Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

Name: Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 2 carrots, diced; 2 celery stalks, diced; 2 green onions, green and whites chopped; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock; 2 dried bay leaves; salt and pepper; 1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed and drained; 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken; 2 large eggs; juice and zest from 1 lemon

December 18, 2023

Greek lemon chicken and rice soup is my new winter comfort food. Lemon and garlic flavored chicken and rice soup thickened with tempered eggs. Perfect for freezing!

Everybody ready for winter break?

I know I am.

And by ready I of course mean that no presents are wrapped and I still have to shop and finalize our Christmas dinner.

I know I’m not alone.

The kids are in school for five more days. That’s plenty of time to do all the things, right?

This year my family decided on Mediterranean food as the theme for dinner.

Lots of pita, hummus, chicken shawarma, fasolakia, tzatziki, and some spanakopita.

It’s a mix of a few different cuisines, I know, but it sounds so good to me!

This menu idea all started with this soup.

Avgolemono, or Greek lemon chicken and rice soup is so think and comforting.

I love making creamy soups this time of year.

The one downside to making broccoli cheddar soup or broccoli cheddar soup is that they don’t freeze.

When you freeze the cream soups, they separate and never quite look or feel the same when reheated.

Greek lemon chicken and rice soup is thickened with eggs.

Have you ever made a soup like this before?

This was my first time and I am hooked.

Tempering the eggs or bringing them up to the same temperature as the soup broth does take time and patience.

I was making this soup recently and didn’t take time when tempering the eggs.

When I went to pour the improperly tempered eggs into the soup, little white strands of cooked egg formed in the soup.

It was still good, maybe more like an egg drop soup, but wasn’t as thick as the soup was other times I made it.

I gave my neighbor the rough recipe to test out ahead of time and she loved it!

Here is what you need to make the soup:

1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed
carrot
celery
green onion
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
s cloves garlic, minced
bay leaves
salt and pepper
chicken stock
2 eggs
juice and zest from one lemon

Greek lemon chicken and rice soup is fairly easy to make.

Sauté the veggies and garlic. Add the broth and bring to a simmer.

Add the rice and cook for about twenty minutes.

Once the rice is cooked, whisk the eggs in a large heatproof bowl.

Mix in the lemon juice and zest.

Use a ladle and add hot broth a little at a time to the eggs and lemon until it gets warmer.

You are going to add about a cup or two of broth to the eggs.

Add the egg mixture and chicken to the pot.

Take the pot off the heat and mix to combine.

The soup will get magically thick and glorious!

Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.

This soup is on repeat in our house.

I hope that it becomes a favorite in your house too!

Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

Yield: Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Thick and creamy Greek lemon chicken and rice soup.

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 green onions, green and whites chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 dried bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 large eggs
juice and zest from 1 lemon

Instructions

Add olive oil to a large Dutch oven. Heat over medium until shimmering.
Add the carrot, celery, and green onion. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until slightly tender. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
Pour in the stock. add a little more salt and the bay leaves. Increase the heat to medium high until simmering.
Once simmering, add the rice and reduce to medium low. Cover with a lid. Cook the rice for15-20 minutes until tender.
While the rice cooks, add the eggs to a large heatproof bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the lemon zest and juice to the eggs. Mix to combine.
Remove the lid to the soup. Once the rice is tender, reduce the heat to low.
Use a ladle to slowly add little by little broth to the eggs, whisking steadily. Add about 3-4 ladles full of broth to the eggs, stirring continuously. Once the side of the bowl feels warm, add the ggs to the pot of soup. Stir continuously to incorporate.
Remove the pot from the heat. Mix in the chicken. Remove the bay leaves. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.