Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 7, 2025 
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe is a light and healthy soup with bold Greek flavors, and a great way to warm your belly on cool evenings!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup… For the Soul
Today’s Greek Lemon Chicken Soup is a recipe that my family absolutely loves. We first tasted something similar at a little soup and sandwich shop right outside Kiawah Island in South Carolina. It’s a cozy and healthy Chicken Soup, loaded with Greek flavors like garlic, earthy olive oil, and feta cheese.
This is the kind of soup recipe I make for my kids when they come home, worn from a long day at school. The little orbs of pearl couscous and morsels of cheese swirl to the surface with every spoonful.
A sight that lifts the spirit and warms the belly!
Ingredients You Need
- Chicken Broth – or chicken bouillon. If using low-sodium broth, you might need to add a little extra salt!
- Olive Oil – to sauté the veggies and chicken
- Garlic – freshly minced
- Onion – in small strips
- Lemon Zest – this adds loads of lemony flavor! Serve the soup with the slices of lemon.
- Chicken – chicken breast or boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well
- Pearl Couscous – also known as Israeli couscous, it is larger than regular couscous
- Crushed Red Pepper – for a hint of spice
- Crumbled Feta – for a tangy, savory flavor
- Chives – as garnish, if desired
- Salt & Pepper – to taste
How to Make Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
This soup is pretty straightforward and simple to make! Find the full Lemon Chicken Soup recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Tips & Tricks
- You can replace the couscous with long-grain white rice, orzo pasta, or acini di pepe pasta balls! Each one will have a different cooking time though, so adjust as needed. If adding rice, you might need more liquid! Rice will lend a more creamy texture!
- Garnish with fresh herbs like chopped chives, or fresh dill or parsley!
- Add additional vegetables! You can add diced carrots and celery for a more traditional chicken noodle soup, with the Greek twist of lemon and feta!
- Use rotisserie chicken for ease! You can skip cooking the chicken and simply add shredded rotisserie chicken if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use rotisserie chicken instead?Absolutely! If you have leftover chicken on hand, you can definitely make this Greek chicken soup recipe with shredded rotisserie chicken or any chicken you have.
Can I make this soup vegetarian?To make vegetarian greek lemon soup, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth!
Is this soup gluten-free?No! Couscous is not gluten-free. If you want to make a gluten free Greek lemon chicken soup recipe, simply omit the couscous or add a gluten free alternative like rice, quinoa, or gluten-free orzo pasta.
What goes good with lemony chicken soup?Dish your lemony chicken soup up on its own or serve it with breadsticks and a Greek salad!
How should I store Greek lemon chicken soup?To store any leftovers, place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the fridge! To freeze, place the cooled soup in a zip bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and warm up in a sauce pan on the stovetop before serving! Or, simply reheat in the microwave!
Looking for More Soup Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sweet onion
- 1 large lemon, zested
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup Israeli couscous (pearl)
- 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 2 ounces crumbled feta
- 1/3 cup chopped chive
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the olive oil in a large 6-8 quart sauce pot over medium-low heat. Peel the onion. Then quarter it and slice into thin strips. Once the oil is hot, saute the onion and minced garlic for 3-4 minutes to soften.
- Add the chicken broth, raw chicken breasts, lemon zest, and crushed red pepper to the pot. Raise the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the couscous, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste. Simmer another 5 minutes. Then turn the heat off.
- Using tongs, remove the two chicken breasts from the pot. Use a fork and the tongs to shred the chicken. Then place it back in the pot. Stir in the crumbled feta cheese and chopped chive. Taste and salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.
I’ve made this a couple of times using Leftover rotisserie chicken with a few tweaks and it’s fabulous. I have celiac so use rice instead of couscous. Since we love spicy I add a generous dollop of my favorite, very flavorful hot sauce, Ring of Fire. Not a fan of parsley so omit. Add lemon zest at very end since it retains its flavor better. Love lemon so stir in juiced lemon right before serving. This recipe is a keeper!
What kind of rice did you use and was it the same cooking time?
Thank you!
All I can say is YUM! In the past, whenever I’ve poached chicken I’ve always managed to overcook it somehow. But this recipe turned out perfectly. I made a few tweaks (added more lemon zest and the juice of a lemon to the soup), but stuck to the written recipe closely. I’ll definitely be making this again and again!
-Claire
Wow this really hits the spot. I’m just getting over the stomach flu and needing nourishment and this soup was nourishing and delicious and easy to make. Made as is but for adding the lemon’s juice and more herbs I had on hand (parsley, scallions) at the end. Will make this many times more!
I made this soup last night and I am SO pleasantly surprised how much flavor this soup had with such minimal ingredients and time to make it!! Thank you so much. Everyone is asking me for the recipe and I’m sending your link to them. This is definitely going to be a staple dinner meal…comfort food…whatever meal!!
I made this recipe exactly as stated, but omitted the chives and added parsley. Just didn’t have chives on hand. It was the perfect remedy for day 3 of my stomach flu. I was able to eat this for a couple of days and it was a nice change from bananas and applesauce!! My stomach handled it very well and it was SO tasty. I will make it again even when I’m not sick! Thanks!
I love this recipe. Made it for a second time and used the juice as well as the zest of the lemon, doubled the feta, and almost completely omitted the red pepper because I’m a spicy food wimp. It’s such a good soup if you have a cold or if you just want to warm up with something light.
This is such an amazing soup! It’s easy and delicious and I always get compliments. For a richer soup I sometimes use trimmed chicken thighs. Thank you!
This is really yummy. I halved the recipe, which yielded about 4 servings. I added extra couscous (3/4 cups rather than a half cup for a halved recipe), used about 3/4 of a whole lemon’s zest (versus half), and added in a squeeze of lemon juice. I also didn’t have chives so I used cilantro and didn’t have feta so I used goat cheese. It was really good, simple and so very easy, and made even better leftovers. Thanks for a great, easy recipe. Perfect for day 3 of a flu, being on the mend.
Excited to try this! Do you think I could sub quinoa for couscous?
Hi Victoria,
Yes! However, you may need to let it cook a little longer.
This is a very good simple soup. Thanks for the recipe.
Loved this!! So easy and so flavorful. Thank you for sha r Ong!
I guess I put too much lemon juice in. The soup is much too sour.
What can I do to remedy that?
You aren’t meant to add the juice, only the zest