Ready to cozy up on a cold winter’s night with a warm bowl of soup? Look not further than the classic Lemon Chicken Rice Soup!
In Michigan, you can find this soup on almost every menu at a Coney Island Restaurant. A bowl of Lemon Chicken Rice soup and side salad used to be my go-to order for lunch during a busy work day.
A few years ago I started making this at home and I have not ordered it at a restaurant ever since. First of all, the soup is incredibly easy and quick to make at home. This is a very forgiving recipe and you do not have to have a lot of experience in the kitchen to make this soup.
Ingredients
Classically called Avgolemono, this Greek dish is a delicious mix of lemon, chicken, and rice. Eggs whisked in at the end of cooking give the soup a rich and creamy texture. I add a little bit of turmeric to the dish to give it a bright yellow color.
While this recipe for Lemon Chicken Rice Soup is onion free, you do not need to be onion free yourself to enjoy it! If you are an onion eater, feel free to add a small diced onion with the celery and carrots, in the second step. When I used to eat onion, I would add it to this soup as well. Now that I cannot eat onion, I really do not taste a difference in this soup at all! If anything, not adding the onion saves you some time not having to chop an additional ingredient.
Cooking Tips
To make this soup, start with sautéing the carrot and celery until tender. You then the turmeric, which is optional, broth and rice. Turmeric is added for color, it will not add any taste.
Cooking the rice: Simmer for about 20 minutes, being careful not to over cook the rice. If the soup has gotten too thick, add additional broth to loosen the soup.
Whisking in the eggs: In a small bowl, or measuring cup, whisk together the lemon zest, juice, and eggs. I use a measuring cup as it is easier to slowly pour the mixture into the soup. With the soup off heat, slowly pour the egg mixture into the soup while continuously stirring the soup with a spoon or whisk. The key to this is to try not to scramble the eggs, instead creating a creamy broth. Having room temperature eggs help the eggs not to scramble. Pro tip: If you did not bring your eggs to room temperature in advance, put the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
Adding the chicken: Add the chicken to the soup, return the soup to the heat and bring to a simmer for a few minutes to chicken and re-warming the soup. Taste for salt and pepper.
You can use rotisserie chicken or any leftover cooked chicken. If I have any leftovers from roasting a whole chicken, I will typically make this soup to use them up.
Reheating: This soup saves and reheats very well, however the rice will soak up a lot of the broth. This creates a thicker soup. I prefer my soup a little thinner, so when I reheat the soup I add a slash of extra broth to loosen it up.
You may also like our Quick and Easy Chicken Pozole Soup.
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Lemon Chicken Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large celery stalk, small dice
- 1 large carrot, small dice
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 heaping cup long grain white rice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest of one lemon
- juice of 1-2 lemons*
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
- Add celery and carrot. Sauté 5-10 minutes until softened.
- Add turmeric, salt and pepper and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Add broth and rice.
- Bring to a small boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes until rice is tender. Turn off heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs. With the soup off the heat, slowly add egg mixture to soup while stirring constantly.
- Return the soup to a medium low-heat. Add the chicken and cook until the soup and chicken is warmed through. About another 5 minutes. Taste, add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, parsley and crackers if desired.
Tastes as good as it looks! Delish.
I did this without the egg…great easy recipe! My picky son said it’s better than the restaurant versions.