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Mediterranean lemon chicken soup

By Ami · September 7, 2026 · ★★★★★ 4.9 from 87 reviews · Jump to Recipe · Print

Mediterranean lemon chicken soup is the healthy recipe I make when I want something bright rather than heavy — golden broth, tender orzo, shredded chicken and spinach, thickened with a silky egg-lemon finish instead of cream. It's the Greek avgolemono idea, it takes 35 minutes, and it lands at 33g of protein a bowl.

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This is the rare healthy soup that actually fills you up.

• The egg-lemon finish does the work of cream. Two eggs whisked with lemon juice and tempered into hot broth turn it velvety and glossy with almost no fat. It's the technique that makes this taste restaurant-made.
• It fits the Mediterranean way of eating properly. Lean protein, vegetables, olive oil, a modest amount of grain and a lot of lemon and herbs — the pattern that's been the single biggest search trend in food this year, and it's genuinely how these Greek chicken bowls are built too.
• 33g of protein and it's still light. Chicken and eggs together carry the protein while the broth keeps it from sitting heavily. Worth running against your own target on the protein calculator.

Here's what you'll need.

Use fresh lemons — bottled juice tastes dull and slightly metallic, and lemon is the whole personality of this soup. Orzo is traditional but any small pasta or 1 cup of cooked rice works. Fresh dill is worth buying; dried dill in this soup tastes like a hay bale.

Here's how it all comes together.

Step 1 — Simmer the chicken and vegetables

Soften the onion, carrot and celery in olive oil for 5 minutes, add the garlic for a minute, then pour in the broth and add the chicken breasts. Simmer 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Step 2 — Cook the orzo and shred the chicken

Lift the chicken out and shred it with two forks. Add the orzo to the simmering broth and cook 8 minutes until just tender, then return the chicken along with the spinach and let it wilt.

Step 3 — Temper the egg-lemon finish

Whisk the eggs and lemon juice together in a bowl, then slowly ladle in about a cup of hot broth while whisking constantly. Pour that mixture back into the pot off the heat and stir — it turns silky and pale gold immediately. Do not let it boil after this or the eggs scramble.

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Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Temper slowly or you get egg drop soup. Add the hot broth to the eggs in a thin stream while whisking hard, not the other way round. Rushing this is the only way this recipe fails.
• Take the pot off the heat first. Residual heat is plenty to finish the eggs. A pot still on a burner will curdle them within seconds of the mixture going in.
• Cook the orzo in the broth, not separately. The starch it releases gives the soup body. If you're making it ahead, though, cook it separately — see below.
• More lemon than you think. A third of a cup of juice sounds like a lot and it isn't. Taste at the end and add another squeeze; the soup should be assertively lemony, not shy.

Make it ahead, or make it your own.

• Cook the orzo separately if you're storing it. Left in the broth overnight it swells and drinks the whole pot. Store them apart and combine in the bowl.
• Rice instead of orzo. One cup of cooked white or brown rice makes it gluten free and, honestly, slightly more traditional. Add it at the end rather than cooking it in.
• Make it higher fiber. Stir in a can of rinsed white beans with the spinach. It pushes fiber past 8g a bowl and makes it even more filling without changing the flavor.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Warm pita or crusty bread brushed with olive oil.
• A simple cucumber, tomato and feta salad on the side.
• Greek chicken bowls if you're leaning into Mediterranean cooking for the week.
• Mediterranean chickpea salad makes this a proper two-dish lunch.
• Greek yogurt chocolate bark from the freezer for after.

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: refrigerate for up to 3 days, ideally with the orzo stored separately so it doesn't absorb all the broth. The egg-lemon finish holds up fine in the fridge, though the soup thickens as it chills.

Reheating: warm gently over medium-low and stop as soon as it steams — boiling it after the eggs are in will curdle the finish. Add a splash of broth to loosen, and a fresh squeeze of lemon, which fades in storage.

More healthy recipes...

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Mediterranean chickpea salad — 10 minutes, no cooking, huge fiber

Chicken burrito bowls — 30-minute meal prep with 40g protein

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The Ultimate GLP-1 High Protein High Fiber Cookbook for Weight Loss is built on the same idea as this recipe — lean protein, plenty of fiber, real food and portions big enough to keep you full. Simple, tested recipes for anyone eating higher-protein on purpose, on a GLP-1 medication or not.

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FAQ

How do I keep the eggs from scrambling in lemon chicken soup?

Take the pot off the heat first, then whisk about a cup of hot broth into the beaten eggs and lemon in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Pour that back into the pot and stir. Never let the soup boil afterwards.

Can I make Mediterranean lemon chicken soup ahead?

Yes, for up to 3 days, but cook and store the orzo separately — left in the broth it swells and absorbs almost all the liquid overnight. Reheat gently and add fresh lemon before serving.

Is this soup Mediterranean diet friendly?

It fits well: lean chicken, olive oil, vegetables, herbs, lemon and a modest portion of grain. For an even closer fit, use whole wheat orzo or brown rice and stir in white beans for extra fiber.

Can I make it gluten free?

Yes. Replace the orzo with 1 cup of cooked white or brown rice, stirred in at the end rather than simmered in the broth. Check that your chicken broth is certified gluten free.