Avgolemono soup is the Greek lemon chicken soup every Greek household makes. Kotosoupa avgolemono, a golden chicken broth finished with a whisked egg-and-lemon sauce that turns it silky and creamy without a drop of cream. This is the version I grew up with: a whole chicken simmered down into its own broth, rice cooked in that broth, and the avgolemono stirred in off the heat at the very last minute.
It’s the soup my family makes when someone is under the weather, when the weather turns, and on the day after a big roast when there’s a carcass to use up. The only part that takes any nerve is the tempering, and I’ll walk you through exactly how to get it silky every time.
If you love this Avgolemono Chicken Soup-Kotosoupa, you will also love Fasolada-White Bean Soup, Chickpea Soup, or Lentil Spinach Lemon Soup!
What is avgolemono?
Avgolemono (αυγολέμονο) isn’t a soup, it’s a sauce. The name is just the two ingredients pushed together: avgó (egg) and lemóni (lemon). Whisked egg is tempered with lemon juice and hot broth until it emulsifies into something glossy and pale gold, then stirred into whatever it’s finishing.
In Greek kitchens, avgolemono goes into a lot of things — over stuffed cabbage rolls, into meatball soup, over chicken fricassee with greens, and into magiritsa at Easter. When it goes into chicken soup, the dish is called kotosoupa avgolemono, literally “chicken soup with egg and lemon.” That is what English-language menus and recipe sites are calling when they say “avgolemono soup” or “Greek lemon chicken soup.”
Whole eggs, or just the yolks?
Both are traditional, and they give you different soups.
Whisk the whites to soft peaks first and fold the yolks in, and you get a lighter, foamier avgolemono that sits up on the broth — that’s the version I use for youvarlakia and for magiritsa, where you want something delicate.
Yolks alone, which is what I do here, give you a denser, richer, more custardy soup, a deeper yellow colour, and a noticeably better chance of surviving a reheat without splitting. For kotosoupa, that’s what I want.
If you’d rather have the foamy version: separate three eggs, whisk the whites to soft peaks, whisk the yolks in, then carry on with the lemon and the tempering exactly as written below.
Why you will love Avgolemono Chicken Soup
Rice, orzo, or pastina?
All three are made in Greek kitchens and none of them is wrong. What changes is the texture and the timing. Whichever you use, add it to the broth at the same point in the recipe and adjust the simmer:
- Medium-grain rice — 1 cup, 15 minutes. My default. Sushi rice, arborio or Karolina. The starch thickens the broth slightly on its own, which makes the finished soup feel richer.
- Orzo (kritharáki) — 1 cup, about 9 minutes. Very common in Greece and the most popular version in the States. Lighter than rice, and the soup stays looser. Watch it closely; orzo goes from al dente to mushy fast, and it keeps cooking in the hot broth after you turn the heat off.
- Pastina or ditalini — ¾ cup, about 7 minutes. What you make for a child, or for someone who isn’t eating much. Small enough that the soup is almost a porridge.
- Diced potato — 2 medium, cut small, 15 minutes. The version for anyone avoiding grains. Dice them properly small so they cook through in the same time as the carrots.
- Nothing at all — skip it. A clear kotosoupa, all broth, chicken and avgolemono. Lighter, and honestly lovely.
One thing to know: rice and pasta keep absorbing broth in the fridge. A soup that was perfect last night will be closer to a stew tomorrow. Loosen it with a splash of extra broth when you reheat.
Here is what you need
For the broth
- A whole chicken, around 4 lb. This is the part I won’t shortcut — the bones, the skin and the connective tissue are what give the broth body and that faintly gelatinous quality you can feel on your lips. Bone-in thighs and drumsticks work almost as well if a whole bird is awkward. Boneless breast will not; you’ll get chicken-flavoured water.
- Carrots, celery, a halved red onion, bay leaves, and sprigs of fresh thyme, sage and rosemary. These get strained out and discarded — their job is the broth, not the bowl
- Aromatics for the broth.
- Rice. One cup of medium-grain rice. I use glutinous (sushi) rice because the extra starch gives the broth body before the avgolemono even goes in. Arborio or Greek Karolina rice do the same job. Avoid long-grain and basmati — they stay separate and the soup stays thin.
For the egg and lemon sauce
- Eggs. Three yolks, at room temperature. Cold eggs straight from the fridge hit the hot broth harder and are more likely to seize.
- Lemons. Two, juiced and zested — roughly ½ cup of juice. Fresh only. Bottled juice tastes flat and slightly metallic here, and there is nowhere for it to hide in a soup this simple. The zest is not optional; it carries the aroma that the juice alone doesn’t.
Step by step
Make the broth
I make my broth in a 7-quart Dutch oven. This recipe yields about 10 cups of broth.
- Put the chicken in a large pot and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and skim the grey foam off the surface until it stops forming. This is the step that gets you a clear broth, so don’t rush it.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the halved onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, the sprigs of thyme, sage and rosemary, the sea salt and the peppercorns. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour.
- Lift the chicken out onto a platter and let it cool enough to handle.
- Pull off and discard the skin and bones, then cut or shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Cover and set aside.
- Strain the broth through a sieve into a bowl and discard the vegetables and herbs. Wash the pot, and return the strained broth to it.
Start the soup
Add the diced onion, carrots, celery and the rice to the strained broth, along with the dried oregano. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice is tender. Stir in the chicken pieces and turn off the heat. While the rice cooks, zest and juice the lemons.
Make the avgolemono
Step 1: In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until very well combined.
Step 2: Gradually add the lemon zest and juice while whisking until the mixture thickens and becomes creamy.
Step 3: Slowly add 1/2 cup of the soup broth to the bowl while whisking vigorously. Add another 1/2 cup in the same way.
Step 4: Add the lemon-egg mixture to the pot and stir. Add salt, freshly ground pepper and extra lemon juice to taste.
How to keep avgolemono from curdling
Curdling happens for exactly one reason: the eggs met heat too quickly. Three things prevent it, and if you do all three it will not split.
Take the pot off the heat first. Not down to low — off. The broth is still well over 80°C and that’s plenty to cook the eggs through. Greek cooks do this without thinking about it, and it’s the step most written recipes skip.
Temper in stages, and give it more time than feels necessary. Half a cup of hot broth into the eggs, whisking hard the whole time. Then another half cup. You are warming the eggs up to meet the soup, not the other way round. If you’re doing this alone, put the bowl on a damp folded tea towel so it doesn’t skate across the counter, or do what we do at home and get someone else to pour while you whisk.
Never let it boil again. Once the avgolemono is in, the soup is finished. Reheat it gently over low heat, stirring, and stop before it simmers.
And if it splits anyway, it’s still delicious. The texture goes slightly grainy, the flavor doesn’t change at all, and every Greek cook has done it. Next time, pour slower.
Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves and chili flakes.
Pro tips
- Room-temperature eggs: take them out of the fridge before you start the broth. Cold yolks are far more likely to seize.
- Use fresh lemons: Freshly squeezed juice gives the soup its signature brightness.
- Choose the rice wisely: medium-grain rice — glutinous/sushi, arborio, or Greek Karolina — gives the broth body. Long-grain and basmati leave the soup thin.
- Shred chicken finely: Bite-sized pieces blend seamlessly into the broth.The trickiest part of making avgolemono soup is pouring the chicken broth slowly into the egg mixture. If you need to, ask someone to pour the broth slowly while you whisk.
- Instead of making the broth, you can use free-range organic broth.
- Substitute rice with orzo, ditalini, or pastina. Some add couscous or quinoa. You can also 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 of grated ripe tomatoes to the broth when you add the rice. It makes a delightful pink soup!
What to serve with avgolemono soup
- Pair with a chunk of crusty horiatiko peasant bread or toasted Greek flat bread for dipping.
- Add a side of Greek salad with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta for freshness.
- Serve as a starter before classic Greek main dishes like roasted leg of lamb or spanakopita pie.
- Finish with a light Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts for dessert.
- Made the day after a roast? Kotosoupa is what a Greek kitchen does with the carcass. Simmer the bones from a roast turkey or chicken in place of the whole bird and pick the meat off for the soup.
FAQs
Make ahead
The broth. This is the part worth doing in advance. Make it up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate, or freeze for up to 3 months. Chill it overnight and the fat sets on top in a solid disc you can lift straight off — a cleaner soup with no skimming.
The whole soup, minus the avgolemono. Broth, vegetables, rice and chicken keep in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat gently and make the egg-lemon sauce fresh when you serve — it takes three minutes and it’s always better than reheated avgolemono.
Portions for the week. Divide the base into containers without the sauce. Whisk one yolk with the juice of half a lemon per portion, temper with a ladle of the hot soup, and stir it in.
Storage and reheating
Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring often. Avoid boiling; high heat can cause the egg-lemon mixture to separate.
Freezing: It does freeze, it’s a dairy-free soup though the texture softens. Leave room in the container for expansion, thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat gently over low heat with a splash of extra broth, stirring often. For the best result, freeze the broth and chicken without the avgolemono and whisk in a fresh egg-lemon sauce when you reheat.
More Greek-style soups
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Avgolemono Soup – Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Kotosoupa)
Ingredients
For the broth
- 4 lbs whole chicken , or bone-in thighs and/or drumsticks
- 2 carrots , peeled and cut ⅓-inch slices
- 2 stalks celery , cut into large pieces
- 1 red onion, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh sage
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 10 peppercorns
For the soup
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 stalk celery , diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 cup medium-grain rice, glutinous/sushi, arborio, or Greek Karolina
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
For the egg and lemon sauce
- 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 lemons, juiced and zested (about ½ cup juice)
For serving
- fresh thyme leaves, optional
- chili flakes, optional
- freshly ground pepper, optional
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large pot and add cold water to cover, about 10 cups. Bring to a boil and skim the foam from the surface until it stops forming.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the halved onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, sage and rosemary sprigs, sea salt and peppercorns. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour.
- Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it cool enough to handle. Discard the skin and bones and cut or shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Cover and set aside.
- Strain the broth through a sieve into a bowl, discarding the vegetables and herbs. Wash the pot and return the strained broth to it.
- Add the diced onion, carrots and celery, the rice and the oregano. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice is tender.
- Add the shredded chicken, stir, and turn the heat off completely. While the rice cooks, zest and juice the lemons.
Prepare the egg-lemon sauce.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale and very well combined.
- Gradually add the lemon zest and juice while whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens slightly and turns creamy.
- With the pot off the heat, slowly add ½ cup of the hot broth to the bowl while whisking vigorously. Add another ½ cup the same way.
- Pour the egg-lemon mixture into the pot, whisking as you go, and stir thoroughly. Season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and extra lemon juice to taste. Do not let the soup boil again.
- Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves and chili flakes.
Notes
Nutrition
