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October 30, 2015

Slow Cooker Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

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Slow Cooker Greek Lemon Chicken Soup is what you need to make for dinner or lunch this week. It’s fantastically light and lemon-y, it’s brothy and warms your belly. As a bonus, it’s super fast and easy to make. 
Crockpot recipe for Greek lemon chicken soup with couscous and feta cheese
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I came across this Greek lemon soup recipe from a Spicy Perspective the other day. It just looked so light and delicious that I had to make my own version in the slow cooker.  I remembered that I have actually made a Slow Cooker Greek Lemon Rice soup before and that I loved it. It’s just been a while since I made it. So I kind of combined the two recipes into one and the result was perfect to me. My kids gulped it down too. Whenever they eat things that kids typically don’t like it makes me super happy. I know they aren’t perfect but I love that they are willing to try all the foods I make and actually about 90% of the time they enjoy them. Yay for food blogging and it’s unintended results!

Slow Cooker Greek Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe
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Hi All,
Thanks for stopping by J
Do you love slow cooker recipes? Get all my new recipes delivered to your inbox by clicking here (about 2 emails per week).

This recipe is going to start with onions. I like to julienne them (cut them in very thin half moon strips). The onions won’t be overpowering at all, so don’t worry. It’s also going to start with a large amount of minced garlic. I love to use my garlic press for this! It’s so much easier. I also prefer fresh garlic over the jarred minced garlic. But that’s just me. You’ll add the onions and garlic and some chicken broth into the slow cooker.

julienned onions--little half moon slices

Next weigh out some chicken breasts. I like to use my kitchen scale. For this recipe, I used just over a pound of chicken. I also decided to use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs because I knew that the chicken breasts would be enveloped in liquid and remain moist. You’ll add these chicken breasts into the slow cooker whole and then shred them up after they’re done cooking.

one pound of chicken breasts

To get an ultra lemon flavor in your soup, zest a lemon. I like to use a fine grater because I don’t have a microplane. It works great and cost me like $7. Just use the very outer layer of the lemon (the bright yellow skin) because the white pith tends to be bitter. Add the zest into the slow cooker and turn it to low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

zesting a lemon with a cheese grater

After it’s cooked for several hours you’ll juice the lemon that you zested earlier. We’re going to add in fresh lemon juice to brighten up the soup and really give it that lemon flavor.

Juicing a lemon

You’ll now add in 3 egg yolks into the lemon juice and whisk them together. The egg yolk is going to give the soup a creamy factor. If you don’t know how to separate an egg yolk from and egg white here is a good tutorial. You’ll stir this egg yolk/lemon mixture into the hot soup.

whisk in the egg yolks with the lemon juice

And you’ll add in the couscous at this time as well. Couscous can be added in uncooked because it will literally be tender within like 7 minutes in the slow cooker. No need to boil it on the stove.

couscous for greek lemon soup

Serve up the soup with some feta cheese and chives on top and you’ll be in heaven. So yummy! I want to make it again today.

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Greek Lemon Chicken Soup


★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Karen
  • Cook Time: 6-8 hours on low, 3-4 hours on high
  • Total Time: 8 minute
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 7 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used water and broth base by Orrington farms)
  • 1 medium onion, julienned
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 – 1 1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 cup uncooked couscous
  • Salt and pepper
  • Feta cheese
  • Fresh chives

Instructions

  1. Add broth, onions, garlic, lemon zest, chicken and red pepper to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
  2. Whisk together the juice from the lemon and the egg yolks. Add them into the slow cooker and turn the slow cooker to high.
  3. Add in the couscous.
  4. Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Shred or cut into bite size pieces. Add back into the slow cooker.
  5. Cook on high for 10 minutes, or until couscous is tender.
  6. Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and top with a sprinkling of feta cheese and fresh chopped chives.

Notes

Ideal slow cooker: 5-6 quart

You can make this into a freezer meal. Just add bouillon (use this instead of broth), onion, garlic, lemon zest, chicken breast and red pepper to a zipper freezer bag and freeze. When ready to make add contents of bag to the slow cooker. Add in 7 1/2 cups water and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours. Then follow instruction numbers 2-6 above.

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32 Comments Filed Under: 6 or More Hours, All Recipes, Chicken, Healthy, Soups, Slow Cooker Tagged With: 5 stars, All Posts, freezer meals, 4-6 hours

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Cat says

    February 10, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    It’s cold outside today! It’s wonderful to have a bowl of this yummy soup by the fire! <3

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 11, 2022 at 10:37 am

      Yes! comforting!

      Reply
  2. Jess says

    September 6, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    My egg turned to scrambled egg! Not sure what i did wrong

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 7, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      Shoot! Try this next time: Occasionally, a soup recipe will call for beaten eggs as a thickening agent. Both whole eggs and yolks can be used. To avoid curdling the eggs, start by drizzling about 1/2 cup of the hot broth into the eggs, stirring vigorously while you pour. Then add the egg mixture to the soup and cook until thickened

      Reply
  3. Jane says

    August 9, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    This is so delicious. What a nice light summer soup! The Trader Joe’s Greek feta is so good crumbled on top and I also added some fresh thyme leaves. Great recipe…Love the simplicity and I agree fresh garlic makes a difference. Thanks!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 9, 2021 at 7:19 pm

      So glad you enjoyed it Jane! Thanks for the 5 stars.

      Reply
  4. MrsFro says

    February 6, 2021 at 9:58 am

    Is the chicken cooked before putting it in the crock pot or put in raw?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 8, 2021 at 2:22 pm

      it’s raw

      Reply
  5. Rebecca says

    December 20, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    Can you add more lemon juice of you want a more lemony flavor?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 21, 2020 at 3:18 pm

      Of course!

      Reply
  6. Alex Wright says

    December 12, 2018 at 12:04 pm

    This recipe was spot on! So delicious. I added a bag of spinach because I needed to use it up and it was really nice in it too. The couscous added great depth. Thanks so much! New favorite soup!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  7. Julie says

    August 19, 2018 at 11:09 am

    I am going to try this but will use quinoa instead of couscous as I have to eat gluten free. I will let you know how it turns out 😃

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 20, 2018 at 1:40 pm

      sounds great!

      Reply
  8. Theresa Moffitt says

    May 21, 2018 at 5:08 pm

    Can you do this in the Instant Pot??

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 22, 2018 at 10:54 am

      I’m sure you can! I need to try it out to know for sure if it would work but this is how I would do it:
      7 1/2 cups chicken broth
      1 medium onion, julienned
      8 garlic cloves, minced
      1 lemon, zested and juiced
      1 – 1 1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
      1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
      3 egg yolks
      1 cup uncooked couscous
      Salt and pepper
      Feta cheese
      Fresh chives

      INSTRUCTIONS
      Add broth, onions, garlic, lemon zest, chicken and red pepper to the Instant Pot. Cover and secure lid make sure valve is on sealing. High pressure, manual, for 5 minutes.
      10 minute NPR.
      Whisk together the juice from the lemon and the egg yolks. Add them into the pot and turn to saute mode.
      Add in the couscous.
      Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Shred or cut into bite size pieces. Add back into the pot.
      Cook until couscous is tender.
      Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and top with a sprinkling of feta cheese and fresh chopped chives.

      Reply
  9. Cindy says

    January 28, 2017 at 2:52 pm

    Hi, I am excited to make this! How much bouillon do I use if I am making it a freezer meal?

    Reply
  10. Jamie says

    January 28, 2017 at 11:54 am

    I only have wild rice on hand. Would that be okay?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 29, 2017 at 4:31 pm

      I’m sure that would work!

      Reply
  11. Christy says

    January 2, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    Confused. Do you cook 6-8 hours before adding the egg juice mixture then cook more?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 3, 2017 at 12:09 pm

      yep you add the egg at the end. And it will cook quickly because the soup is already very hot/simmering.

      Reply
  12. Jill says

    December 30, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    Can I use orzo pasta instead of couscous? Would I add it at the same time in the recipe?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 3, 2017 at 12:10 pm

      I’m sure you could. Yes, the same time but it may take a few more minutes to cook than couscous.

      Reply
  13. colleen says

    November 10, 2016 at 11:28 pm

    loved the soup even without the feta topping which I completely forgot to add! My bad! I was pleasantly surprised of how mild the lemon taste would be as I expected a more profound taste. will definitely make again.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 11, 2016 at 5:15 pm

      So glad you liked it Colleen! I love this one too 🙂

      Reply
      • Kathryn Zagel says

        February 18, 2018 at 7:51 am

        Making a greek dinner for 10 tonight, going to give this a try…went to Farmers market

        Reply
  14. Ang and Mike says

    March 8, 2016 at 9:47 pm

    Can I do quinoa instead of couscous? It cooks fast too, I'm unsure of how to add it into the crockpot

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      March 11, 2016 at 2:30 am

      yes, I'm sure that would be fine. just rinse the quinoa before adding it in because it is a little bitter. The quinoa might take a little longer to cook than the couscous.

      Reply
  15. Marlene Detierro says

    November 4, 2015 at 9:40 am

    I just made this recipe and it was DELICIOUS! The best lemon chicken recipe, and would be my go to recipe from now on 🙂

    Marlene
    Veritable Whitetail Deer Hunting Ohio

    Reply
  16. MotherWouldKnow says

    November 4, 2015 at 4:40 am

    I don't use my slow cooker often enough. This recipe could definitely convince me to pull it out. Love the combination of flavors and how simple your version is.

    Reply
  17. Kristen Chidsey says

    November 3, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    Love the addition of feta–totally takes this soup over the top!

    Reply
  18. imMERZu says

    November 2, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    I tried it today…the soup is delicious!

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      November 3, 2015 at 4:18 am

      Hooray! So glad you liked it 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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