Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup) with Orzo and Spinach
Avgolemono soup (Greek lemon chicken soup) with orzo and spinach is as quick and easy as it is nourishing and comforting. Here's how to make this creamy, dreamy one-pot meal.
Calories: 310kcal
Ingredients
- 8 cups 1(900 ml) good chicken broth or stock
- ¾ cup (140 grams) uncooked orzo pasta
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cups (350 grams) shredded or diced cooked chicken
- 3 cups (90 grams) baby spinach leaves
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pour broth into a five-quart pot and bring to a boil, covered, over high heat.
- Add orzo and simmer briskly, still covered, until al dente (a minute shy of package directions).
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs well with a fork. Beat in lemon juice and set aside.
- When orzo is just cooked, ladle out about a cup of hot broth into a measuring cup with a spout.
- Slowly pour hot broth into bowl with eggs and lemon juice, whisking constantly with a fork. This process tempers the eggs so they don’t scramble when you add them to the pot.
- Stir chicken and spinach into soup pot and simmer for a minute or two until spinach is wilted.
- Reduce heat until broth is no longer bubbling.
- Stir egg mixture into soup and cook over low heat for a minute or two, until broth looks creamy and is slightly thickened.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Using lower-sodium broth, I recommend ½ teaspoon fine sea salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Notes
- Any simply flavored cooked chicken, from rotisserie to roasted to Instant Pot to sous vide, will work well. Here I sautéed some boneless, skinless breasts in a little olive oil and shredded them with two forks while warm. Leftover turkey works too!
- If you don’t have cooked chicken, you can poach raw chicken breasts in the broth before proceeding with the recipe. Place the chicken into the pot before adding the broth. Bring the broth to a boil as indicated in the first step — but before proceeding, reduce heat to a bare simmer, and cover. Poach until chicken is just opaque throughout, probably about 8 to 10 minutes depending on size and thickness. Dice or shred with two forks while warm. Skim any foam or other impurities from the broth, bring back to a boil, and proceed with the recipe.
- I don't recommend going out of your way to make Greek lemon chicken soup in advance. That said, leftovers are fabulous and reheat beautifully as long as you use gentle heat. The orzo will grow a bit as it soaks up some additional broth, but I don't find that to be a big problem. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week and reheat on half power in the microwave or over low heat on the stovetop, stopping when hot but not bubbling.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 39.1g | Fat: 8.4g | Fiber: 1.1g