This Greek lemon chicken soup – kotopoulo soupa avgolemono is delicious and can be used for healing purposes 🙂 or pure comfort and delight. It is a much loved traditional Greek soup.

When I was little and felt under the weather my mother would keep me home from school and would put on the stove a large pot of chicken lemon rice soup. A bowl would soothe my sore throat and calm my raging chest. Despite feeling ill I loved these moments of being home alone with my mother, tucked in bed with my books and my favorite soup.

What is in a Greek lemon chicken soup?

Greeks call it kotopoulo soupa or kotosoupa avgolemono. Apart from chicken it can include carrots, celery, avgolemono and rice. There are varieties with orzo pasta, however orzo is rarely used in the traditional Greek chicken soup.

What is Avgolemono?

Avgolemono is a lemon and egg sauce. Greeks use avgoglemono in chicken soup, stuffed grape leaves, meatball soup etc. It adds rich and bright flavors in the dish.

In this chicken soup avgolemono is added at the very end of cooking.

To make avgolemono sauce, you’ll need to whisk eggs with freshly squeezed lemon juice. While whisking constantly, slowly pour some of the hot chicken broth into the eggs. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the soup, whisking continually, so the eggs don’t curdle. Stir well, turn off heat, and your avgolemono soup is ready for serving.

Ingredients for Greek lemon chicken soup

• Chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
• Carrots
• Celery
• Onion
• Sticky Rice
• Bay leaf
• Dry oregano
• Fresh herbs like thyme and sage
• Eggs
• Lemons
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

How to make the chicken broth

I make my broth in a 7 quart dutch oven. This recipe yields 10 cups of broth.

• A 4 lb chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
• A large onion cut in half
• 2 medium carrots peeled and quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh herb sprigs like thyme and sage
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 10 peppercorns

Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Skim the foam and reduce the heat to low. Add the onion, carrots, the bay leaves, fresh herbs sprigs, 2 tablespoons of sea salt and about 10 peppercorns. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour.

Transfer the chicken on a plater. Let it cool a little. Discard the skin and bones and cut into bite size pieces. Cover the plater and set aside.

Wash the pot and add back the stock. Add the diced onions, carrots and celery. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the chicken and the sticky rice. Simmer until rice is cooked, about 12- 15 min.

Make the avgolemono

While the rice cooks zest and juice the lemons.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks very well. 

Gradually add the lemon zest and lemon juice while continuously whisking until the mixture thickens a little and becomes creamy.

Slowly add 1/2 cup of the soup broth to the bowl while whisking vigorously. Add about another cup in the same way. 

Keep whisking. Turn off the heat and add the lemon-egg mixture into the pot. Stir thoroughly.

Add salt, fresh ground pepper and extra lemon juice to taste.

Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves, chili flakes.

Tips & substitutions

• The trickiest part when you are making avgolemono soup is to pour the chicken broth slowly in the egg mixture.  If you need to,  ask someone to pour the broth slowly, while you whisk.
• Chicken broth can be refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 2-3 months.
• Instead of making the broth you can use free range organic broth.
• You can substitute rice with orzo, ditalini or pastina. Some add couscous or quinoa. You also have the option to leave rice and pasta out completely.
• Instead of rice or pasta you can add diced potatoes. Just make sure the pieces are diced small enough to cook evenly with the rest of the vegetables.
• You can add 1 cup grated ripe tomatoes in the broth when you add the rice. It makes a delightful pink soup!

You may also like

• Check out this tomato soup with feta & basil, an ideal partner to crusty bread.
• The traditional white bean soup is a staple that generations of Greeks grew up with and still enjoy today.
• This hearty heirloom bean soup it is slow cooked with lots aromatics, fresh herbs and veggies.
• This chicken stew with lemony beans will satisfy and comfort.

Check out my Greek pantry staples 

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