Greek Lemon Soup… This here is home. Ever since I was a baby my mom has been making this soup for me. There are many different versions of this soup and they are all outstanding. This is the version that we learned while we lived in Greece, and to be honest it’s my favourite version because it uses the least amount of ingredients and it’s just as good. For this recipe you will need:
Greek Lemon Soup
This here is home. Ever since I was a baby my mom has been making this soup for me. There are many different versions of this soup and they are all outstanding. This is the version that we learned while we lived in Greece, and to be honest it’s my favourite version because it uses the least amount of ingredients and it’s just as good. For this recipe you will need:
Ingredients
- 3 litres of water 10 cups
- 1 whole peeled onion
- 4 peeled garlic cloves
- 2 ribs of celery
- 1 whole carrot
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 chicken breasts or thighs
- ½ cup any rice or orzo
- 2 egg yolks
- juice of a whole lemon + zest
- freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Add all of your vegetables to a pot of water with your salt and let that come to a boil. Once it’s boiling add the chicken and skim off if anything comes to the top.
- Reduce the heat to medium and let it go for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes take out the whole veggies plus the chicken.
- Shred the chicken and set it aside. Put the whole veggies in a blender with some of the broth in the pot, blend and pour it back into the soup pot.
- Add the rice or orzo and let it cook. Once cooked take the soup off the heat. In a separate bowl we are now making the “ Avgolemono ” which is the egg-lemon sauce. Add the yolks, zest, and lemon juice and whisk. Now slowly start adding in the broth from your soup ( about 4 cups ) and whisk vigorously the whole time until the eggs come up to temperature.
- This step is called tempering which prevents the eggs from breaking in the soup. You can now add this lemony mixture back into the soup pot with the shredded chicken and some parsley. When re-heating the soup please heat on medium-low as you stir so you don’t break the egg. Enjoy.
Notes
If theres anything that comes up to the top of the soup once you add the chicken feel free to skim it. Yes you can make this without eggs if you are allergic. You can also omit the chicken completely if you want a vegetarian soup but make sure you use 1.5 litres of unsalted veggie broth + 1.5 litres or water for more flavour in the soup instead of adding all water. Any cut of chicken will work, bone in or boneless
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
16 Responses
Do you cover the chicken and veggies when cooking for the 40 mins? Is it just a simmer?
Hi Michelle,
I semi-cover the pot and leave it on medium-low for 40 minutes. Gentle boil and not vigorously boiling. Hope that helps 🙂
I grew up with Fakes as well!! But I’ve NEVER had it with eggs! My mom makes it with canned tomatoes! I can’t wait to try your recipe 🙂
Hope you love it Nina
Great recipe, love the egg yolk in this soup. Thank you for sharing such a healthy and delicious recipe!
Hi Diana! Thanks so much for the feedback and kind words
Can you add more veggies? Seems like not many for the amount of liquid. Would it change the flavor significantly?
absolutely you can add as much as you like
How long do you cook the rice?
5-10 minutes
How many servings? How many calories?
4 small servings or 3 larger. I don’t count calories ❤️
My boyfriend is on a lemon kick and sent me this recipe for us to make! We used 1 quart of chicken bone broth and 2 quarts of water and the broth was really lovely and flavorful! 1 lemon was just lemony enough but we might add even more lemon juice to the leftovers. Pulverizing the cooked veggies in our food processor worked well. I think something green would be a nice addition as well, might try to throw some kale in the leftovers for more texture! We use kale in a few other soups and always throw it in as the very last step before eating so it doesn’t good too soggy. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Chelsea! Thank you for trying the soup and yes you can totally adjust and add more greens
I love this soup so much ! Every person I make it for is obsessed and wants more. Revisiting tonight <3
Makes me so happy to hear Gracie ❤️