Low Oxalate Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono)

A bowl of warm, citrusy Greek lemon chicken soup is exactly what you want on a cold day, silky, creamy, and packed with bright flavor, but light enough that it never feels heavy. This is a classic Avgolemono, the traditional Greek soup that gets its velvety texture from eggs and lemon instead of cream or flour. It comes together in just over an hour with simple, low-oxalate ingredients, and tastes like something you’d order at a Greek restaurant.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Creamy without the cream. The egg-and-lemon tempering technique gives this soup a silky, velvety body, no dairy, no flour.
• Naturally low oxalate. Chicken, white rice, lemon, eggs, and fresh dill, every ingredient is gentle on an oxalate-sensitive system.
• Family-friendly. Mild, comforting, and easy to adapt for picky eaters.
• Mostly hands-off. The Instant Pot does the work of cooking the chicken; the rest is light prep and a few minutes at the stove.
• Even better the next day. The flavor deepens overnight, making it perfect for meal prep.

What Is Avgolemono?

Avgolemono (pronounced ahv-go-LEH-mo-no) is the Greek word for both a sauce and a soup made by tempering eggs and fresh lemon juice into hot broth. The result is creamy, tangy, and surprisingly light. You’ll find it on the menu at most traditional Greek tavernas, served as a starter, a sick-day comfort meal, or a light dinner with crusty bread on the side. The egg-tempering technique sounds intimidating but it’s straightforward once you’ve done it once, it’s mostly a matter of warming the eggs gradually so they don’t scramble.

Ingredient Notes

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• Chicken breasts. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts pressure-cooked from raw in the Instant Pot, fast, lean, and shreds easily once cooked. Rotisserie chicken (3 to 4 cups pulled) is a great shortcut if you want to skip the pressure-cooking step.
• Arborio rice. A short-grain Italian rice that releases starch as it cooks, giving the broth a slightly creamier, more body-forward finish. Like all white rice, it’s reliably low in oxalates. Long-grain white rice works as a substitute for a less starchy result.
• Chicken broth. Use a good-quality store-bought broth, chicken bone broth adds a richer, more nourishing depth if you want extra body.
• Eggs. Fresh, room-temperature eggs whisk smoother and temper more evenly. Cold eggs straight from the fridge are more likely to scramble.
• Lemons. Use real lemons, not bottled juice, the flavor difference is real. You’ll need about 2 to 3 medium lemons for half a cup of juice.
• Fresh dill. Non-negotiable. Fresh dill is what gives this its signature Greek flavor; dried won’t deliver the same brightness.

How to Make Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

The full ingredient quantities and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below, but here’s the big picture so you know what you’re walking into:

1. Pressure-cook the chicken. Submerge the chicken breasts in water in the Instant Pot and cook on the Poultry setting for 15 minutes at high pressure.
2. Sauté the vegetables. While the chicken cooks, chop the carrots, celery, and green onions. Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat and sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes until softened.
3. Build the broth. Add garlic, chicken broth, bay leaves, salt, and white pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in the arborio rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is tender.
4. Shred and add the chicken. Pull the cooked chicken out of the Instant Pot, shred it with two forks, and stir it back into the soup.
5. Whisk the eggs and lemon. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and fresh lemon juice together until pale and frothy.
6. Temper the eggs. Slowly ladle hot broth into the egg-lemon mixture while whisking constantly. This warms them gradually so they don’t scramble.
7. Combine and finish. Pour the tempered mixture back into the pot, stirring continuously. The broth turns creamy and pale yellow almost instantly. Season to taste and garnish generously with fresh dill.

Pro Tips for the Best Avgolemono

• Keep the heat low when adding the eggs. Too hot and the eggs scramble, leaving you with a curdled-looking broth. Aim for a gentle simmer, not a boil.
• Whisk constantly while tempering. Pour the hot broth in a thin, steady stream while whisking the egg mixture nonstop. This is the single most important technique.
• Don’t skip the dill. Fresh dill is the signature flavor, dried dill won’t deliver the same brightness.
• Adjust acidity to taste. The lemon should be present but not aggressive. Start with less juice and add more at the end if you want more punch.

Storage and Reheating

• Refrigerator. Store leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The flavor actually improves on day two.
• Reheating. Warm gently over low heat. Don’t boil, high heat can break the egg emulsion and make the broth look grainy.
• Freezing. Avgolemono doesn’t freeze well, the egg-thickened broth tends to separate when thawed. Make a fresh batch instead.

Substitutions and Variations

• Use rotisserie chicken. Skip the pressure-cooking step entirely. Use 3 to 4 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken and stir it in at the same point the recipe calls for the cooked chicken.
• Stovetop method. No Instant Pot? Simmer the chicken breasts in salted water for 25 to 30 minutes until cooked through, then continue with the rest of the recipe.
• Swap arborio for long-grain rice. The texture will be a touch less creamy but still excellent.

Frequently Asked Questions

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• Chicken Piccata
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