Name: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup - Kotosoupa Avgolemono
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Ingredients: 4 lbs whole chicken (or thighs and/or drumstikcs, bone in); 2 carrots (peeled and cut into 1/3 inch slices); 2 stalk celery (diced); 2 bay leaf; fresh thyme leaves; fresh sage sprigs; fresh rosemary; 1 red onion (halved); 10 peppercorns; 2 carrots ( diced); 1 celery stick (diced); 1 red onion (diced); 1 cup sticky rice; dry oregano; sea salt; freshly ground pepper; 3 egg yolks; 2 lemons juiced and zested; fresh thyme leaves (optional); chili flakes (optional); freshly ground pepper (optional)

This Greek Lemon Chicken Soup-Kotosoupa Avgolemono, is so delicious and can be used for healing or pure comfort and delight. Kotosoupa is a much-loved traditional Greek soup. The combination of tender chicken, flavorful broth, vegetables and avgolemono makes for a satisfying and nutritious meal that can be enjoyed any time of year.

If you love this Greek Lemon Chicken Soup-Kotosoupa Avgolemono, you will also love this Fasolada-White Bean Soup, Chickpea Soup or Lentil Spinach Lemon Soup!

A yellow bowl with kotosoupa-Greek chicken avgolemono soup with a slice of lemon and a spoon.

Why this recipe sings

Greeks call this soup kotopoulo soupa or kotosoupa avgolemono. Apart from the chicken, it can include carrots, celery, onion, avgolemono and rice. There are varieties of Greek chicken soup with orzo pasta, especially in the USA; however, orzo is rarely used in Greece for kotosoupa.
There are several reasons why Greek chicken soup with avgolemono is a beloved dish.
It is incredibly comforting and warming, making it the perfect meal for cold or rainy days.
Greek lemon chicken soup is thought to have healing properties, with many believing it can help alleviate symptoms of the common cold and flu. My mom always made a pot of kotosoupa when she felt I had a cold.
It is an inexpensive, nutritious meal with tender chicken, flavorful broth, and velvety avgolemono-egg and lemon sauce suitable for any time of year.

A yellow bowl with kotosoupa-Greek chicken avgolemono soup with a slice of lemon , at the back a cloth napkin, a lemon and a microplane zester, all on a wooden table.

What is Avgolemono?

Avgolemono is a lemon and egg sauce. Greeks make avgolemono for chicken soup, as a sauce over stuffed grape leaves, for giouvarlakia-meatball soup, etc. The lemon adds rich and bright flavors to the dish.

Avgolemono is always in the soup added at the very end of cooking.

To make avgolemono sauce, whisk room-temperature eggs with freshly squeezed lemon juice. While whisking constantly, slowly pour some 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 the heat, and your avgolemono soup is ready for serving.

Here is what you need

For the broth

A whole chicken, or thighs and/or drumsticks with the bone in
Carrots, celery, and a red onion
Bay leaves, sea salt and peppercorns

For the soup

Diced carrots, celery and onion diced
Sticky rice
Sea salt, freshly ground pepper and dried oregano

For the egg and lemon sauce

Egg yolks
Lemons juiced and zested

How to make the chicken broth

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

A stock pot with a whole chicken, carrots, celery and onions on a wooden table.

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, bay leaves, fresh herbs sprigs, two tablespoons of sea salt and about ten peppercorns. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour.

Transfer the chicken to a platter. Let it cool a little.

Discard the skin and bones and cut into bite-size pieces.

Cover the chicken and set aside.

Pour the broth through a sieve into a bowl. Discard the vegetables, wash the pot and add back the stock.

Finish the soup

Add the diced onions, carrots, celery and rice into the broth. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces and turn off the heat.

While the rice cooks, zest and juice the lemons.

Make the avgolemono

Egg yolks with a whisk in a bowl. — **In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks very well.**

Egg yolks with a whisk in a bowl, and lemon juice pouring over from a cup. — **Gradually add the lemon zest and juice while whisking until the mixture thickens and becomes creamy.**

lemon and egg yolks with a whisk in a bowl, and broth pouring over from a cup. — **Slowly add 1/2 cup of the soup broth to the bowl while whisking vigorously. Add another 1/2 cup in the same way.**

Avgolemono is poured into chicken soup from a cup. — **Add the lemon-egg mixture into the pot and stir.**

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

A yellow bowl with kotosoupa-Greek chicken avgolemono soup with a slice of lemon and a spoon , at the back a cloth napkin, a lemon and a microplane zester, all on a wooden table.

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

Close up of a Greek chicken soup with a slice of lemon.

Tips & substitutions

The trickiest part when you are making avgolemono soup is to pour the chicken broth slowly into 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 in the freezer 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 altogether.
Instead of rice or pasta, you can add diced potatoes. Ensure 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!