Most “creamy” soups get their body from butter, cream or a roux. Avgolemono gets it from eggs and lemon whisked into hot broth. That’s the whole trick. You end up with a soup that coats the spoon and tastes like a treat, on very little fat a bowl.
I make this when I want comfort food that won’t sit heavy. It’s also stupidly cheap.
Serves 4. Roughly 4.5 g fat and 195 kcal per serving.
Phase & care: Gentle. Chicken breast, white rice, egg and lemon are all P1 for me. One egg a day is my P1 limit, so I keep portions sensible. Yours may differ.
Ingredients
- 1.2 litres low-fat chicken broth (skim any fat off the top first)
- 80g long-grain rice (or orzo)
- 2 eggs
- Juice of 1.5 lemons
- 150g cooked skinless chicken breast, shredded (optional)
- Salt, fresh dill
Method
- Bring the broth to a simmer. Add the rice and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs hard, then whisk in the lemon juice.
- Temper the eggs: ladle a cup of hot broth into the egg mix slowly while whisking, so they warm without scrambling. Do this twice.
- Pour the egg mix back into the pot off the heat. Stir. Don’t let it boil after this or it’ll curdle.
- Add the chicken if using. Season with salt, scatter dill, serve.
The tempering is the only step that matters. Rush it and you get scrambled-egg soup. Go slow and you get silk.
Stepan’s rule: If a recipe gets its richness from cream, ask what else could do that job. Eggs, blended beans, pureed vegetables and lemon all build body without the fat.
More like this
Also low fat and easy on a sore pancreas: the lemon-oregano baked chicken with potatoes and the minestrone. The full system, with the fat budget in grams and all 75 recipes, is in the book.
Not medical advice. This recipe reflects one patient’s low-fat approach grounded in published guidance. Fat tolerance is individual. Check with your own healthcare team before changing your diet.