know

One-pot

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners

Instructions

7 steps

1
Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot, add the chicken breasts, and simmer for 15-18 minutes until cooked through.
2
Remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and set aside; keep the stock at a gentle simmer.
3
Add the rice to the simmering stock and cook for 15-18 minutes, until tender.
4
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, then slowly whisk in the lemon juice.
5
Ladle about 1 cup of the hot stock into the egg-lemon mixture very slowly while whisking constantly to temper it.
6
Remove the soup from heat, slowly stir the tempered egg-lemon mixture back into the pot, then return the shredded chicken to the soup.
7
Season with salt and pepper, garnish with fresh dill, and serve immediately without boiling further.

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup) — plated and served — Serving moment. How Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup) looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

72/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 90

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 58

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

575

Calories

58 g

Protein

18 g

Carbs

30 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Avgolemono, meaning egg-lemon, is the technique that defines a whole category of Greek sauces and soups, likely adapted from Sephardic Jewish cooking traditions in the eastern Mediterranean. This chicken-and-rice version is the most familiar form, served as a comforting, restorative soup rather than a special-occasion dish.

Listahan note

This version tempers whole eggs with lemon juice before slowly stirring them into the hot soup, which is the technique that keeps the broth silky instead of scrambled.

Technique cues

Tempering the eggs, meaning slowly warming them with a small amount of hot stock before adding them to the pot, is what prevents them from curdling into visible egg strands.
The soup must not boil again once the egg-lemon mixture goes in, direct boiling will scramble the eggs and break the silky texture the dish is named for.
Whisking the eggs until genuinely frothy before adding the lemon juice incorporates air that helps the mixture thicken the broth smoothly rather than clump.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Shred the cooked chicken while the rice simmers in the stock, so both are ready at the same time as the egg-lemon mixture.
Make-ahead: The soup base (stock, chicken, and rice) can be made a day ahead; add the egg-lemon mixture fresh just before serving since it doesn't hold or reheat well once added.
Leftover move: Reheat leftover avgolemono very gently over low heat, stirring constantly, and remove from heat the moment it's warm to avoid curdling the eggs.
Cleanup rhythm: Wash the whisk and tempering bowl right away, cooked egg residue hardens quickly and is much harder to scrub once dry.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

chicken stock

the soup's base

Purpose: a well-flavored stock is what the entire soup rests on, since the egg-lemon mixture only thickens and brightens what's already there

Handling: bring to a full boil to cook the chicken, then hold at a gentle simmer for the rest of cooking

Adaptation: a good quality store-bought low-sodium stock works fine; just adjust added salt at the end since brands vary widely in sodium

chicken breasts

protein and flavor

Purpose: poaching the chicken directly in the stock seasons both the meat and the broth at the same time

Handling: simmer gently until just cooked through, then shred with two forks rather than dicing, which gives a more traditional, rustic texture

Adaptation: boneless thighs work well and stay more moist than breasts if the household prefers dark meat

long-grain rice

body and heartiness

Purpose: the rice cooks directly in the stock, releasing starch that gives the finished soup some of its natural thickness even before the eggs go in

Handling: add once the chicken is out and cook at a simmer until tender, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom

Adaptation: orzo pasta is a common regional substitute and cooks in less time

eggs

the thickener

Purpose: whisked eggs are what transform a simple chicken-rice soup into avgolemono, giving the broth its characteristic silky, custardy body

Handling: whisk until frothy, then slowly whisk in the lemon juice before tempering with hot stock a ladleful at a time

Adaptation: using only egg yolks gives an even richer, silkier result, though with less volume; egg whites alone will not thicken the soup properly

lemon juice

the soup's brightness

Purpose: it's whisked directly into the eggs and is what gives the dish its name and its distinctive tang

Handling: use fresh-squeezed juice, bottled lemon juice tastes flatter and won't balance the richness of the eggs as well

Adaptation: a bit less juice with a little lemon zest stirred in at the end can round out the flavor for those sensitive to sourness

Technique notes

Ladle the hot stock into the eggs very slowly at first, adding it too fast is the single most common cause of scrambled bits in the finished soup.
Keep the soup at a bare simmer, not a boil, from the moment the eggs go in until serving.
If small curds do form despite care, straining the soup through a fine sieve can rescue the texture, though it's better to avoid the issue by tempering slowly.

Ingredient swaps

Gluten-free direction: Already gluten-free as written when made with rice; if substituting orzo, use a gluten-free pasta instead.
Dairy-free direction: Naturally dairy-free as written and needs no adjustment.
Egg-allergy direction: This is not a safe substitution dish for egg allergies, the technique depends entirely on eggs; consider a different lemon-chicken-rice soup without the avgolemono thickening step instead.

Serve alongside

crusty bread
a simple green salad
feta and olives
a dry white wine
chamomile tea
sparkling water with lemon

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Reheat gently over low heat, stirring constantly, and never let it return to a full boil.
Freezing is not recommended, the egg-thickened broth separates and turns grainy once thawed.

Equipment

large pot
whisk
ladle
fine-mesh strainer (for rescuing curdled broth if needed)

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