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A bowl of Greek lemon chicken soup.

Roasted Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Erin Jensen
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: Approx. 15 cups
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stove Top + Oven
  • Cuisine: Greek-Inspired

Description

Roasted Greek Lemon Chicken Soup – a flavorful and delicious winter comfort food! 


Ingredients

Scale

Broth 

  • (1) 5-6 pound whole roasting chicken (fresh or thawed)
  • 23 tablespoons ghee, softened (or butter or olive oil)
  • salt and pepper 
  • 1 small yellow onion, quartered
  • 12 stalks celery, cut into 23 inch chunks 
  • 2 medium whole carrots, cut into 23 chunks
  • 1 head of garlic, cut off the top
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 12 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 12 sprigs fresh dill

Soup

  • 810 cups chicken broth 
  • shredded chicken (using the roasted chicken)
  • 4 stalks celery, sliced 
  • 1 medium sweet yellow onion, chopped
  • 46 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped 
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 
  • (optional) a few handfuls of either spinach or kale 

Instructions

Broth:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Place chicken in a dutch oven and rub all over with softened ghee.
  3. Sprinkle with generous amounts of salt and pepper to coat.
  4. Place onion, carrots, celery, garlic and lemon around the chicken.
  5. Roast on middle rack, uncovered, for 1.5 hours.
  6. Remove from oven and place on burner.
  7. Add broth and turn heat up to high.
  8. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover for 45-60 minutes.

Soup:

  1. Remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Strain broth and discard the cooked vegetables, reserving the garlic and lemon. 
  3. Place strained broth back in your dutch oven along with fresh onion, carrots, celery and dill.
  4. Take the roasted lemons and squeeze into the broth.
  5. Take garlic and remove 2-4 cloves and roughly chop; add these to the broth as well (you can add more if you want). 
  6. Shred chicken and add meat to the pot. Stir to combine and let simmer 15-20 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat to let broth cool a bit.
  8. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and fresh lemon juice in a medium bowl. Then take approximately 1 cup of broth (which should be around 170 degrees) and slowly whisk together. Once that is combined, slowly add it back into the dutch oven, whisking to combine. 
  9. Feel free to place back on low heat, but be sure not to boil as the eggs will cook! 
  10. Taste and add any salt or pepper, as necessary, as well as any additional dill. 
  11. Before serving feel free to add a handful of fresh spinach or even kale if you want! 
  12. Serve and enjoy! 

Notes

  • Size of dutch oven: I used a 5 1/2 qt. dutch oven.
  • Meat thermometer: I used an internal meat thermometer to test the temperature of the broth. 
  • Whole30/Paleo: if you are concerned with Whole30/Paleo just be sure and check your broth ingredients and ensure you use ghee or olive oil instead of butter. 
  • Add-ins: if you aren’t concerned with Whole30/Paleo feel free to add in some cooked orzo or pasta of your choosing at the end! I wouldn’t recommend cooking it in the broth as it will soak up quite a bit of broth during the cooking process. 
  • Consistency: If you want your soup thicker than I would suggest sticking with 8 cups broth and if you want it thinner I would lean towards 10 cups broth.