This post contains affiliate links.
Craving a bowl of cozy Mediterranean comfort food? This vegetarian avgolemono soup is rich, creamy, and packed with bright lemon flavor! Inspired by the Greek classic, it keeps the same signature tang and velvety texture (just with a vegetarian twist).
save this recipe!Avgolemono soup is a traditional Greek dish with chicken, rice, and veggies in a lemony broth. It’s made by tempering fresh lemon juice and eggs into the broth, giving you a bright, zesty kick and a silky, creamy consistency (without a drop of dairy!).
Our plant-based take swaps chicken for chickpeas, keeping all the cozy, comforting flavors of the original while making it meat-free. With simple ingredients and our easy-to-follow steps, you’ll have a light yet satisfying Greek dinner ready in no time!
Greek Cooking At Its Finest
- Weeknight-Friendly: Easy-to-find ingredients, minimal prep, and a hands-off simmer make this the stress-free dinner you need on busy weeknights.
- Skips The Heaviness: The broth is light yet creamy, so you get all the cozy, comforting flavors without feeling weighed down.
- One-Pot Meal: Just toss everything in and let it simmer to creamy perfection! Serve with homemade creamy tzatziki dipped in pita bread and baked feta for an easy, flavorful meal.
Reader rating
“Absolutely delicious! I substituted for orzo, so it had all my favorite things between that, the chickpeas, and lemon flavor. Thank you for another new favorite recipe!” —Heather
Grab These Ingredients
This arborio rice soup comes together with simple, pantry-friendly ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand! Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Aromatics: We’ll use the classic flavor trio (a.k.a. mirepoix) to form our rich, aromatic base, green onion for a pop of flavor and color, and garlic (because no soup is complete without it!).
- Vegetable Broth: Forms the foundation of our soup. For the best flavor, choose a good-quality vegetable broth or stock.
- Seasonings: Bay leaves add a subtle earthiness, and salt and pepper are the ultimate flavor boosters!
- Rice: Arborio rice gives the soup a perfectly hearty, creamy texture.
- Chickpeas: These add plant-based protein and heartiness while keeping things vegetarian. You don’t need to drain or rinse them (we’ll add the whole can!).
- Eggs: The secret to that signature silky texture in avgolemono soup.
- Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the brightest flavor!
- Fresh Dill: Creates the perfect herbaceous finishing touch. You can swap for parsley if needed!
Use The Right Rice
Use arborio rice for extra creaminess! This short-grain rice releases starch as it cooks, giving the soup a naturally silky texture. If you’re using brown or wild rice, just note that it will take longer to cook, so plan for extra simmer time.
Let’s Make Soup
While it might sound fancy, this Greek lemon soup is surprisingly easy to make and comes together in just one pot! This is an overview of the recipe. Jump to the recipe card for the full printable recipe.
- Make the flavor base by sauteing the aromatics.
- Assemble and cook the broth, rice, chickpeas, and seasonings.
- Separate and whisk the egg whites and yolks. Drizzle the yolks into the whites, then whisk in the lemon juice.
- Temper the eggs by drizzling a ladleful of hot broth from the soup into them. Continue adding broth until the egg mixture is warm.
- Stir the egg mixture and dill into the pot. Serve warm!
Temper Your Eggs
Don’t skip tempering the eggs, which prevents curdling! Instead of adding them straight to the hot broth (which can lead to scrambled eggs), slowly whisk in a few ladles of warm broth to gently raise their temperature. Once they’re warmed up, stir them back into the pot for that signature creamy, velvety texture.
Storage
Let your avgolemono soup cool before transferring it to an airtight container. You can store it in the fridge for up to 4 days (hello, meal prep!).
If you’re planning even further ahead, make the soup and freeze it in airtight containers or mason jars (yes, you can freeze this soup because it doesn’t contain cream!). When ready, thaw and warm it over low heat on the stovetop, avoiding boiling to prevent the eggs from curdling.
Try These Pairing ideas
This Greek dinner is packed with bright lemon flavor, so round out your meal with more Mediterranean classics! Here are a few of our favorite ideas.
- Parsley Salad: The light, crisp, refreshing textures and flavors perfectly balance this velvety soup.
- Roasted Chickpea Gyros: Pair your soup with a warm, fluffy pita for a Mediterranean twist on your usual soup and sandwich combo.
Vegetarian Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Chickpea Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup diced carrots, about 2 to 3 carrots
- 1 cup diced celery, about 3 to 4 ribs celery
- ½ cup chopped green onion, about 4 green onions
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups vegetable broth, 1.4 L
- 1 cup white rice, any type, we used arborio, see notes for using brown rice, 200 g
- 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, undrained, 425 g cans
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup lemon juice, 120 mL
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Flavor Base: Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium in large pot. Add 1 medium yellow onion (diced), 1 cup diced carrots, 1 cup diced celery, ½ cup chopped green onion, and 3 cloves garlic. Cook until onion is tender and celery is bright green, about 7 minutes.
- Assemble: Stir in 6 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup white rice, 2 15-oz cans chickpeas (do not drain, add the chickpea liquid), 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp ground black pepper, and ¼ tsp salt. Cover and cook until rice is tender
- Eggs: Separate the egg whites and yolks from 3 large eggs. Whisk the egg whites until they're frothy. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Drizzle the yolks into the whites, then whisk in ½ cup lemon juice.
- Temper Eggs: While whisking, slowly drizzle a ladle-full of the hot broth from the soup into the eggs. Continue adding broth until the egg mixture is warm.
- Serve: Stir egg mixture and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill into the pot of soup and remove from heat. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I had a real problem with the liquid to ingredients ratios with this, and I only used 1 can of chick peas and half a cup of rice to 1.4 stock. Not to bad coming out of the pot as soup but today’s leftovers are basically a risotto as all the liquid has absorbed. Wodnering if could be watered down by adding more stock to create soup again.
Yep the rice just absorbed that broth as it sat, so you can add more broth to turn it into soup again 🙂
Another life changing recipe… This one was so comforting and filling but somehow also light and I’m not a doctor but I feel like it healed me on a sick day. I was intimidated at first by whisking in the egg, but I just trusted the process and it was magical.
The egg is such a game-changer, right?! Enjoy!!
Soooo delicious!!
I guess the combination of egg and lemon is totally not for me… was expecting something else.
My husband doesn’t like chick peas. Do you think this recipe would work if I pureed the chick peas first?
I would use a different legume instead! Maybe a white bean like great northern or butter beans?
I cook a lot of your recipes as they are easy and delicious, thank you. I made this soup but had to substitute the second tin with butter beans as only had one chickpeas. At the end I did 2 eggs with 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt and half lemon. Mix it well and slowly add a bit of the hot soup liquid and then slowly started adding the egg mixture back in the soup as I was mixing constantly. Served it with some fresh parsley and a bit more lemon 🍋
So glad it hit the spot, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I would like to make soup to have in my freezer to share with friends in need but I don’t find notations on recipes about whether a soup freezes well. E.G., the chickpea lemon soup. Might you consider adding that to recipe notes?
Do forgive me if I missed it- I’m using the phone and ads can make it difficult.
Yes, you can freeze avgolemono soup, but the texture may change a bit since the egg-lemon mixture can separate when thawed. To help, cool it completely, freeze in portions, then reheat gently on the stove while whisking to bring it back together. It’s best enjoyed fresh, but freezing works in a pinch!
This recipe is absolutely delicious!!!
So happy you loved it, happy eating!
I made the lemon garbanzo soup. It called for too much rice that made the soup way too thick and would reduce it to 1/2 cup next time. But the flavor was really good!
Thanks for the feedback Kana, glad you enjoyed the flavor!
Super tasty and straightforward recipe. However I found the liquid measurements way off. This turned out almost like a risotto. Between the starch from the rice, the eggs, the beans and low liquid it was really starchy and thick. Looking at other avgolemono soups online I would at least double the broth next time. I will for sure try this again but will rinse the rice, double the liquid, rinse the chickpeas/beans but replace lost liquid and consider using only 2 eggs. I did a mix of chickpeas and white kidney beansband subbed parsley for dill. Deglazed the veggies with some white wine and added rutabaga to bulk up the veggies. Taste was awesome. Thanks you for a cool veggie recipe 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback Laura!