This is how Greek kitchens traditionally prepare food. Other comparable Greek dishes can be made using variations of the fundamental Avgolemono (broth and lemon). accompanied by bread. You can dip pieces of bread into the soup. The soup can be frozen or kept for several days in the refrigerator. Place in the microwave or cook on the stove to reheat.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
- ½ cup uncooked white rice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 medium lemons, juiced
Instructions
- Rinse chicken and remove any organs that may be inside. Place in a pot large enough for it to move around, but not too big or the broth will be watery. Add the chicken neck if that is included with your chicken.
- Fill the pot with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil. When it boils, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, skimming the fat from the top as it collects. The meat should pull from the bones easily.
- Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
- Add rice to the broth and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, whisk eggs and lemon juice together in a bowl. Remove chicken meat from the bones.
- When rice is finished, turn off the heat. Whisk one ladle full of hot broth into the eggs slowly so the eggs do not curdle. Gradually whisk in more broth until the egg mixture is heated. Pour the hot egg mixture back into the pot, whisking briskly. The result should be a creamy, cloudy-looking soup. Season with salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.
- Add pieces of chicken to the soup before serving or serve soup with salted chicken on the side.
- The soup should be filling, salty, and slightly sour, so I use 2 juicy lemons — although the flavor may be too sour for non-Greeks. Grocery store lemons are usually not as juicy as organic lemons or lemons from a Hispanic/Mexican grocery store.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 321 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 155 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 94 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Delicious! Just like from grandma’s kitchen in Cyprus.
Loved it!!! I added fresh asparagus, a but if chicken broth and garlic.
I followed the recipe, and I really like it, although I would prefer it a touch saltier and zestier, so next time I will add a bit more salt and lemon. When serving it, I put fresh ground pepper on top. Mmmmm!
I wasn’t sure how much liq it called for. So began w 1qt chicken broth, pasta, and juice of 2 med lemons. My husband thought a little too tart. I liked. I will try over vegetables!
I made this minus the chicken, added some carrots, celery, yellow onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, basil, oregano , rosemary, and red pepper flakes. It was okay, though the lemon was a little too strong.
My FAVORITE soup of all time!
I already had chicken soup made and I know I wanted this. Just added the lemon and egg. It was delicious.
Absolutely delicious as written! Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to suit your palate, as the recipe describes, and add a little extra rice at your discretion depending on the amount of broth that is made, and this is wonderful!
I think this is a good recipe that may be too heavy on the lemon for those not accustomed to Avgolemono except that which is served at some restaurants–which in my opinion can be a little light on the lemon. At our house, no part of the chicken is welcome except the breast, so I just used boneless, skinless chicken breast which I seasoned with salt and a lot of black pepper before cooking with the broth and I return it to the soup after shredding. Having a Greek spouse, I don’t shy away from salt, black pepper or lemon and even serve with additional on the side. If this recipe is too lemony for you, I’d add more broth and/or more rice to tone it down.
One of my favorite soups ever! I used chicken breasts and added some bone broth to it and it still came out great! Will make again!
I used chicken broth and half a roasted chicken from the supermarket….added parsley at end. Yum!
I grew up eating this soup my.mom was Greek and made this all the time I love it.
Simple and amazing. My best advice is to use all chicken legs for ease and add 1/2 cup more rice for a total of 1 cup.
I made this, it was good. I ended up using more eggs and not a whole chicken but 3 pounds worth.
This was really good. The end result was way too thick for a soup but I’m thinking it’s an experience thing. I didn’t have enough broth to start with after the chicken was removed and that was the main issue…. I added celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and a parsnip for a heartier broth….which was fabulous! I cut back on the orzo (replaced rice per reviews), lemon and even the egg to hopefully accommodate the liquid. With only having about 2 cups of stock left in the pot I should have used 1 egg and maybe 1/8 cup starch (or even cook separate) and prob 1 lemon… maybe a bit more….just depending. The taste was great but when I thinned it out the party was gone. I will definitely have to try this again!!!
This was so easy to make! The lemon adds so much depth to the stock! I personally cut my white rice to 1/4 of a cup to control and not be tempted by the amount of carbs added. This is a great protein dish and will be making it again and again!!
This is my all time favorite soup! The texture the egg gives it is simple to die for. It’s so creamy and almost custardy the way it coats the spoon and the inside of your mouth. This recipe is fantastic on its own, but also great for adapting to your own personal taste (even if that takes away from its authenticity). Sometimes I’ll add carrots and celery if I have them on hand just to add a bit more substance. I also like to add just a little oregano, basil, and garlic to give it that herby kick. The lemon is definitely adjustable if you want more or less tang (I’m a lemon fiend, so sometimes I add more). Ultimately though, this recipe is delicious without any alterations. It’s a great quick weeknight recipe if you use premade chicken stock, or have some homemade in the freezer. If you’re going that route, roasting a couple of chicken breasts or thighs in the oven and shredding it in at the end is fantastic. I even once made this with leftover Thanksgiving turkey! If you love creamy, lemony soups, definitely give this soup a try!
classic greek soup and classic simple recipe, cannot go wrong
I used this as a starter recipe. I did not want to boil the chicken, so I sauteed some chicken thighs in garlic and onion before I started. I used 2 qts of chicken broth after I removed the chicken from the stock pot. I also have used orzo instead of rice. The trick to this recipe is the process of slowly warming the egg lemon mixture with a few scoops of hot broth so the egg whites do not curdle in the soup. After the rice or orzo is done, I killed the heat and then slowly added slightly cooled broth to the lemon egg mixture. After the bowl was warm the eggs could be dropped into the rest of the broth and no white curdling at all. I used 5 eggs instead of 3, and 3 lemons instead of 2. If the lemons are a little sharp, I suggest adding a few pats of butter to the soup toward the end of cooking.
Not sure where this went wrong. Definately didn’t taste like the one I get at the Greek restaurant near me. The chicken tasted horrible- no flavor at all. It all got thrown out. Won’t be making again.
I loved this soup! Much milder lemon flavor than I had expected after reading the reviews indicating it was too much. Next time, I will likely use more than 2 lemons. I used brown rice instead of white and, other than it needing to cook a little longer, it worked fine. My market did not have any small chickens, so I used 3-4 pounds of breasts and legs with bones and skin. I will be making this often!