Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Greek

Avgolemono soup

Non-vegetarian

Κοτόσουπα αυγολέμονο · Kotósoupa avgolémono

A silky Greek chicken and rice soup thickened at the end with a frothy mixture of egg and lemon juice, giving it a creamy body without any cream.

Avgolemono soup is a Greek soup from Greece, ready in about 45 minutes and made with chicken stock, chicken breast and egg. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of creamy avgolemono egg-lemon soup with croutons
Photo: robin.norwood / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
35 min
Total
45 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
367

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Bring the stock to a simmer, add the chicken and poach gently until cooked through. Lift out, shred and set aside.

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C in the thickest part.

  2. Step 2

    Add the rice to the stock and simmer until very tender.

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat

  3. Step 3

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the eggs (opens in a new tab) in a bowl until frothy, then whisk in the lemon juice (opens in a new tab). Slowly add two ladles of hot stock, whisking all the time, to temper the eggs.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Take the pot off the heat and stir in the egg (opens in a new tab) mixture. Return the chicken, season with salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) and warm over very low heat, stirring, until slightly thickened — do not let it boil. Serve with dill (opens in a new tab).

    • 3 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Heat until steaming and slightly thickened so the egg is cooked; don't boil or it will curdle.

About this dish

Origin
Greece · Commonly attributedEgg-lemon sauces are shared with Sephardic Jewish, Turkish and other eastern Mediterranean cooking.More food from Greece
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Poached, Simmered
Taste
citrusy, creamy, mild, savoury
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein · Low-fat · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Chicken stock · Chicken breast · Egg · Lemon juice · Short-grain rice
Techniques
Simmering · Poaching

Allergens

  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • May contain: Celeryfrom chicken stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

367 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 532 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 38%
  • Carbohydrate 39%
  • Fat 24%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy367 kcal69 kcal
Protein33.4 g6.3 g
Carbohydrate34.7 g6.5 g
Net carbohydrate34.6 g6.5 g
Sugars6.5 g1.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.1 g0 g
Fat9.3 g1.7 g
Saturated fat2.5 g0.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol166 mg31 mg
Sodium902 mg170 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
754 mg
Calcium
32 mg
Iron
1.8 mg
Magnesium
49 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
51 µg
Vitamin C
9 mg
Vitamin D
0.5 µg
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
44 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: dill.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Tempering the eggs with hot broth before adding them is what prevents curdling.

Common mistakes

  • Boiling the soup after adding the egg-lemon, which scrambles it.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat very gently without boiling.

Variations

  • Fish soup avgolemono (Greece): Made with fish stock and white fish instead of chicken.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like