You’ll love this delicious, silky Greek Avgolemono soup filled with chicken, rice and dill with a lemon-egg sauce. Delish!
Avgolemono Chicken and Rice Soup
Avgolemono is a traditional Greek soup made with chicken broth, rice, and eggs. The eggs are beaten and mixed with lemon juice to create a thick, creamy texture. The soup is known for its bright, tangy flavor and comforting warmth. This recipe is made from scratch, with all the coziness of a chicken noodle soup, but the lemon juice adds a pop of sunshine. More comforting chicken soup recipes you should try are Chicken and Cavatelli Soup, Chicken Barley Soup, and Chicken Shiitake and Wild Rice Soup.
What country is avgolemono from?
Avgolemono means “egg-lemon” in Greek, but the soup is also found in “Arab, Sephardic Jewish, Turkish, Balkan and Jewish-Italian cuisine.”
Is avgolemono soup healthy?
This Greek chicken, lemon and rice soup is nutritious and comforting. It’s creamy without the cream, so it’s relatively low in calories, and the protein content is high because of the chicken and eggs.
Avgolemono Soup Ingredients
- Dill: Fresh dill is essential, so don’t substitute it with dried. To prep the dill, pull all the fronds from the stem and reserve a half cup of them for garnish.
- Broth: Use two quarts of low-sodium chicken broth.
- Chicken Thighs: You’ll need 1 ½ pounds of boneless, skinless thighs.
- Rice: I like this soup best with white rice, but brown rice would work too.
- Egg Lemon Mixture: You’ll whisk some hot broth into the eggs to temper before adding them to the pot to keep them from scrambling. Then add fresh-squeezed lemon juice from about two lemons.
- Salt and Pepper for seasoning
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling before serving
How to Make Avgolemono Soup
- Cook the Chicken: Put the dill stems, chicken, rice, and chicken stock or broth in a large pot or dutch oven and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low, stir, and cook covered for about 25 minutes until the chicken is tender.
- Shred the Chicken: Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and stems from the broth. Discard the stems and shred the meat with two forks.
- Make the Egg Sauce: Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the stock to an active simmer. Whisk the eggs until frothy in a medium bowl, and then stir in the lemon juice. While you’re still whisking the eggs, gradually drizzle in about a cup or ladle of the hot broth and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Finish the Soup: Pour the lemon-egg mixture into the pot with the broth and immediately remove it from the heat so that the eggs don’t start to cook. Stir in the shredded chicken, taste, and add more lemon juice as needed. Garnish with dill, pepper, and olive oil.
Variations and Tips:
- You can use chicken breast or turkey breast in place of chicken thighs
- If you wish, you can make this with orzo or small pasta in place of rice. Add it at the end before adding the avgolemono sauce and cook according to package directions. Once cooked, proceed with adding the lemon-egg mixture.
- If you wish, you can add more vegetables such as diced carrots, onions and celery in step 2.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days. You can also freeze this soup up to 3 months in freezer-safe containers.
How to Freeze
Leftovers will last in the fridge for up to four days, or since this simple Greek lemon soup doesn’t have any dairy, it can be frozen. Store the soup in glass containers, leaving a little space at the top, and freeze it for up to three months. To thaw it, place it in the refrigerator the day before and microwave it until warm.
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More Chicken Soup Recipes You’ll Love:
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Lentil Soup
- Chicken Sweet Potato and Kale Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup
Your comments are helpful! If you’ve tried this healthy Avgolemono Chicken and Rice Soup recipe or any other on Skinnytaste, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. And if you took a photo of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can reshare it on my Stories!
Avgolemono Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- ½ ounce container fresh dill
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ground black pepper, to taste
- drizzle extra-virgin olive oil for serving
Instructions
- Pull the dill fronds from the stems; reserve 1/2 cup of the fronds for garnish.
- In a pot, combine the stems, chicken thighs and rice with the chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and stir. Cover and cook the chicken until tender, 25 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and stems from the broth. Discard the stems and transfer the chicken to a plate then shred with 2 forks.
- Meanwhile, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the stock up to an active simmer.
- In a large heatproof bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs until frothy. Add ¼ cup lemon juice and mix to incorporate.
- While you whisk the eggs, gradually drizzle in 1 ladleful (about 1 cup) of the broth (it’s OK if some grains of rice tag along) and mix until fully combined.
- Pour the lemon-egg mixture into the pot with the broth, immediately remove from the heat, and stir in the shredded chicken. Taste and add more lemon juice to taste.
- Garnish with a generous amount of fresh dill, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
As the daughter of a Cypriot mother, I grew up eating and loving this soup. And I have to admit, this version is the best I’ve ever tasted! My husband loved it as well. I didn’t eat it with dill growing up, but its addition makes the soup perfect! And so easy too.
Awesome!
Excellent!! Love the flavor..Love how the eggs comes together for a creamy looking soup.. I think I put too much lemon juice.. 2 squeezed lemons didn’t seem like much.
I definitely will make it again..Mayb this time 1 lemon and fresh dill vs dry.,
This was so good! I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was so creamy and filling. Our picky 13 year old was asking if there were seconds before he even finished his bowl. Huge success!
Perfect!
Delish! Creamy without any guilt
This was incredible! I could not believe that there wasn’t any cream – it came out the most delicious, creamy texture. It had the perfect tang from the lemon and was filling and flavorful from the thighs.
Will definitely make again!
Love this soup!!!!! I had never considered making it until I saw this recipe. I used chicken breast and it turned out amazing. It is now my go-to when I’m bringing someone soup as a get well gesture. Gina, thanks!
I love a good lemon chicken rice soup, but I’ve recently developed an egg intolerance. Any suggestions on how to make this soup without the eggs? I was thinking possibly cornstarch at some point in the recipe?
Perhaps that would work! Id add at the end the same way the egg was used here, adding it to the lemon and broth.
I didn’t have lemons and I made this at like 3am, so I subbed rice vinegar and it definitely worked. So delicious. Added salt and carrots!!! Eating the leftovers right now. Such a fun texture and easy process. I need a bigger pot, though.
I couldn’t find fresh dill so I substituted fresh parsley, fresh green onion, and a pinch of dried dill. I only had one quart of chicken broth – using water instead of a second quart of broth worked fine. I added some finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery as well. I’m happy with this recipe – reminds me of the lemon rice soup I ordered growing up in Northwest Indiana! Silky, delicious, and warming!
This soup was delicious and the recipe was easy to follow. I have never made it wi5 fresh dill before- only dried- and this added so much flavor!
I thought I loved my nearby Greek restaurant’s version of this soup. Now this version is the new winner. I like the amount of chicken and the fact that I can control the sodium content. This is a five star recipe!
Very good, made as directed except I added a little bit more salt. Really liked the fresh dill on top.
It’s delicious, love the fresh lemon, I added some zest. Walmart let me down though, no fresh dill, I am sure that it would have been even better. Added sauteed squash , zucchini, oinion and garlic because we need our veggies and they needed to be used up! I think chopped avacado would be extra on this dish!!!
I added a few leftover carrots I had sitting in my refrigerator. I am amazed that so few ingredients can produce so much flavor. This was delicious!
Wow! This was delicious! I will definitely make it again!!
I have made this soup for years. It’s my go to when my family wasn’t feeling well.
So the egg is uncooked? I’m confused by that.
It ends up being cooked by the hot soup. You just turn off the heat so the egg doesn’t scramble. It’s similar to an egg drop soup, just with tempering the egg before you put it in.
Could I make this in a slow cooker?
Soooo good! I’ve made this soup twice. The first time followed recipe exactly and really enjoyed it. Such a bright, springy soup for winter, but I missed having veggies with dinner that night. The second time i made it, I added the celery, carrots, and onions. At the end I put in about 1 cup of frozen peas. It was still great with the additions!
Hi! I loved this recipe. When do you add the salt?
I had really high hopes for this soup b/c I normally love it and make a similar quick version for myself for lunch when I have leftover rice & rotisserie chicken and it definitely has great reviews!. However other than the dill (I do like that addition), this recipe missed for me -2 qts of chicken broth seems way too much for only 3/4 cup rice and 1/4 cup lemon juice. I had a lot more broth than expected and very little lemon flavor- I had to add juice of 2 entire lemons at the end to make it lemony in flavor. I think I’ll save time & stick to winging it with precooked chicken & rice and make the lemon/egg broth, but add the dill!
Been itching to try an avgolemono soup for years and this one was quite good despite turning out a bit runnier than expected (I’m sure it was a “skill issue” and not the recipe itself). Used cauli-rice. So delicious!
Maybe the cauli rice was the reason? Regular rice absorbs a lot of liquid!
This soup is sooooo good!!! My whole family loves it! I’d never frothed eggs before, used an electric mixer.
My husband doesn’t like soup and he LOVES this soup. He has requested it twice in the last 2 weeks. The fresh dill and the lemon were delicious. The soup was light but filling. I serve it with fresh homemade bread. Thank you!
Perfect!
I love this soup! Few edits: I used the dill fronds, not the stems because I made a mistake, but it turned out fine! I used chicken breast instead of thigh for preference. I also doubled the lemon juice.
Highly recommend this recipe!
This soup is so good.
I had to sub dried dill with fresh, fresh would be better. I also added carrots and celery and substituted chicken with lean ground beef. And subbed white rice for a mix of brown and wild, I only cooked it for about 5 extra minutes and it turned out great. The lemon taste is the best part
I’m making this now.
A suggestion. How many dill stems and how many eggs?
I’m making my best guess
This is so fresh and delicious. Super easy too! I’ve made it twice in the last 2 weeks.
Made this the other week and it was delicious! Didn’t have fresh dill so used ~ 3Tbsp of dried dill. Also didn’t have chicken thighs so I used tenderloins instead and added some carrots. It was easy to prep and tasted great! Served it with a side of bread. My carnivore husband went back for seconds and asked me when I would make it again so I consider that a win! The leftovers stored well too.
Yummy!! Will make this again.
This soup reminds me of my Greek great grandmother making this for our family when I was growing up. It was delicious & super easy!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can I use brown rice? Is the ratio and cooking time the same?
I have not tested but this would take longer.
This was really easy to make and it was delicious. I seared the chicken first and I used oregano instead of dill and I added more lemon. Thank you for this recipe! It is going in my rotation!
Delicious! Came together quickly and tasted incredible.
This soup was easy to make and quite delicious. I would go light on the deal and it just to taste. Will definitely make again.
Sooooooo good!!!
What a fabulous soup! I must have cooked the chicken/rice too hot as there wasn’t much broth, but it still came together nicely. It was actually quite easy to make. I have never heard of this soup before, but the flavor was amazing made as directed. Thank you!
So delicious and easy!
Easy and delicious – can’t ask for more than that!!
This was delicious!! I used chicken breast and subbed ‘palmini rice’ to make it low to zero carbs and it was so, so good!! Definitely will make again!
Incredible. Loved the flavor and reminds me of the soup from my favorite Greek restaurant.
This soup is so delicious, thick, and refreshing. I would never use the word “refreshing” with a soup, but the lemon and dill make it refreshing, and the egg’s creaminess makes this dish a comfort food. I love it! I could remove the rice and make it lower in carbs. I’ll make this again. Thank you.
This was amazing! We have a favorite Greek restaurant near us and we always go for the soup. This is just as good, if not better! And it’s so easy!!
Delicious! I’m Greek and this tastes exactly like my mom’s.
This soup was delicious! The dill and lemon remind me of springtime on this cold January day. I added carrots and spinach because I had them on hand and used Jovial cassava orzo. Another great recipe, thanks Gina! Btw love the updated website!!
Delicious. Tastes just like the Greek takeout from home! It was so nice to taste this soup again.
Holy crap… I can’t believe how yummy this is! This is a soup that will be going in to my list of go to recipes!
It’s in the single digits outside, but I’m so warm and happy with this soup, that I don’t care. This is amazing!! And so easy!
Will I really have 1/2 cup of dill fronds from 1/2 oz of fresh dill? That would a lot for garnish. Making tonight, so I guess I’ll find out!
I used chicken breasts. The soup was delicious, and I did get 1/2 c of fronds! Thanks for the great recipe!
Simple and easy to make! I added crushed red pepper to my bowl to spice things up 🔥delish!!!
Another win for Gina. I used a bit more lemon juice because I love it. I never usually use chicken thighs, but stuck with the recipe and didn’t regret it. It’s filling, creamy, and delicious.
Made this exactly as written and it was amazing. I love how the rice breaks down and makes it so thick and creamy with the egg. It was delicious and so satisfying. My 10 year old who regularly tries to skip dinner ate his whole bowl and said it was soooo good. Thank you Gina for another tasty healthy meal.
Absolutely delicious and my family loved it. Will make again regularly.
I have been searching for a great recipe to make this Greek soup. This one is great. It is very easy to make, as well.
LOVE this recipe! Did use an entire bag of cauliflower rice instead and simmered it in the broth with the dill stocks.
i loved this recipe! I made a couple of changes – using already cooked chicken and substituting quinoa for rice – turned out wonderful and my husband agreed!!!
Perfect!
I added way more lemon and still thought it had very little flavor. I love all of Gina’s recipes but don’t think I’ll make this again.
So good! Even got raving reviews from my 11 year old which is hard to do.
This soup was so easy and delicious! It feels very luxurious but no cream. Will definitely add to my rotation.
Super creamy, smart to add rice right to the broth step. I did think it needed lots more lemon, which we added no problem. But – how do I reheat leftovers without making scrambled egg soup?
Delicious! I added a bit more chicken and used cauliflower rice. Easy, tasty & filling.
As soon as I saw this Skinnytaste recipe, I knew I had to make it ASAP! I’m so glad that I did! It was easy and is so delicious! I always border this soup from Greek restaurants and never thought I could make it myself!
Do the chicken thighs cook in that time? No browning or anything first? I always follow recipes but my chicken always seems to take longer to cook! This sounds so good, maybe we will sprinkle some feta on top before serving!
yes they cook in that time. you can leave longer if you prefer.
Now that was good! Very creamy, slightly tangy and very satisfying.
Can you make this in the instapot? If yes any tips?
This was absolutely delicious. It’s perfect as is, but I plan on adding some broccoli next time just to add some vegetables. I 100% recommended this recipe.
This was my first time eating or making this kind of soup. My husband and I enjoyed it! We are low carb so we put cauliflower “rice” in the bottom of our soup bowl and left out the regular rice. This was a nice and bright soup and a really fun change of pace!
Just made this tonight. It was delicious. I was making it for lunch this week, but I had to have a bowl for dinner. My grandpas name was Aristotle, and he would approve!
This is fantastic! So warm, comforting and flavorful! Would not change a thing!
Can this be made low carb/keto with cauliflower rice?
Sure
This looks so yummy! I cannot eat dill. Is there an alternative herb that would work well? I realize it changes the soup flavor.
I would use parsley. I don’t like dill either, but I did use it in the cooking but none on top. It had no dill flavor.
We have a large Greek population in my city and every year there’s a Greek festival at the Greek Orthodox Church with the BEST food! I bought the cookbook once that was written by the ladies of the church and a recipe for this soup is in there. I’ve made it a couple times and I always love it but it’s not low calorie with all the rice. I’m going to try your version for sure! It looks a bit thicker than the recipe from the cookbook turns out but looks so yummy!
As a Greek I’d say this is the real deal! The only suggestion I would add is to beat the egg whites separately first then fold in the yolks and the rest of the liquids. It will make this soup super fluffy and smooth.
Would you be at the egg whites to soft peaks or airy? This is the first time I’m making this soup.
This soup looks delicious. I’ve been reading about the tremendous health benefits of forbidden black rice. Can I substitute black rice for traditional versions?
I love black rice but I don’t think I would use it in the soup. I love it for my poke bowls!
Could I make this with orzo? If so, when would I add it? I used to have neighbors that made a similar soup with orzo and it was to die for! I’m super excited to make this!
Yes- “If you wish, you can make this with orzo or small pasta in place of rice. Add it at the end before adding the avgolemono sauce and cook according to package directions. Once cooked, proceed with adding the lemon-egg mixture.”
Making this tonight! Can’t wait
I made this with orzo tonight. It was AMAZING! I am already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I did add extra lemon juice and some zest because I love the punch it gives. So so good!
Could you make it with brown rice?
You can.