Souvlaki Chicken Avgolemono Broth Bowls

Square overhead photo of a broth bowl with sliced broiled chicken, orzo, and lemon avgolemono broth, garnished with dill and lemon slices.

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Souvlaki Chicken Avgolemono Broth Bowls

These broth bowls are a fun twist on a Greek classic soup! Broiled lemon, garlic, and oregano chicken thighs and toasted orzo are added to a bowl, with a generous helping of avgolemono broth poured over.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: servings

Calories: 403kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Equipment

Immersion Blender recommended for making the avgolemono broth

Ingredients

For the Souvlaki Chicken

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, see notes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon about 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic finely minced or grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Toasted Orzo

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup orzo
2 cups water
½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Avgolemono Broth

3 cups chicken stock/broth
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon about 2 tablespoons

Instructions

To make the chicken, whisk together the 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, minced 2 cloves garlic, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Add the 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs and toss to coat. (Optional, but recommended: allow these to marinate for a couple hours, or overnight.)
Preheat your broiler on high and adjust an oven rack to the top third of the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and broil the marinated chicken thighs for about 8 minutes on each side, or until starting to get charred and chicken is fully cooked (ideally around 190 degrees F). Let sit for 5 minutes or so before slicing.
To make the orzo, heat the 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the 1 cup orzo and stir frequently, for a few minutes until the orzo gets toasted and some of the pieces develop a deep golden color. Pour in the 2 cups water (careful of the sizzle!) and add the ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 10 minutes or until the orzo is fully cooked.
To make the avgolemono broth, heat the 3 cups chicken stock/broth in a medium pot until it's simmering. In a small bowl of glass measuring cup, add the 2 eggs and juice of 1 lemon. Use an immersion blender (or whisk very vigorously) to mix the eggs with the lemon juice. Then get a ladle of the hot broth and gradually add it in, while continuing to blend (or whisk). Pour the egg and lemon mixture into the hot broth in the pot gradually and stir it in. It will be foamy, this is normal! Taste and add salt if necessary; you may not need any at all, depending on how salty the broth is.
Assemble the bowls. Divide the chicken and orzo amongst four shallow bowls. Spoon a generous helping of avgolemono broth on top of each - about 1 cup in each bowl.
Optionally, you can top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and/or the juices from the souvlaki chicken, some fresh dill or other herbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Video

Notes

To use chicken breasts, I recommend slicing the breasts in half lengthwise, to make thinner pieces, so they cook more evenly and more quickly under the broiler. Follow the same instructions as the thighs but broil for a shorter amount of time - the total time will depend on how thick they are. Check the internal temperature and make sure they don't go much past 165 degrees F, otherwise they may be dry.
Swap out the orzo for rice if you want, or if you need a gluten-free option. Any cooked rice will do, toasted or not - no need to get fancy here if you don't feel like it!
This is great for meal prep. Just assemble the portions in to-go containers for the week and reheat. You can also freeze this in portions - the avgolemono and orzo may change somewhat in texture but that's never stopped me!

Nutrition