My Cozy Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup is a warm and cozy concoction filled with tender chicken, soft rice, and zesty lemon. This hearty soup is inspired by my late grandmother Peris’ traditional egg-lemon soup recipe, and it also tastes a lot like the avgolemono soup from one of my favorite San Francisco restaurants, Souvla. It’s truly a hug in a cup (or bowl!).
Lemon, chicken, and rice are three of my favorite ingredients to work with individually, and together, they’re even better. This Lemon Chicken & Rice soup combines the best of all three, for a warm, cozy, comforting soup that everyone will enjoy! I say this with confidence, not only because my family loves it so much, but because this soup was one of my favorites when I was a kid.
This recipe is based on my grandmother Peris’ traditional egg-lemon soup recipe. I remember visiting grandma’s house and diving into a nice, hot bowl of this soup. It was always perfect, always made me feel good, and is one of my favorite recipes to this day. I’m obsessed!
One of my favorite things about having this blog is being able to share recipes that mean a lot to me, with you. Not only because they’re tasty, but my hope is that they will also inspire you to create new food traditions with your family and loved ones!
But this recipe in particular is special, because it’s a two-in-one. It’s sentimental, thanks to it being a riff off of my grandmother’s recipe. But it’s also just craveable and delicious, and that’s thanks to the fact that it’s based off of one of my FAVORITE soups in San Francisco: the avgolemono soup from Souvla.
If you haven’t been to Souvla, and you’re based in the Bay Area, then you need to go ASAP. Souvla is a fast-casual Greek spot with multiple locations throughout the city, and all of their dishes are absolutely delicious. It’s the reason why, pre-pandemic days, it was always packed inside of there. Oh, and if you love sweets, then you need to try their homemade Greek frozen yogurt. With olive oil and baklava? It’s heaven.
But Souvla aside, if I haven’t convinced you to make this soup yet, then just keep reading and see how easy and delicious these ingredients are.
What You Need to Make This Cozy, Comforting Soup
- Olive Oil: Any neutral oil really works here, but I recommend olive oil. Why? It has the perfect flavor, it’s full of heart-healthy fats, and is the traditional way to make this soup!
- Onion: Any onion works here! I like using a yellow onion, but use what you have. 🙂
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is always my preference. It just tastes better and fresher!
- Rice: In this recipe, you will be using UNCOOKED rice. The rice cooks in the soup. You can use any rice variety you’d like, but I recommend arborio!
- Chicken Broth or Bone Broth: Chicken broth or bone broth work equally as well here. I like using my Belcampo bone broth, but regular chicken broth is perfectly fine.
- Thyme Leaves: Dried or fresh is fine here!
- Oregano: Dried oregano is totally fine here!
- Lemon Juice + Zest: Fresh lemon juice is always best! Plus, you’ll need fresh lemons for the zest.
- Eggs: The eggs are super crucial for not only getting the right flavor, but also for getting this soup to have the right texture. They can’t be substituted – sorry!
- Egg Yolks: In addiction to eggs, we’ll also be using egg yolks. Don’t skip these!
- Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless, shredded chicken breast is essential for this recipe!
- Sea Salt and Pepper: And, of course, you can’t make a soup without a little salt and pepper!
The Key to Making this Simple, Delicious, Cozy Soup Recipe
The key to making your Cozy Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup turn out perfectly every time is to use uncooked rice. If you use pre-cooked rice, it will become soggy and mushy in the soup, which we don’t want to happen!
How to Serve This Soup
I recommend serving this soup with a side of crusty sourdough bread, because what’s better than warm soup with a side of bread?! Or, kick things up a notch and serve it alongside a Greek Salad! My Loaded Greek Salad is the perfect simple, easy recipe to make. It’s everything that you know and love about a traditional Greek Salad, but is kicked up a notch thanks to the addition of artichoke hearts and avocado. Yum!
Storing Instructions
I recommend storing this soup in an airtight container, or in a mason jar, in the fridge, for up to one week! You can also freeze this soup, by putting it into a freezer-safe container. It should be good for about one month! Yay!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And since I practically live on Instagram, be sure to tag me in your creations so I can see them and repost on my IG stories! Enjoy! xx
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot My favorite pot to use is the "Perfect Pot" from Our Place!
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice, uncooked
- 8 cups chicken broth or bone broth
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ cup lemon juice + zest of 2 lemons
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ¾ pound cooked boneless, skinless, chicken breast, shredded
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For Garnishing:
- chopped parsley
- Aleppo pepper
- fresh or dry dill
Instructions
- Start by adding the olive oil to a large pot, on the stove, over medium heat.
- Once the pot is hot, add in the diced onions. Sauté them for about 6-7 minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent. Then, add in the mashed garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Next, add in the uncooked rice, broth, thyme, and oregano, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, and lemon juice until fully incorporated. Set aside.
- Now, ladle about 1 3/4 cups of the soup into the bowl with the egg mixture, and VERY SLOWLY, a few tablespoons at a time. Be sure to constantly whisk the mixture so that the eggs don't curdle – this is extremely important.
- After that, add the mixture to a blender and blend until nice and smooth. Then, pour the mixture back into the pot with the rest of the soup.
- Add the shredded chicken and salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with parsley, dill, and Aleppo pepper (optional).
- Eat and enjoy!
Rate & review
SELECT A RATING and tell me what you think!
What others are saying
Love your recipes, Nicole. Only comment here is I never would have known to use cooked rice – should definitely include in the ingredients section. I used uncooked in the recipe and it didn’t really work 🙁
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, Andrea. Depending on the type of rice that you’re using, you may need to add more liquid or cook the soup for longer. I hope it turns out better for you next time, and thank you so much for pointing this out!
I mad this soup for the first time tonight, followed the receipt exactly, but I found the broth to rice/chicken ration to be too much. In your picture, it looks very thick and creamy. Mine is very broth. Is it supposed to be 4 cups of broth as opposed to 8? I think it would have turned out thicker had I used half the amount of broth.
Hi Victoria! It really depends on your personal preference. You can absolutely add more rice if you desire a higher rice-to-broth ratio and want the soup to be thicker! I hope this helps 🙂
In reference to my previous comment, I decided to add an extra cup of rice to my soup for a little extra thickness. I think 1.5 cups of cooked rice was too little for the amount of broth, but that’s just my personal preference. 😉 I baked my chicken separately before adding to the soup, but I think I’ll cook the chicken in the broth next time for extra flavor. All in all, I will definitely make this soup again with a few tweaks here and there. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Victoria! Oh good, I’m so glad to hear that you found a modification that suits your personal taste. 🙂 Thank you so much for making and reviewing this recipe!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! My family loves anything with lemon. I’ve made this with other recipes and this is the best one yet! I didn’t change a thing. I used jasmine rice. Thank you for another great recipe!
Yay! I love anything with lemon too, and I’m so happy to hear that, Liza! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a sweet review!
The recipe says that you need a pot and an instant pot… yet I don’t see any instructions for using the instant pot.
Hi Marsha, the Instant Pot is just to cook your rice in. You can also use a rice cooker, or cook it on the stove. 🙂
Your recipe was easy to follow which really nice for me! Our soup ended up being very thick (yum) due to adding a bit more chicken. I will certainly make this soup again but, for our taste, I will reduce the amount of lemon.
Thank you!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Robbie! Thank you so much for your review! 🙂
Best chicken soup! Love it w/Arborio rice cooked right in the soup! Add a quarter (or half) lemon squeeze to your bowl for extra winter nurturing🥰Thank you!
Yay! I am so thrilled that you loved this recipe, Cecile! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!
I made this last night for the family and it will absolutely be a new addition to our repertoire! It was delicious and came together so quickly! I cooked the chicken with the soup (I browned it in the mixture of onion and garlic) and then cut it up and put it back into the soup near the end – perfection. Thank you – am loving your recipes!!
I am so thrilled that your family loved this recipe, Samantha! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a kind review!
Omg this soup is amazing. Creamy but no cream. Love the hint of lemon so good. We added GF rice and it worked just fine. Kale junkie has the bestest recipes EVERYTHING we have made has been amazing.
Get the book! 2023 advice.
Deb, this is the sweetest comment and I am so, so grateful for your words! Thank you so much for making g this recipe, and for all of your support. It truly means so much to me!
Wow! Just made this, it is absolutely delicious! I’m dairy free and I love how creamy this is without actual cream. 100% recommended!
This soup is wonderful! I made it as instructed (not cooking the rice first) and it turned out beautifully. I did take a shortcut and bought preshredded rotisserie chicken from my local deli, which saved time and headache. My whole family ate it happily on a rainy night and it was just perfect! Thank you!
Just made this lemon chicken soup today and it is sooo delicious. My boyfriend who hates soup had a huge bowl of it and finished every last bit! Super easy to make, tastes light but definitely filling. Will be making this again not only for my family but for my meal prep clients!