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Avgolemono

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Dairy Free
  • Gluten Free
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Why we love it:

Greek lemon, rice, and chicken soup. This is one of my most favorite soups! The bright bold lemon and creamy rice look beautiful and taste so comforting. For best results, start with a whole chicken and poach it, but you can also skip that step with store bought stock for a weeknight meal.
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Ingredients

  • 8 cups Chicken Stock
  • 1 cup Basmati Rice (White) (or long grain)
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1⁄2 pound Chicken Breast (or boneless skinless thighs)
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 2 ribs Celery
  • 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt (divided)
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 2 Eggs (large)
  • 2 Lemons (zest and juice, divided)
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon Black Pepper (optional, to taste)

Cooking Instructions

  • 1. CHICKEN

    Place stock or broth in a large soup pot with the rice, bay leaf, and the raw chicken breast or thighs. Bring to a simmer over high heat, and cook until the chicken is cooked through and rice is very tender, to the point of being over cooked; about 35 minutes.

  • 2. SHRED

    Remove the chicken from the pot with tongs and turn off the heat. Shred the chicken and set aside.

  • 3. CELERY + ONION

    Meanwhile, dice the onion, garlic, and celery. In another pot heat the olive oil, over medium high heat and sauté the veggies for about 5-6 minutes or until they are a bit translucent. Season with ½ of the salt.

  • 4. SIMMER

    Add the stock and rice to the sautéed onion and celery and bring to a simmer. Stir in the shredded chicken and turn off the heat.

  • 5. EGG + LEMON

    Crack eggs into a medium sized bowl and zest in 1 of the lemons. Squeeze about ½ cup of lemon juice (depending on your lemon this may be 1 or 2) and whisk together until it’s lightly frothy. While whisking, slowly stream in 2 ladles full of hot stock and rice; add about 1 - 2 cups of hot liquid total, then it’s safe to scrape it all back into the soup pot. Stir well for about 1 minute.

    Add freshly cracked black pepper if you enjoy the taste; it gives a subtle kick and earthiness but it’s ok to omit.

  • 6. SERVING

    This is best when served immediately from this point. If you’ve made it ahead, you can leave the egg and lemon out until it’s reheated. Or, if you have leftovers or just want to make it ahead of time, reheat it slowly and stir often but don’t ever let it simmer.

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Substitutions

  • EGG FREE:
    this is an egg thickened soup, but, if you’re allergic, add an extra ½ cup of rice and puree about ½ of the total liquid before adding the shredded chicken. Add lemon zest and juice only
  • TURKEY STOCK:
    if you are making this at Thanksgiving, use turkey stock! Place your carcass in a pot with an onion, celery, carrot and a few cloves of garlic. Simmer for about 60 minutes then strain
  • CHICKEN BREAST:
    thighs are even better. Or get a whole chicken and follow the first step of the recipe
  • VEGETABLES:
    you could certainly add a carrot

Kid Friendly Version

How to Tweak This Recipe for Kids:

  • If they like soup, it’s really easy to slice the celery smaller so you have no “green things” or puree them before sautéing

For Toddlers

  • Serve shredded chicken on the side and you can scoop out some rice as it’s boiling, before it gets “overcooked” and it will look like regular rice
  • Serve with a side of fruit or their favorite vegetable

For Choosy Eaters

  • Serve shredded chicken chopped finely
  • The rice and soup base can be served before adding in the lemon and egg
  • Consider adding scrambled egg on the side

Prep Ahead & Use It Up

  1. Poach your chicken and make stock if cooking from a whole chicken
  2. Or, poach your chicken in store bought stock and shred it
  3. Dice onion and celery and store for up to 48 hours in tupperware
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