What makes our Avgolemono Soup so delicious? The extra care taken to beat the egg whites well to form the stiffest peaks followed by continuous beating while adding the egg yolks, fresh squeezed lemon juice and hot broth.
From Lizz: I have great memories of my mother Eleni making this wonderful Greek soup, typically on a weekend night, for our family dinners. Avgolemono translates into egg-lemon, which are the two key ingredients added to the chicken broth and rice to make this creamy and tangy soup.
Enjoy it with our Easy Roasted Chicken cut up into bite size pieces and added to the soup.
Kali Orexi!
HOW TO MAKE GREEK AVGOLEMONO SOUP
- Measure and prepare 8 cups of Homemade Chicken Broth (or canned chicken broth), 1 1/2 cups of long grain rice, 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and 4 eggs for Avgolemono. Separate egg yolks from egg white and add egg whites to a large bowl.
- Bring 8 cups of Homemade Chicken Broth or 8 cups of canned or boxed chicken broth to a low boil and add salt to taste. Add 1 1/2 cups of long grain rice and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally so that rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Beat egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks. This is probably the most important step in making Avgolemono soup please be sure to give this step the time it needs!
- Once the egg whites have been beaten into stiff peaks, begin to add the egg yolks one at a time and continue to beat until all the egg yolks have been incorporated into the egg whites.
- Beating continuously, slowly add the lemon juice to the egg mixture, beating continuously.
- Slowly add 2 cups of the hot chicken broth and do not stop beating or you will risk curdling the egg, lemon, chicken broth mixture.
- Once the ingredients are beaten and incorporated well, pour the egg, lemon, chicken broth mixture into the remaining chicken broth and rice mixture. Stir well over a very low heat and do not allow the soup to boil. Serve the Avgolemono immediately and garnish with some freshly ground black pepper.
I don’t have time to make chicken broth from scratch. Will canned or boxed chicken broth yield the same flavor for the Avgolemono.
If you have made your our Homemade Chicken Broth ahead of time and frozen it, then this is the perfect soup to use it for! We often have cravings for this delicious and comforting soup and don’t have time to make the chicken broth from scratch. We simply recommend using a high quality canned or boxed chicken broth and find this article from Epicurious helpful.
Why is it so important to keep beating the egg and lemon mixture as I add the hot chicken broth?
The constant beating of the egg and lemon mixture, while slowly adding the hot chicken broth, is key to preventing the curdling of the Avgolemono soup.
Can I reheat the Avgolemono soup?
The Avgolemono soup can be reheated under a low heat. Do not bring this delicate soup to a full boil or it will likely curdle.
If I make make the Homemade Chicken Broth, can I add the cooked chicken to the Avgolemono soup?
Yes!!! Follow our recipe for Easy Roast Chicken after making the Homemade Chicken Broth and serve the Roasted Chicken with the soup. Cut some of the roasted chicken up into bite sized pieces and add to the Avgolemono Soup for a more complete and hearty meal.
Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe
Greek Avgolemono Soup
Ingredients
- 8 cups Homemade Chicken Broth or canned chicken broth see link below for Homemade Chicken Broth
- 1 1/2 cups long grain rice
- 4 eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Measure and prepare 8 cups of Homemade Chicken Broth (or canned chicken broth), 1 1/2 cups of long grain rice, 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and 4 eggs for Avgolemono. Separate egg yolks from egg white and add egg whites to a large bowl.
- Bring 8 cups of Homemade Chicken Broth or 8 cups of canned or boxed chicken broth to a low boil and add salt to taste. Add 1 1/2 cups of long grain rice and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally so that rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Beat egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks. This is probably the most important step in making Avgolemono soup please be sure to give this step the time it needs!
- Once the egg whites have been beaten into stiff peaks, begin to add the egg yolks one at a time and continue to beat until all the egg yolks have been incorporated into the egg whites.
- Beating continuously, slowly add the lemon juice to the egg mixture, beating continuously.
- Slowly add 2 cups of the hot chicken broth and do not stop beating or you will risk curdling the egg, lemon, chicken broth mixture.
- Once the ingredients are mixed well, pour this mixture into the remaining chicken broth and rice mixture. Stir well over a very low heat and do not allow the soup to boil. Serve the Avgolemono immediately and garnish with some freshly ground black pepper.
I adapted for my circumstances and it came out great. I have decided to use the beaten egg whites and added yolks to make other soups creamy.