The beloved egg-lemon sauce—Avgolemono in Greek (avgo meaning egg and lemoni coming from lemon)—is often thought to be tricky to make, but it’s actually quite simple, as you’ll soon see as we make classic chicken soup! There are many ways to prepare it, but we think you’ll love this one—and the step-by-step photo recipe that goes along with it.
Chicken soup is a classic comfort food around the world, and this is the Greek take on it. Incredibly delicious and deeply nourishing, it has just the right balance of tangy brightness and savory depth.
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Step-by-Step Photo Recipe
Comfort Food: Easy & Traditional Greek Avgolemono Chicken Soup with High-Phenolic EVOO
Category: Chicken—Main or Side Dish
Serves: 6
PJ KABOS Extra Virgin Olive Oil to use: Family Reserve Organic Medium or Family Reserve Medium
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 1 small chicken (about 1 kg or less), whole and skinned
- 2 medium onions, chopped or sliced
- 3 potatoes, cut into small chunks
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- ½ cup celery leaves, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ⅛ cup rice (optional)
- ¾ cup PJ Kabos Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the Avgolemono Sauce:
- 2 eggs, separated
- Juice of 2 lemons
Preparation
For the vegetables:
1) Peel and cut the potatoes, then place them in water to prevent browning. Chop the onions; slice the carrots, celery stalks and leaves.
2) In a large pot, add ¼ cup PJ Kabos Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sauté the onions and carrots. Remove after sautéing.
3) Add ½ cup PJ Kabos Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the pot that had the vegetables and brown the chicken on all sides.
4) Fill the pot with water to two inches from the top. Bring to a boil. Skim any foam that might form (there most likely won’t have much since the chicken was browned). Add the sautéed and raw vegetables back to the pot.
5) Add the salt and pepper and boil it all together until the chicken is thoroughly cooked; approximately 2 hours.
6) Twenty minutes before end add rice (if desired). Remove the chicken. Set aside in a warm place.
To make the avgolemono sauce:
7) In a medium bowl, separate the egg yolks from the whites. Using a whisk, mixer, or blender, beat the egg yolks until smooth.
8) Gradually add the lemon juice, whisking continuously to ensure a smooth mixture. Once combined, add the egg whites and continue beating until fully incorporated.
9) Using a ladle, gradually add at least 2 cups of very hot broth from the pot of soup into the egg and lemon mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling. The key is to slowly bring the egg and lemon mixture up to the same temperature as the broth in the pot.
10) Once the egg and lemon mixture is about the same temperature as the broth and well-blended, add it to the soup in the pot. Gently stir or swirl the pot in one consistent direction to fully incorporate and thicken the soup. If needed, return the pot to low heat, stirring gently until the soup reaches the desired consistency.
Serving suggestions for the meat:
11) The chicken can be deboned and added back to the soup or used to make a delicious chicken salad sandwich to enjoy alongside it. (If you choose to add the chicken to the soup, ensure it is hot to prevent curdling the liquid.)
12) Greek Cheese & Olive Oil Savory Bun—“Tiropita Koulouriou”—makes a perfect accompaniment to this soup as does fresh village bread or a Greek village salad.
13) Your Greek Avgolemono Chicken Soup, made even healthier with PJ Kabos High-Phenolic EVOO, is now ready to enjoy. It’s sure to fill you with energy and all the good things needed to keep you, your family, and your friends healthy and strong throughout the year. While some may consider it just a winter dish, it hydrates and heals in the summer too.
Kali Orexi—Happy Appetite!
PJ Kabos High-Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a favorite of world-renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa, who has also served as the chef for multiple Golden Globes dinners. That means our EVOO has been featured at one of Hollywood's most glamorous events—how amazing is that?!
PJ KABOS High-Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Harvest 2024/25
PJ Kabos Family Reserve Organic—Phenolic Shot
(Gold Bottle)
PJ Kabos Family Reserve Organic—"Phenolic Shot," is an award-winning extra virgin olive oil with possibly the highest phenolic content available in a true extra virgin olive oil today. Its intense bitterness and pungency clearly reflect the activity of these polyphenols. Meant to be taken as a shot or may be drizzled over salads, roasted vegetables, toast, fava, etc. to amplify both flavor and health benefits.
PJ Kabos Family Reserve Organic—Robust
(Black Bottle)
PJ KABOS Family Reserve Organic - Robust, is an extra virgin olive oil that is very high in polyphenols and adds depth, character and great health benefits to every meal.
PJ Kabos Family Reserve Organic—Medium Taste
(White Bottle)
PJ KABOS Family Reserve Organic - Medium, is an extra virgin olive oil that is high in polyphenols and adds a lovely taste and great health benefits to every meal.
PJ Kabos Family Reserve—Medium Taste
(White Tin)
PJ KABOS Family Reserve - Medium, is an extra virgin olive oil in an easy-to-store tin that is high in polyphenols and adds a lovely taste and great health benefits to every meal.
Please enjoy having a look around our websites, pjkabos.com and oliveoil.com, as well as our Amazon Store for more about our many high-phenolic olive oils, recipes, history, etc. And follow along with us on Instagram for photos concerning olive oil production, our groves in Greece, articles about olive oil, family history and more.
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PJ Kabos High-Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Your Trusted Oil, Straight from Our Table to Yours.
