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.
Delicious, easy, simple! We enjoyed this soup and will make it again. May add more veggies next time. The broth is so tasty. Thank you!!
This was delicious! I added an extra 1/2 of a lemon zest (I made this once before, and it wasn’t lemony enough for me) 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and used quinoa. My boyfriend already asked if I can make it again next week. This ones a keeper. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
OMG. this is wonderful!!! I used egg noodles instead of the couscous, otherwise made as written. This will become a staple, absolutely!
I made this recipe tonight and holy cow it’s a keeper! My house likes spice so we added a little more than 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper. The soup was perfect in every way!
I made this today and it has lots of flavour but I used 1 cup of couscous and the consistency turned out almost like oatmeal! WHat did I do wrong wrong. I’ve never used couscous before?
Hi Jackie,
Hmmm…. Did you used pearl couscous, or just plain (itty-bitty) couscous?
Question…
Want to make this Greek Lemon Chicken soup for a pot luck. If I make the night before, how will the couscous and chives hold up?
My plan is to make the night before and then put in a slow cooker the next day on low for about 4 hours to heat by lunch time. Should I add the couscous and chives while in the slow cooker or will it be ok to add when cooking the night before.
I have never used couscous before so just want to make sure it will turn out ok. Thank you.
The couscous does swell by the second day. It’s basically pasta. You’ve got the idea… I would add the couscous and chive when you rewarm the soup base on day two. Usually pasta will cook in a hot slow cooker in about 30 minutes. If everything is cold, it will take 60 – 90 minutes.
Delicious!
i loved it..i just added mushrooms to mine
This soup is very good, but I also made my own chicken stock by boiling the chicken first. But, that may require the addition of salt to strengthen the flavor, so I added lemon pepper, plus the juice of the lemon for a more lemony flavor, which I prefer. I used orzo instead of couscous. If you like it hotter in flavor, you can add some red or green hot pepper sauce – and it becomes almost like an Asian hot and sour. Many variations of this recipe will work.
This soup was AMAZING!!! Once more, you scored a home run!!
This is my favorite soup recipe!! I have made it several times and it’s a staple in our home. This soup is perfect for you if you are feeling like you are getting sick (cold)…knocks it out completely ❤️
I love lemon so I use two fresh ones to both grate and I add the juice in the end when you add the feta and chives. Tastes even better the next day after bending the flavors. Yum!!
I have altered this recipe to make it my own but I still love it!
I am not a fan of couscous so I substituted orzo pasta instead.
I love a lemony flavor so in addition to the lemon zest I included the juice from the lemon as well.
I don’t like feta so I use the mexican cheese cotija! Yum. Yum. Yum.