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
Does this soup freeze well?
Yes, Jennifer, it does! 🙂
This recipe reminded me of a recipe my mom used to make. However this recipe is so much better! It was super easy to make in a single pot! The rice cooked up beautifully. It tastes great! I think I’ve found a new healthy favorite for a cold winter day!!
I am so thrilled that you’ve found a new favorite recipe, Julie! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!
I can find arborio rice anywhere, should I use white jasmine rice? I noticed in the comments there are confusions around cooked v uncooked. Can you clarify?
Also – do you have a recipe for your shredded chicken?
Hi Rachel! Jasmine rice works great in this recipe. You will want to use UNCOOKED rice, as the recipe specifies 🙂 Hope this helps!
Easy to make and SO delicious!
Woohoo! Thank you so much for your review, Natalie!
Had to modify, changed up a couple things, dark meat, no yolks, but that’s just being lazy really, smaller batch, different seasonings but the technique and the flavor are amazing! I actually think it’s not much different than if I followed it exactly to be honest, so much flavor! I also used chicken broth, seasoned salt (tiny amount) and a small amount of poultry seasoning, and it’s already helping my tummy feel a lot better… I’ll definitely be trying it again with the correct measurements and ingredients next time though! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, Linda, and found a variation of it that works for you! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!
I’m so excited to try this recipe, it looks delicious! How much liquid does the rice absorb? It’s just my husband and I, so the 8 cups of broth makes me worry that this will be too much. Also, will this keep well in the fridge for a few days or will it become mush because of the rice?
Hi Amy! Yes, this soup should be fine in the fridge for a few days. I recommend sticking to the recipe and using the 8 cups of broth – you will just have extra soup to eat a few days later!
Followed this recipe as is, and it was fantastic. Whole family loved it. Thank you.
I am so thrilled to hear that, Chris! Thank you so much for your review!
I looove this recipe! My husband loved it so much he said he’d eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! This recipe is also perfect for meal prepping. I just found out I am 5 weeks pregnant…are the raw eggs ok for me to eat??
I’m assuming they get cooked when you add it all back together, but just wanted to check!
I am so happy to hear that you and your husband loved this recipe, Danielle! As for your question… the eggs do get cooked, however if you have any concerns, I would ask your doctor before consuming this recipe, as I can’t advise you on what would be best! Congratulations on your new pregnancy!
Made this last night. Had zero clue until after I made it that it was dairy and grain free! We used our home butchered chicken thighs and drums instead of breast and I shredded the meat. It was so so easy to make and SO delicious! I’ve never used eggs like that in a dish to give the taste and texture of what cream would’ve done, but it was so good! And like I said, easy! I used my nutribullet to blend. Next time I may add some kale into the mix for added nutrition. Thank you for a great recipe.
I made this tonight, it was easy and delicious! My sons (3&1) loved it as well. so toddler approved 🙂 Will definitely be making again.
Yay! I am thrilled to hear that, Hope! Thank you so much for your review!
This soup is absolutely fantastic! I followed all directions to a T and it came out perfectly. I now have a new favorite soup. The texture is so creamy, it is unbelievable that there is no dairy in this soup! I’ve been fighting strep and a sinus infection 🦠 and I think this soup will heal me!
Woohoo! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Jenna! Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you feel better!
Great recipe!! All I had was basmati rice, but turned out great regardless. Doubling the recipe next time since my family ate it up so fast!!
I’m so glad it turned out well for you, Danielle! Thank you so much for making this recipe and for leaving such a kind review!