Portuguese-Style Chicken and Lemon Soup
Rich, aromatic and wonderfully comforting! This Portuguese-style chicken soup is brightened with lemon juice and fresh mint. It is simple to prepare, pleasantly tangy and perfect for colder days.
Updated : 08 September, 2026
Easy
About 30 min.
Ingredients
600 grams
Chicken
1
Lemon
1
Onions
20 grams
Parsley
20 grams
Mint
150 grams
Rice
1
Celery stalk
2 tablespoon
Olive oil
1
Chili pepper
to taste
Salt
to taste
Ground black pepper
2 liter
Water
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. For a richer broth, use chilled chicken legs, thighs or wings rather than breast meat. You can replace the olive oil with sunflower oil and the rice with orzo pasta.
Step 2
Wash and dry the lemon thoroughly. Finely grate the zest, then set the lemon aside for later.
Step 3
Rinse the chicken and place it in a soup pot. Rinse the herbs and vegetables, cut the celery and chili into medium-sized pieces, peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Add everything to the pot together with half of the mint, the parsley and the lemon zest.
Step 4
Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through, skimming off any foam that forms.
Step 5
Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and strain the broth through a fine sieve, several layers of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel. Discard the cooked vegetables and herbs. Season the broth with salt and ground black pepper, add the olive oil and return it to the stove. Once it boils, add the rice.
Step 6
Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and separate the meat into bite-sized pieces.
Step 7
Add the chicken pieces to the soup and cook with the rice for approximately 10–15 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add as much as desired at the end of cooking, tasting the soup as you go.
Step 8
Finely chop the remaining mint with a knife.
Step 9
Stir the chopped mint into the finished soup. Ladle the hot chicken, rice and lemon soup into bowls and, if desired, garnish with fresh herbs and a lemon wedge.
Author note
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