Cozy Avgolemono Lemon Chicken Soup (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Base ingredients
01 -
Two chicken breasts (around 12 oz or 350 g in total), ideal for shredding after cooking
02 -
6 cups (1.5 liters) of homemade chicken broth or a high-quality store-bought one—it’s what gives the dish its depth
03 -
¾ cup (175 g) orzo pasta—those tiny, pasta bits shaped like rice grains
→ Fresh produce & aromatics
04 -
1 medium carrot, chopped into small pieces
05 -
1 medium onion, finely diced
06 -
2-3 garlic cloves, minced or chopped extra fine
07 -
2-3 celery stalks, diced into thin, small bits
08 -
A generous handful of fresh dill to give it that classic Greek flavor
→ For making avgolemono sauce
09 -
2 egg yolks, make sure they’re at room temperature
10 -
Juice from a big, fresh lemon
→ Pantry staples
11 -
1 tbsp of olive oil, best if it’s extra virgin
12 -
2 bay leaves to layer in more flavor
13 -
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, add based on your taste
# Instructions:
01 -
Heat up the olive oil in a big stockpot or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the diced onions, carrots, and celery. Stir them occasionally while they cook for about 8-10 minutes, until they’re tender and smell amazing.
02 -
Add the minced garlic and give it a quick cook—just long enough for you to catch its aroma, about a minute. Then, throw in the bay leaves, place in the chicken breasts, and pour your broth over it all.
03 -
Turn the heat up to bring it to a slow boil. Then drop the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let it simmer quietly for 15 minutes. Your chicken will be perfectly cooked.
04 -
Take out the chicken and fish out the bay leaves too. Pour your orzo straight into the simmering broth and let it cook for around 10 minutes, just until it’s soft but still firm enough to hold its shape.
05 -
While the orzo is cooking, use a pair of forks to pull the chicken apart into smaller, shredded pieces. Once done, toss it back into the pot.
06 -
In a bowl, whisk your egg yolks and the lemon juice until smooth. Slowly add 1-2 ladles of your hot soup broth while constantly whisking, so the eggs warm up without scrambling. Pour this mixture back into the pot and let it cook another 5 minutes—just long enough to make the soup velvety.
07 -
Toss in that fresh dill, then taste and tweak the seasoning if needed. Ladle into bowls, garnish with extra dill if you feel like it, and serve while it’s hot, comforting, and fresh.
# Notes:
01 -
Avgolemono, the sauce in this recipe, gets its creamy consistency from a mix of eggs and lemon juice carefully added to the soup.
02 -
The trickiest (but super important) part is tempering the egg and lemon blend. Do it slow to avoid any lumps or scrambling.