Avgolemono: eggs and lemon thicken it, skin and butter need not.
Avgolemono is chicken and rice soup thickened with beaten egg and lemon. Use breast, five eggs becoming three and a spoon of oil in place of butter, and a bowl goes from 403 to 274 kcal.
- 274 kcal a serving, down from 403 for the classic, with 30 g protein, 20 g carbs and 8 g fat
- 3 swaps, each with what it does to a serving, and 2 ways to add protein, up to 42 g a serving
- 6 servings, weighed at 3,200 g when finished, from 10 USDA FoodData Central entries in the library
Classic vs lighter, per serving.
The same avgolemono soup, made two ways from the same library entries and the same 6 servings. The lighter version is the one built on the screens below.
| Per serving | Classic | Lighter | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| kcal | 403 | 274 | −129 |
| Protein g | 27 | 30 | +3 |
| Carbs g | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Fat g | 24 | 8 | −16 |
| Saturated fat g | 8.3 | 2.1 | −6.2 |
Saturated fat comes from the same USDA entries; the recipe sheet itself shows calories, protein, carbs and fat. Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice.
Swap by swap.
Each change in turn, from the classic to the lighter version, and what it does to one serving.
1. Poach breast, not skin-on thigh
−84 kcal, +5 g protein, −12 g fat, −3.3 g saturated fat a serving
For the same 500 g, 84 kcal and 12 g of fat less a bowl.
2. Use 150 g of eggs, not 250 g
−24 kcal, −2 g protein, −1 g fat, −0.5 g saturated fat a serving
Three eggs still thicken the soup. The other two were 24 kcal a bowl.
3. Soften the onion in 10 g of oil, not 30 g of butter
−21 kcal, −3 g fat, −2.4 g saturated fat a serving
A spoon of oil does the same job: 21 kcal and 2.4 g of saturated fat less a bowl.
More protein, if you need it.
Hitting a protein target is the hard part for most people. Each option is added to the lighter version on its own, with what it does to a serving of 30 g protein and 274 kcal. Save the one you like as its own recipe.
Use 800 g of chicken
+60 kcal, +12 g protein, +2 g fat, +0.3 g saturated fat a serving, making 42 g protein a serving
Another 300 g of skinless breast adds 12 g of protein a bowl for 60 kcal.
Whisk in 300 g of egg whites
+26 kcal, +6 g protein a serving, making 36 g protein a serving
Whites thicken the soup without the yolk: 6 g more protein a bowl for 26 kcal.
Oil and fat: the type changes the fat, the amount changes the calories.
The three oils below are each 884 kcal per 100 g, and ghee is within a few calories of them. Swapping one for another moves the saturated fat, not the calories; using less is what saves them. Butter is lower per gram only because part of it is water.
| Fat, per tablespoon, 14 g | kcal | Fat g | Sat fat g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 124 | 14 | 1.9 |
| Canola oil | 124 | 14 | 1.0 |
| Avocado oil | 124 | 14 | 1.6 |
| Ghee (butter oil) | 123 | 14 | 8.7 |
| Butter, salted | 100 | 11 | 7.2 |
The sample data
These are the amounts of the lighter version used on the screens below, with each figure taken from the library entry for that ingredient. They are sample figures for a pot or tray of this size, not a measurement of anyone's kitchen.
| Ingredient | Amount | kcal | Protein g | Carbs g | Fat g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, skinless, raw | 500 g | 600 | 113 | 0 | 13 |
| Chicken broth, low sodium | 2,000 g | 320 | 40 | 24 | 12 |
| White rice, raw | 75 g | 274 | 5 | 60 | 0 |
| Eggs, whole, raw | 150 g | 215 | 19 | 1 | 14 |
| Lemon juice | 120 g | 26 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Onions, raw | 150 g | 60 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Carrots, raw | 100 g | 41 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Celery, raw | 80 g | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Dill weed, fresh | 15 g | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Olive oil | 10 g | 88 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Whole recipe | 3,200 g | 1,641 | 182 | 120 | 49 |
| Per serving (6) | 533 g | 274 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice. Ingredient values are from USDA FoodData Central, which is in the public domain.
Why this recipe
Avgolemono is a good recipe to build because the bowl looks light and the richness is hidden in the egg, the butter and the chicken skin. Building it as one pot gives you a bowl that already includes the rice and the chicken.
What to weigh
Weigh the chicken raw and the rice dry. The soup stays a soup, so the pot weighs 3,200 g from 3,200 g of ingredients and a bowl is 533 g.
The full workflow, in four steps.
1. Open Create a recipe and search the library
Open Add food, choose Create a recipe and name it, then choose Add ingredient. Typing "chicken breast skinless" lists the entries, raw and cooked.
2. Enter the amount you weighed
Pick the raw, skinless breast, switch to grams and enter what the scale showed. The sheet shows 600 kcal for the chicken.
3. Add the rest, then set the servings and finished weight
Add the broth, rice, eggs, lemon, onion, carrot, celery, dill and oil, then enter 6 servings and 3,200 g. One bowl comes to 274 kcal.
4. Save it and log a serving
Save the recipe and it becomes one of your own foods, ready to log by the bowl or any weight.
Tips while you build it
- Temper the beaten eggs and lemon with a ladle of hot broth before adding them to the pot, and keep the soup below a boil so it stays silky.
- Shred the chicken after poaching and return it to the pot. It spreads further through the bowl that way.
- A bowl is about 533 g. Log by weight when you are measuring.
Go further
- Making the richer version? Save a second recipe with skin-on thigh, 250 g of egg and 30 g of butter.
- Serving it with bread? Log the bread as its own food.
Each change is a second recipe with its own name, so the first stays as you built it.
Avgolemono soup questions.
How many calories are in avgolemono?
It depends on the chicken, the eggs and the fat. The sample comes to 274 kcal a bowl made lighter, with 30 g protein, 20 g carbs and 8 g fat, against 403 kcal with skin-on thigh, 250 g of egg and 30 g of butter.
Why did my soup curdle?
The eggs cooked too fast. Temper them with hot broth and keep the soup below a boil.
Can I use orzo instead of rice?
Yes. Use the dry pasta entry in the library and enter the dry weight.
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Cook it once. Log it for good.
Build a lighter version of your own greek favourite in Nutrition.