I am nothing if not a soup girl. Whether it is July and 100 degrees, or freezing in the dead of winter, you can catch me eating soup. Luckily for me it is starting to get cold in California, so others are starting to crave soup as well! I have been seeing a lot of people making chicken noodle soup, which had me craving a superior chicken soup, Avgolemono soup.

Avgolemono soup is a Greek chicken and rice soup that is thickened with eggs, and seasoned with lemon. The name “Avgolemono” is derived from the Greek words “avgo,” meaning egg, and “lemoni,” meaning lemon, which are the two key ingredients that give this soup its distinctive taste and velvety consistency. It is creamy, filling, and in my opinion it is the best chicken soup out there. I love it because it is more interesting than just a chicken noodle soup because it is tangy and silky smooth, along with being super creamy. Whenever I am sick I crave this soup and it always makes me feel better.

Ingredients and Substitutions:

  • Chicken thighs – boneless skinless chicken thighs are ideal for this recipe because they stay super moist and shred easily. You can also use chicken breast or a whole chicken if you like!
  • Jasmine rice – I love jasmine rice in this recipe because it is a fairly neutral rice that doesn’t get too starchy or gummy since it naturally has less starch than a shorter grain rice. Technically you can use any kind of rice in this recipe! Other common rices to use are arborio rice, basmati, or any white rice. You can use brown rice or wild rice, however cooking times will be longer.
  • Eggs – In this recipe I just use egg yolks to thicken the soup. I like just the yolks because it results in a silkier texture. You can use the whole egg however! Substitute 1 whole egg for every 2 yolks. ]
  • Fresh lemon juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice is truly the only lemon juice that will suffice here. Please for the love of god do not use that nasty lemon juice that comes in a yellow bottle! Fresh is always better!

Steps to Making Avgolemono Soup:

  • Season the chicken prior to cooking to have better flavor.
  • Saute the onions, carrots, and celery until translucent. Make sure you salt as you go! Always build layers of salt! Then saute the minced garlic for 2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken stock, herbs, chicken and rice and bring up to a simmer. Simmer everything for 20 minutes with the lid on. This allows for both the rice, and the chicken to cook. Remove the chicken to shred and return back to the pot.
  • Thicken the soup by tempering the whisked eggs and lemon juice into the soup. If you want to see an in depth video on how to temper eggs, check that out here.
@kellyscleankitchen

How to make Avgolemono Soup 🍋 #soup #avgolemono #chickensoup

♬ La vie en rose (Cover Edith Piaf) – 田东昱
  • SERVINGS:  4
  • PREP TIME: 10 Mins
  • COOK TIME:30 Mins
  • TOTAL TIME: 40 Min

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 1/2 cup jasmine rice
  • 4 egg yolks, or 2 eggs
  • 1.5 lemons, juiced
  • minced parsley for garnish

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and set aside.

STEP 2.

In a pot over medium heat, add olive oil and saute the onion, carrots and celery, until translucent, salting as you go. This should take around 5-8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute another 2 minutes.

STEP 3.

Stir in the chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and taste to make sure the seasoning is good. Bring up to a low simmer and add the chicken thighs and rice. Top with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes on low, until the chicken is cooked through.

STEP 4.

Remove the chicken and shred with forks. Add the chicken back to the pot.

STEP 5.

Temper your eggs. Do this by whisking the egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl until it is very smooth. Make sure your soup is simmering. Whisk in one ladle of hot soup at a time, adding the liquid very slowly. We want to slowly bring the eggs up to temperature, if you do this too quickly they will scramble! Add 4-6 ladles until your mixture is very hot. Once the egg mixture reaches 160*F you are safe from scrambling. Add the egg mixture into the simmering soup, whisking it in until the soup is combined and thickened.

STEP 6.

Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Garnish with parsley and serve.

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