Creamy Avgolemono Soup is a classic Greek dish (with rice) that is delicious, rich and lemony, and very easy to make in under 30 minutes.
For many years I have read about, looked at recipes, and wondered about Avgolemono soup. It sounded quite unusual. I was tempted many times to give it a try, but never did, until last month. Whoa! I LOVED this soup! Who knew that a lemon-flavored creamy rice soup could taste so incredibly GOOD?
Creamy avgolemono soup is a classic Greek beloved soup, one of their signature dishes, to be sure. “Avgolemono” comes from the Greek language. “AVGO” means egg, and “LEMONO” means lemon. This light and creamy simple soup only uses a few ingredients, is EASY to make, and tastes wonderfully bright and fresh! I hope you will give it a try… it will surprise you, most likely. Here’s how to make it:
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How To Make Creamy Avgolemono Soup
Heat six cups of chicken broth in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, and then pour in a half cup of uncooked long grain rice. Stir well, to combine.
Cook the broth and rice, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat, until the rice becomes tender. Stir the rice occasionally while it is cooking, to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Temper The Egg Mixture Before Adding To Hot Soup
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk four egg yolks lightly, and then add fresh lemon juice and finely grated lemon zest, whisking to combine. Now it’s time to “temper” the egg mixture. This is a VERY important step!
*Tempering the eggs means slowly adding in hot broth VERY SLOWLY. This raises the temperature of the eggs, so that when they’re added to very hot soup, they won’t become “scrambled eggs”. Here’s how to temper the egg mixture:
Slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you add it. Continue whisking until all the cup of broth has been added. Turn the heat down to medium-low under the broth in the pan , and then slowly add the warmed egg mixture back into the hot broth in the pot, whisking as you add it.
Finish Cooking The Soup
Let the soup continue to cook on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. DO NOT LET THE SOUP COME TO A BOIL! The creamy avgolemono soup will thicken up a little bit as it continues to cook. Once it has fully heated through (about 3-4 minutes), remove the pan from the heat. Season lightly (to suit your taste) with salt and pepper.
Ready For A Bowl Of Creamy Avgolemono Soup!
Once heated through, the creamy avgolemono soup is ready to eat! Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls, and garnish each serving with chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (and strips of lemon peel, if desired).
The parsley and lemon peel add a “pop” of color, and another layer of flavor, but are not absolutely essential if you don’t have them handy! The soup is thick and creamy, bursting with lemon flavor, and the rice is very tender (and filling). We enjoy this soup with crusty slices of garlic bread on the side. YUM!
I truly hope you will give this creamy avgolemono soup a try- it’s quite delicious! The leftovers were microwaved for lunch the next day, and were wonderful, as well! Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you will come back soon. Take care.
Looking For More SOUP Recipes?
You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have lots of soup recipes you’ll enjoy, including:
- Mom’s Old-Fashioned Chili
- Grandma’s Southern-Style Chicken n’ Dumplings (my #1 pinned recipe)
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Garden Vegetable Chowder
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Original recipe source: The cookbook: “Williams-Sonoma Soup Of The Day”, by Kate McMillan, published by Weldon Owen, Inc. 2011, page 15
Creamy Avgolemono Soup is a classic Greek dish (with rice) that is delicious, rich and lemony, and very easy to make in under 30 minutes.
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup long grain white rice , uncooked
- 4 large egg yolks , slightly beaten
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (finely grated lemon peel)
- salt/pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley (flat leaf) , chopped for garnish
Heat broth in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; add uncooked rice. Cook uncovered, 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat, until rice is tender. .Stir occasionally while it cooks, to prevent rice from sticking to bottom of pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks lightly. Add lemon juice and zest, whisking to combine. "Temper" the egg mixture. *Tempering eggs means slowly adding in hot broth VERY SLOWLY. This raises the temperature of the eggs, so that when added to hot soup, they won't scramble. Here's how: Measure out, then slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you add it. Continue whisking until the entire cup of broth is added.
Turn the heat down to medium-low under the broth in pan; slowly add the warmed egg mixture back into the broth in pan, constantly whisking as you add it back in. Let the soup continue cooking on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. DO NOT LET THE SOUP COME TO A BOIL! Soup will thicken up a bit as it cooks. Once hot (3-4 minutes), remove pan from the heat.
Season lightly (to suit your taste) with salt and pepper. Ladle hot soup into bowls, and garnish each serving with chopped parsley (and strips of lemon peel, if desired). Enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
Being of Greek parents YaYa (grandma) would always make this soup for us. She added diced carrots and celery. When she added her eggs and final lemon she would a do it in a blender with some of the stock and rice, then add it back into the pot. I did the same here and loved it.
Love this recipe! It tastes just like the soup I had in Greece.
Thank you for this. I very much appreciate the tool which allows me to reduce the number of servings. I love egg-lemon soup. Your recipe is perfect.
Thank you for your kind comment, Karen. I enjoy using the serving quantity tool as well, and am glad to know you appreciate it, too! Have a good weekend.