Lemony Greek Meatball Soup
A fragrant, Greek-inspired lemon and orzo soup with lamb meatballs, spinach, and orzo…This Greek Meatball Soup is reminiscent of avgolemono, combining Mediterranean flavors in a hearty and healthy soup that may have you dancing the Kalamatiano (Greek folk dance)…
Αυγολέμονο με αρνί Κεφτεδάκια και σπανάκι or Avgolémono me arní Keftedákia kai spanáki…
Loosely translated: egg lemon with lamb meatballs and spinach.
👩🏻🍳 Tamara Talks – About Greek Meatball Soup Inspiration
Say What? Language fascinates me. I bemoan the fact that I haven’t the time to learn Spanish, polish my French, expand my English vocabulary… Google Translate allows me to translate the names of my recipes. The above highlighted sentence is the Greek translation of my recipe in both the Greek and the Roman alphabet.
When it comes to creating and developing new dishes, I enjoy learning something about the country that inspired it. I love Mediterranean food, and this Greek-inspired soup is one that I’ve gone back to time and again over the years.
I call this soup Greek Meatball Soup, but it started with a Greek classic – avgolemono. Avgolemono means “egg and lemon.” Greek is difficult for English-speakers because they use the Greek (rather than our Roman) alphabet… Interesting? I love to chase rabbits. 😉
The ground lamb meatballs and orzo seemed a natural choice with the egg and lemon soup. The addition of fresh spinach leaves makes this a very nutritious one-pot, one-dish meal.
Ground lamb can be part of your healthy diet, though I recommend eating any red meat infrequently. For more recipes, see Ground Lamb Recipes. It really is a quick-cooking and versatile meat!
📋 Ingredients Notes
Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.
Meatballs
- ground lamb – You can substitute ground beef or bison if you have an aversion to ground lamb.
- onion
- garlic
- dill – Of course fresh dill is lovely, but not always available. Substitute dried dill if necessary (recipe card has the amounts).
- flat leaf parsley
- lemon – You need the zest for the meatballs, and the juice for the soup.
- egg
- bread crumbs
For the Greek Meatball Soup
- chicken stock or broth
- eggs
- fresh lemon juice – You’ll need the zest of the lemon for the meatball mixture, and the juice for the soup.
- orzo – While I specify orzo, rice is an excellent substitution.
- baby spinach – Baby spinach is an easy choice because it wilts in the hot soup and no additional cooking time is necessary. If you choose to substitute other greens, you may need additional cooking time, and you’ll want to add it before the eggs. Overcooking the tempered eggs can cause curdling.
- parsley to garnish
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
On to the recipe… The creamy, lemony base (avgolemono) for this soup is both light and filling. Adding fresh lemon juice and egg into the chicken broth thickens the soup and adds complexity. Care must be taken by tempering the eggs to keep it from curdling and thus resembling Chinese egg drop soup.
Make the Meatballs
- Combine ground lamb with onion, garlic, parsley, dill, egg, zest, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix until very well-combined. (A rubber spatula works well.)
- Working with a walnut-sized amount, roll meatballs. Saute in a small amount of olive oil until lightly brown on at least 2 sides.
- Add meatballs to the hot (not boiling) stock. Bring to a low simmer. Do NOT boil. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes to make sure the meatballs are completely cooked. The length of time depends on the size of your meatballs.
Finish the Soup
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine lemon juice and eggs.
- Beat with a whisk or fork until smooth and creamy.
- Temper the eggs: Using a ladle, take a small amount (about 2 tbsp.) of stock and whisk into the egg mixture.
- Repeat a few more times until the egg mixture is warm. Take your time! Adding too much hot liquid at one time will scramble your eggs.
- Add the tempered egg mixture into the soup pot with the heat on low. You don’t want to boil the soup from this point on, or the soup may “break” and resemble egg drop soup rather than the creamy soup we hope to achieve.
- Add the fresh spinach, and orzo or rice.
- Stir gently to combine. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and/or pepper if necessary.
- Heat gently for about 5 minutes. Again, don’t allow the soup to boil.
- Ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Garnish with toast and fresh parsley.
💭 Tips
Make the best lamb meatballs – Add onion to a food processor, and pulse several times. Scoop into a strainer, and press out excess liquid. This results in a firmer meatball with a better texture.
Make a double batch of meatball mixture, and freeze half for later use – either cooked or uncooked.
This recipe is a great way to use leftover rice, or you can use orzo (a favorite at our house!).
You can make this soup in one pot. Choose a pot large enough to hold 6 cups of broth/stock and the other ingredients. I like my Dutch oven. After browning the meatballs, set them aside, and use the same pot to heat the broth/stock.
🥘 Substitutions?
- If you must, you can substitute ground sirloin for the lamb, but you will lose a bit of the “Greek” flavor.
- Left over white or brown rice works really well in this soup.
- Don’t try to substitute frozen spinach. It needs to wilt in the hot stock.
- Fresh lemon juice is best, and I like to use the zest in the meatball mixture, but you can get away with bottled lemon juice.
- Fresh or dried dill is fine in the meatball mixture.
🥚 Tempering the Eggs
- Break the eggs into a small mixing bowl.
- Add fresh lemon juice.
- Beat with a fork until smooth and creamy.
- Using a ladle, add a small amount of hot stock, and beat it into the egg mixture.
- Repeat with additional stock several more times.
- With a wooden spoon, stir the pot slowly to keep from breaking your meatballs.
- With the other hand, pour the tempered egg mixture into the pot.
- Stir until completely combined.
- Turn the heat all the way down to keep the soup hot while you finish it.
❓ FAQ
No. The orzo (or rice) continue to absorb the broth, and it turns to mush.
We love this Greek lemon soup with meatballs with a medium-bodied red wine like a zinfandel or a sangiovese. If you prefer a white wine, try an oaked chardonnay or bordeaux blanc. Happy cooking!
Greek Meatball Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 small onion - finely minced or processed
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill - finely chopped (1 teaspoon dried)
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley - finely chopped
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 egg - beaten
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
For the Soup
- 6 cups good quality chicken stock or broth - I use homemade or Trader Joe’s brand
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice - 1 juicy lemon
- 2 cups cooked rice or orzo
- 5-6 ounce bag of baby spinach
- parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Heat stock in a large pot or dutch oven.
Make the Meatballs
- Combine ground lamb with onion, garlic, parsley, dill, egg, zest, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix until very well-combined. Use your hands or a rubber spatula.
- Working with a walnut-sized amount, roll meatballs. Saute in a small amount of olive oil until lightly brown on at least 2 sides.
- Add meatballs to the hot (not boiling) stock. Bring to a low simmer. Do NOT boil. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes to make sure the meatballs are completely cooked. The length of time depends on the size of your meatballs.
Finish the Soup
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine lemon juice and eggs.
- Beat with a whisk or fork until smooth and creamy.
- Temper the eggs: Using a ladle, take a small amount (about 2 tbsp.) of stock and whisk into the egg mixture.
- Repeat a few more times until the egg mixture is warm. Take your time! Adding too much hot liquid at one time will scramble your eggs.
- Add the tempered egg mixture into the soup pot with the heat on low. You don’t want to boil the soup from this point on, or the soup may "break" and resemble egg drop soup rather than the creamy soup we hope to achieve.
- Add the fresh spinach, and orzo or rice.
- Stir gently to combine. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and/or pepper if necessary.
- Heat gently for about 5 minutes. Again, don’t allow the soup to boil.
- Ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Garnish with toast and fresh parsley.
Nutrition
NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Excellent recipe, very simple instructions, and you only need a few ingredients. I had some lamb from a friend’s farm and was not feeling like the usual meditteranian bowl. This soup/stew was deliciously fresh and filling. The meatballs were exquisete.
Thank you so much Bill for taking time to provide feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Great instructions, great taste. I ran across this recipe accidentally and it helped me use up stuff laying around – I had everything on hand. I did not make these meatballs because I had leftover Greek meatballs to use up but it was quite similar to Tamara’s ( my leftover meatballs have toasted pine nuts). Served the soup with our left over garlic naan. I cook ALOT from scratch and I eat a HUGE variety of cuisines. This soup was a change of pace for us with the lemon egg. I worried that it would be bland but, no, it had plenty of interest and that is for people who love and eat Thai, TexMex, any and everything. I followed the instructions and amounts exactly. This is a keeper.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup! I just made it again this week in an attempt to get better photos… I’m a border girl that loves all the chiles, and I agree, this recipe has plenty of flavor!
This is one beautiful dish and your photography is amazing!
Thank you so much Julie! I’m especially appreciative of your comment on the photos, as I still find that to be my greatest challenge 🙂
It looks wonderful! I hope to try the beef variation …
Sounds amazing! I will definitely try this one!
Let me know how it turns out! I’ve been making this for years, so it’s interesting to know if writing it down yields the same results…