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This flavorful healthy Greek Lemon Chicken Soup is a low-calorie, gluten-free version of classic chicken Avgolemono soup. It’s packed with nutritious vegetables, chicken, and lemon juice to make for a bright, but cozy soup.
This soup is great for enjoying all year round because the lemon gives it a bright flavor that you’ll love even when it’s warm outside. The recipe uses precooked chicken and cauliflower rice, so it take less than 40 minutes to cook. The result is a rich, creamy soup that is bursting with flavor. It also great for meal prepping because you can freeze individual portions to enjoy for lunch.
If you like Greek-inspired recipes, you will love my Greek chicken bowls and healthy Greek pasta salad!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed With Nutrients: From the protein in the chicken to the fiber in the cauliflower rice, this soup is full of ingredients that are good for you!
- Simple, But Flavorful: This is a straightforward soup that isn’t very complicated, but it is bursting with flavor from the lemon juice and veggies.
- Based on a Traditional Greek Recipe: This recipe is inspired by Avgolemono, which is a Greek soup made with lemon, eggs, and orzo pasta. I lowered the calories and made it gluten-free by using cauliflower rice instead of orzo.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Shredded Chicken: This recipe calls for precooked, shredded chicken, which will save you some cooking time! You can use my Instant Pot shredded chicken to make it quick and easy.
- Carrots: These slightly sweet, aromatic veggies add color and flavor to the soup.
- Cauliflower Rice: Use frozen or fresh cauliflower rice for this low-carb, Paleo recipe.
- Chicken Broth: Use a low-sodium chicken broth to give you more control over how salty your soup will be.
- Egg Yolks: The yolks give this soup its creamy texture and add a little bit of fat. Don’t be afraid to use them because a bit of healthy fat is good for you.
- Lemon Juice: The key to this soup is using fresh lemon juice for a burst of light, vibrant flavor.
- Kale: The kale adds fiber, color, and is so great for you. You can also use Swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, spinach or cabbage if you prefer.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Use a Different Protein: Make your soup with pork, turkey, or even shrimp. The flavors complement a variety of meats with lighter flavors.
- Make It Vegetarian: If you want a vegetarian version of the soup you can use vegetable broth instead of chicken and use lentils or beans as the protein. Chickpeas are always a great option for Greek recipes!
- Try Different Vegetables: Soups are always versatile dishes and are a great way to add more veggies. Try this Greek chicken soup recipe with celery, zucchini, peas, asparagus, or even potatoes to change the flavor just a bit.
How to Make Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
This healthy lemon chicken soup is an excellent cozy recipe to enjoy anytime of year. It’s is bursting with flavor, creamy, and packed with nutrients. All you need is a large soup pot and less than 40 minutes to make it.
Step 1: Sauté the Vegetables. Cook the onion, garlic, carrots, and cauliflower rice in a large pot with olive oil until the onions turn translucent.
Step 2: Add the Broth. Pour the chicken broth into the pot and add dried parsley. Add a bit of warm broth to a bowl with the egg yolks. Whisk the yolks until they are smooth.
Step 3: Stir in the Rest of the Ingredients. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture into the pot along with the shredded chicken, kale, and lemon.
Step 4: Simmer and Serve. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes, or until the kale wilts. Serve the soup with lemon slices and fresh parsley, and pair with a pumpkin cornbread muffin.
Expert Tips
- Use Fresh Lemon Juice: In this recipe, fresh lemon juice is best! It has a bold, fresh flavor that elevates the entire dish.
- Temper the Egg Yolks: Tempering means that you slowly increase the temperature of the yolks so they don’t curdle when you add them to the soup. Add little bits of warm broth to room-temperature egg yolks to warm them before pouring them into the hot soup.
- Soften the Veggies: Add the carrots, onions, and garlic to your hot pot first because sauteing them creates a deeper flavor. This results in a richer, more flavorful soup.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftovers for 60 days. Reheat the soup in the microwave in 60-second intervals, stirring each minute until it’s heated through. Thaw frozen soup in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating it.
Serving Suggestions
Sometimes the weather or your mood calls for a warm bowl of flavorful soup. This lemony chicken soup is perfect all year round and pairs well with breads, salads, and other Greek-inspired dishes. Enjoy this soup for dinner or lunch after storing individual servings in the freezer. It’s always a hit whenever I serve it to family or friends!
- Enjoy a bowl of this Greek chicken soup with a slice of low-carb cauliflower bread or gluten-free honey oat bread for dipping.
- Soup and salad make for a great lunch! Pair this soup with a low-calorie Caesar salad or a homemade red pepper hummus for a flavor explosion.
Recipe FAQs
Your eggs most likely separated because you didn’t temper them using warm broth and added them to the soup too quickly. You need to temper the eggs and add them slowly to avoid them separating.
It’s possible the cauliflower rice cooked too much. Try precooking the cauliflower and adding it towards the end of the cook time instead of at the beginning.
If the flavor is too intense, you can add more water to the broth to dilute it. Slowly add the lemon juice and taste as you go to avoid too intense of a flavor next time.
More Delicious Healthy Soup Recipes
If you tried this Greek Lemon Chicken Soup recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb Shredded Chicken, pre-cooked
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 Carrots, chopped
- 1 cup Yellow Onion, diced
- 2 cups Cauliflower Rice
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 2 Egg Yolks
- ½ cup Lemon Juice
- 2 cups Kale, shredded
- 2 tablespoon Dried Parsley
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in the large pot over medium heat. Then add the onion, garlic, carrots and cauliflower rice. Stir and heat until the veggies are translucent.
- Add the chicken broth and parsley to the pot. Stir and heat for 10 minutes. While the broth is warming, mix the egg yolks in a bowl with a small amount of warm chicken broth from the pot. Whisk together until the yolks are mixed in.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the pot along with the pre-cooked shredded chicken, kale, lemon, dried parsley, salt and pepper.
- Simmer with the cover on for 10-minutes or until warm and the kale is wilted. Serve warm with lemon slices and fresh parsley!
- Store the soup in the refrigerator in a container up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 60 days.
Notes
- This soup requires fresh lemon juice to capture the best flavor. Don’t skip fresh lemons for this recipe!
- Temper the egg yolks so they don’t curdle when you add them to the soup. This means adding little bits of warmed broth to room-temperature egg yolks to warm them before pouring them in.
- Get a richer, more flavorful soup by sauteing the carrots, onions, and garlic before adding your broth and other ingredients. This lets the flavors deepen and softens the veggies so they taste their best.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Making this for a second time tonight, per family request. My husband and daughter loved it. The only thing I am doing different, is having as a “build a bowl” meal. I like cauliflower Rice, hubby likes regular rice, daughter wants the base + chicken only. So making the base, and everyone can add their own rice type and amount of chicken they prefer. I shredded a rotisserie chicken last time, and worked/tasted great.
I love this soup! I also like how your recipes are so easy to follow. Thank you for sharing!
Can you use lime juice instead?
You can, might be a little more tart than lemon juice though.
This is my new favorite soup! I doubled the recipe, used homemade chicken bone broth and boneless skinless chicken thighs that I made according to another Pinterest recipe and it came out fabulously! I love Avoglomeno soup and am so happy to have found a version without rice or orzo! I didn’t miss them at all!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Is a serving 1 cup?
There are 4 servings in the recipe so 1/4th of the recipe equals one serving. If you want to know the exact amount, then you will weigh the entire cooked soup on a food scale in grams then divide by 4. The amount of grams left equals how many grams for one serving.
SOLID WIN
Second recipe of yours I’ve made and I LOVE them both! I forgot the eggs on accident- but added some Fat free Greek Yogurt. My roommate liked it so much she took seconds and asked for some to take for her lunch tomorrow. Thank You! I appreciate the ease, flavor and calories you take into consideration in developing these tasty meals.