Giouvarlakia (Greek Meatball Soup)

Giouvarlakia is a traditional Greek meatball soup that’s hearty, warming and just the perfect treat for a cold day. Served in a deliciously flavorful avgolemono sauce, giouvarlakia is super easy to make and possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to meatballs!

Giouvarlakia is an incredible soup to make in winter — it’s so flavorful, homely and warming that it will brighten up the bleakest of days.

Also spelled “youvarlakia”, this soup couldn’t be easier to make. All you have to do is make the meatballs and cook them for 20 minutes in water, then add the egg lemon sauce.

The flavors are amazing for such a simple soup, though. If you’ve never had giouvarlakia, you’re in for a real treat.

While giouvarlakia is technically a soup, it thickens a lot as it cools down and the liquid transforms into a cream.

Don’t worry if you see it turning into something that resembles a sauce — it’s supposed to look like that.

Giouvarlakia is great served with some crusty bread and a bit of feta cheese on the side. In Greece, they sometimes have it with homemade fries, and even though I was a bit skeptical at first, it really works!

Why you’ll love this giouvarlakia recipe

• Packed-full of Mediterranean flavors
• Super easy to make
• A lemony sauce that’s out-of-this-world delicious!

What goes into this Greek meatball soup

Ground beef — I used lean ground beef with 5% fat. The egg and rice act as binders, so you don’t have to worry about the meatballs breaking down if you’re using low-fat ground beef.

Feel free to use your favorite, though, or a mix of ground beef and ground pork.

Onion — It’s best to chop the onion in a food processor, but you can also chop it very finely with a sharp knife.

Rice — Round or medium-grain rice are best for giouvarlakia, but you can also use long-grain rice if needed.

You don’t need to precook the rice before adding it to the meatball mixture.

Garlic — Crush the garlic or add it to the food processor together with the onion.

Olive oil — Extra virgin olive oil is perfect in this recipe — use a Greek one if possible.

Fresh herbs — A mix of fresh parsley, dill and mint infuse a lot of flavor in the meatballs.

Eggs — You need three eggs in total — one goes in the meatballs and the other two in the avgolemono sauce.

Lemons — The juice of two lemons may seem like a lot but it’s really not — you need to feel that lemony flavor in giouvarlakia, it’s what makes it amazing.

How to make giouvarlakia

Start by making the meatballs. Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix until everything is well incorporated and you have a smooth mixture.

Form meatballs with your hands and place them on a platter or tray. Try to make them as equal in size as possible — use a cookie dough scoop if you like.

Place the meatballs in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the water into a large pot or Dutch oven and bring it to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the meatballs to the pot one by one.

Place a lid on the pot and simmer for 20 minutes. While the meatballs are cooking, make the avgolemono by whisking the eggs and lemon juice together in a bowl.

When the meatballs are cooked, take 1-2 ladles of soup from the pot and mix it with the avgolemono sauce to temper it. Add the egg lemon mixture to the pot and simmer for 2-3 minutes without bringing it to a boil.

Season to taste and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. The soup will thicken as it cools down.

Leftovers and storage

• The soup will thicken and become creamy as it sits because of the starch in the rice.
• Leftovers taste amazing, and you can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
• Reheat the soup gently on the stovetop, stirring carefully to avoid breaking up the meatballs.
• I don’t recommend freezing this soup.

Recipe notes and tips

• You can add some diced carrot and celery in the water with the meatballs for a bit of color and extra sweetness.
• Make sure the eggs are at room temperature, and don’t skip the tempering step to avoid curdling.
• You can serve the soup sprinkled with some freshly chopped parsley or fresh dill if you like.

If you liked this giouvarlakia recipe, you might also like some of my other Greek recipes:

• Kokkinisto (Greek Beef Stew)
• Greek Peas Stew with Potatoes (Arakas Latheros)
• Manestra (Greek Orzo with Tomato Sauce)
• Greek Chickpea Soup with Lemon (Revithia)
• Avgolemono — Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

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