Kotosoupa Avgolemono Recipe

Greek chicken and lemon soup in a bright red bowl with a spoon

5 from 5 votes

This Kotosoupa Avgolemono recipe is a comforting, delicious treat! Though Kotosoupa, a Greek chicken lemon soup, is warm, cozy and delivers incredible, fresh flavors, it's a light and healthy meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Soup, Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: comforting soup recipes, chicken soups to help you feel better

Servings: to 6

Calories: 294kcal

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Ingredients

6 cups chicken stock
2 (approximately 5-ounce) chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced leeks, washed and dried, white portions only; save the rest to make vegetable stock
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1½ cups Russet potato, peeled, cut into approximately ¼ inch cubes
½ cup cooked Jasmine rice
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup packed baby basil leaves or larger leaves, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Cook the chicken. Add the chicken stock to a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the chicken. Poach the chicken just until it's cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken, place it on a plate to cool, and pour the stock into a large bowl. Set aside.
Cook leeks and garlic, add potatoes. Coat the bottom of the same pot with the olive oil and place it over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and garlic and cook until the leeks have softened and the garlic is very aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir to blend.
Simmer ingredients in pot with chicken stock. Pour the chicken stock back in the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let it simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.
Shred chicken and add it to soup with rice, lemon and basil. While the soup is simmering, use your hands to shred the cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Once the potatoes are tender, add the shredded chicken, rice, lemon juice and basil to the pot. Cook until the basil has completely wilted.
Season and serve. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)

Notes

Chicken: I love the darker meat of chicken thighs, but you can use any cut you prefer.

Shredded or cubed: shredded chicken has a really nice texture, but to save time, you can cut it into bite-sized pieces instead.

Rice: any type of rice works. Cook it ahead so it's ready to stir in.

Lemon: the amount you'll want depends on your taste and the flavor of your chicken stock, as they can vary greatly.

Herbs: dill or tarragon are lovely instead of (or with) the basil.

Nutritional information is automatically calculated, so it should only be used as an estimate.

Nutrition