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
I just made this recipe on a cold night in austin! It’s very flavorful but my rice didn’t cook through. I used basmati because that’s all I had on hand, but it seems like another person used basmati and theirs was fine. I followed the recipe to a t! Any ideas as to what may have happened? Thanks!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that, Stephanie. Maybe you needed a bit more liquid or to allow the soup to cook a little longer!
This soup is literally to die for! Love love!
Yay, I am so glad that you enjoyed it, MaryChris!
Definitely a 5 star recipe!
Thank you so much for the rating!
I never comment on things but this soup is out of this world! If you grew up eating this, it will exceed your expectations!
I am so thrilled to hear you enjoyed it, Gene! Thank you so much for making this soup, and for leaving such a kind review!
This soup is delicious and gorgeous with the browned chicken. Made it from the cookbook and had to leave a review. Lemony! You will feel like a goddess if you make this for someone else. I gave to my massage therapist and she was blown away. 🥲
I am so happy to hear that, Twila! Thank you so much for your support and for leaving such a kind review!
Hello there. I NEED to make this recipe! It sounds so delish. I am by no means a novice in the kitchen but for some reason my post baby brain doesn’t comprehend step 5. Am I only using soup water or whatever comes up with my spoon when dipped into pot? I know it’s probably simple but for some unknown reason my post baby brain won’t compute. Thank you so much
Hi Autumn, yes, you are using the broth from the soup. ☻
How is the chicken cooked? I see no mention of browning nor of simmering the chicken for X minutes in the soup.
Hi Brian, this recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken. Here is my favorite way to prepare it: https://kalejunkie.com/how-to-make-perfectly-juicy-chicken-every-single-time/
Chicken soup for the soul! Lovely, easy to follow and delicious. I added some tarragon (because I love it!) and it worked well with the lemon notes.
I am so happy that you loved it, Lynn! And the tarragon sounds like a delicious addition to this recipe. Thank you so much for making it, and for your review!
I’m so excited to make this! It looks delicious. Do you think adding some shredded cheddar cheese at the end would be good?
the part Im confused about it putting it all in the blender, so…you blend the rice? Im going to try and it see how it goes.
This was SO good! It is just so creamy and warming and delicious! I would love to meal prep and freeze this for postpartum. Is this okay to freeze? I also want to punch up the veggies for postpartum, any good suggestions to add to the soup? Thanks!
Best soup i have ever had!!!! Thank you