Meet your new go to comfort food. This Avgolemono Soup is your chicken noodle soup taken to the next level. It’s silky and smooth and oh so delicious.
This classic Greek lemon soup uses egg and lemon (avgo-lemono) to create a creamy, velvety broth with a refreshing lemony hint.
And this cozy pot comes together in about 30 minutes. Trust me, you’re going to love this one…
A few days back we all had a little cold, which of course called for some chicken noodle soup. As we’re always seeking new recipes, we decided to look for an interesting new twist. This Greek avgolemono was the answer.
As it is, we love Greek food, as you may have noticed. From our shrimp saganaki to Greek meatballs to tyrokafteri dip to psari plaki (baked fish with tomatoes), we’re always cooking up new Greek recipes.
What is Avgolemono Soup
Pronounced ah-vo-le-mo-no, avgolemono is a sauce made from egg and lemon which is slowly whisked with warm broth. Sometimes used as a sauce, it’s also a great thickener for soup.
This soup, sometimes referred to as “Greek penicillin” because it’s so comforting when you have the sniffles, is basically chicken noodle soup thickened with avgolemono.
It can be made with rice, but since we wanted to stick to the chicken noodle soup theme, we used orzo, which is also commonly used.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Veggies – onion, carrots and celery.
- Garlic
- Chicken stock
- Bay leaves
- Chicken – we used rotisserie chicken to make it that much easier.
- Orzo
- Eggs and egg yolks
- Lemon Juice and lemon zest
- Salt and pepper
- Parsley – for garnish.
How to make Avgolemono Soup
Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add in veggies and sauté for 5-10 minutes, until they start to soften up.
Add in stock, bay leaves and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in orzo and cook till al dente, then add in chicken.
Now for the avgolemono sauce… Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and lemon juice in a large bowl.
Gradually add in two cups of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. This is called tempering the sauce.
It is very important to do this stop slowly, as you want the egg to come up in temperature slowly to prevent it from cooking and clumping together. When done correctly, this provides the creamy silky texture.
Stir the sauce into the soup and immediately remove from heat.
Check out our collection of favorite Soup Recipes!
What to serve with this Greek Lemon Soup
This is a cozy meal all on it’s own. That being said, it goes nicely with some crusty bread or a nice fresh salad.
Storing Leftovers
This soup refrigerates beautifully in an airtight container for up to three days.
As the avgolemono sauce acts as the thickener, rather than cream, you can also freeze it. Just freeze in an airtight container and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
So there you have it, one cozy, comforting pot of soup. This recipe is perfect for chilly winter nights or when you’re feeling under the weather. But it’s so good, you just might come back to it anytime!
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Avgolemono Soup, in my Gypsy Bowl… enjoy!
Try these other great soup recipes!
Zuppa Toscana
Jambalaya Soup
Loaded Cauliflower Soup
Fasolada (Greek Bean Soup)
Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup
Creamy Tuscan Soup
Meaty Cabbage Soup
Yakamein
Avgolemono Soup
This Avgolemono Soup is your chicken noodle soup taken to the next level. It’s silky and smooth and oh so delicious.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add in veggies and sauté for 5-10 minutes, until they start to soften up.
- Add in stock, bay leaves and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in orzo and cook till al dente, then add in chicken.
- Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and lemon juice in a large bowl. Gradually add in two cups of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. It is very important to do this stop slowly, as you want the egg to come up in temperature slowly to prevent it from cooking and clumping together. When done correctly, this provides the creamy silky texture.
- Stir the sauce into the soup and immediately remove from heat.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 474Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 175mgSodium 591mgCarbohydrates 44gFiber 2gSugar 8gProtein 27g
Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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