Vegetarian Avgolemono Soup | Greek Lemon Chickpea Recipe
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There are some recipes that become part of your regular rotation because they’re simple. Others stay on the menu because they’re comforting. This Vegetarian Avgolemono Soup is both. Lately I have been looking for simple Mediterranean recipes because they are healthy and they embody the food that we grow here in the desert.
VEGETARIAN
RECIPE
MEDITERRANEAN
HEALTHY
Avgolemono is a traditional Greek soup that’s silky, bright, and incredibly satisfying. While it’s most often made with chicken, I love this vegetarian version made with chickpeas. It’s hearty enough to be a meal, packed with vegetables, and comes together with ingredients I almost always have on hand.
Homemade Vegetable Broth Powder
One ingredient I never skip is my Homemade Vegetable Broth Powder. I use it in soups, rice, beans, roasted vegetables, casseroles—just about anything that needs a boost of rich, homemade flavor. Instead of opening cartons of broth, I simply stir a few tablespoons into water and have a deeply flavorful stock in seconds. It’s one of the hardest-working staples in my kitchen.
If you haven’t made a batch yet, be sure to make my Homemade Vegetable Broth Powder first. Once you have it in your pantry, meals like this become incredibly easy.
Why This Soup Belongs on an Arizona Homestead
One of the reasons I love Mediterranean cooking is how naturally it fits life here in Arizona.
When you look at the climates around the Mediterranean Sea, you’ll notice they have much in common with our own desert environment. We can grow many of the same herbs, vegetables, and fruit that have been staples there for thousands of years.
Fresh carrots, celery, garlic, lemons, dill, olive trees, and backyard chickens all thrive in many Arizona gardens with the right care. Really, the only thing we’re missing is the sea.
That’s why I often encourage people to look to Mediterranean regions for both garden inspiration and meal ideas. Their traditional recipes rely on seasonal ingredients, simple flavors, and preserving the harvest—exactly the kind of cooking that works well on an Arizona homestead
Vegetarian Avgolemono Soup | Easy Greek Lemon Chickpea Soup
Make this on Sunday and eat it all week long
Ingredients
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16 ounces cooked chickpeas (or canned, drained and rinsed)
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OR 4 quarts water plus 1 level tablespoon salt
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2 tablespoons Homemade Vegetable Broth Powder plus 4 quarts water
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2 carrots, chopped into ½-inch pieces 2 celery stalks, chopped into ½-inch pieces (include the leaves if you have them
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2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
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Juice of 1 lemon
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2–4 eggs (use 2 for a lighter soup or 4 for extra richness)
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1 tablespoon dried or fresh dill
- Olive oil for serving
1. Whisking egg whites to a foam
2. Adding lemon juice to egg yolks
3. Whisking yolk mixture with egg whites
4. Tempering egg mixture with a ladel of hot soup
5. Stirring tempered eggs to soup
Instructions (Step-by-Step)
- Add the chickpeas, Homemade Vegetable Broth Powder, water, carrots, celery, and garlic to the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and cook on Manual (High Pressure) for 55 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally.
- While the soup is still hot, separate the egg whites from the yolks.
- Beat the egg whites until foamy.
- Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth.
- Stir in the lemon juice.
- Slowly whisk about ½ cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture to temper it.
- Pour the tempered egg mixture into the hot soup while stirring gently. The broth will become creamy and take on its signature silky, milky appearance.
- Stir in the dill or sprinkle it over each serving.
- Finish each bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
Serve with crusty bread or a simple garden salad.
Save some cooked chickpeas for hummus or salads
Whenever I make this soup, I intentionally cook a little extra chickpeas.
Before serving, I like to scoop out about a pint of the cooked chickpeas and keep them in the refrigerator. They’re delicious tossed into salads, blended into homemade hummus, or added to grain bowls throughout the week. Their flavor after cooking in the vegetable broth is absolutely wonderful.
Mediterranean Must-Have Plants for Your Arizona Garden
- Fig trees
- Bay Laurel trees
- Lemon trees
- Olive Trees
- Artichokes
- Grape Vines
- Caper Plants
- Rosemary
- Lavender
- Dill
- Garlic
- Garlic Chives
- Marjoram
- Mint
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Sage
- Thyme
- Arugula
- Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers
For Arizona Foragers
Even if you don’t have a garden, you can often forage for these in your neighborhood.
Common landscape plants you can forage include:
- Lemons
- Olives
- Rosemary
- Grape Leaves
Wild plants you can forage in cooler areas of Arizona include:
- Wild Grape Leaves
- Mint
- Wild Greens like Rocket and Mustard
- Pine Nuts
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Homesteading Resources
At Blooming Ranch, we believe that building a deep connection to the land starts with learning from those who know it best. Whether you’re a curious beginner or a seasoned homesteader, having the right guidance can make all the difference. We’ve gathered a list of our favorite resources—books, websites, teachers, and tools—that have inspired and informed our own journey in foraging and homesteading here in Arizona. These trusted sources offer practical wisdom, regional expertise, and a deep respect for the desert landscape.
Gaia’s Garden
Toby Hemenway
Southwest Foraging
John Slattery
Southwest Medicinal Plants
John Slattery
Medicinal Plants of the American Southwest
Charles Kane
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