Chicken and leek barley soup
A warm chicken soup with soft leeks, carrots and pearl barley.
About 55 min · 405 kcal · 36 g protein per serving
Chicken, lemon and rice soup
A simple chicken and rice soup finished with lemon and parsley.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the rice is tender in 12 to 15 minutes
- Photograph the finished bowls
- Time
- About 35 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 350 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 35 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains celery. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- chicken stock. Stock often contains celery, and sometimes gluten or soya; check the label.
Cooking steps
Put the rice, carrot and celery in a large pan with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the rice is nearly tender.
Add the chicken and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F in the thickest part. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Add a splash of water if the rice has drunk more broth than you want.
The useful detail
Add lemon at the end so its flavour remains fresh. Simmered, it turns flat and slightly bitter; stirred in off the heat, it stays bright.
Make it work for you
One serving is A large bowl, half the pan. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Turkey breast instead of chicken
Leaner, with the same safe endpoint.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about 1 g more protein, about 1 g less fat.
Orzo instead of rice
The more traditional shape for this soup.
Per serving: about the same energy, about 2 g more protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Adds gluten.
Fennel instead of celery
Sweeter and softer.
Per serving: about 5 kcal more, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Removes celery.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A light, clear soup that still carries a full portion of protein. It is the lowest in fat of the soups here.
| Energy | 350 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 35 g |
| Fat | 5 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 40 g |
| of which sugars | 5 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
| Sodium | 1,880 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| white rice | 80 g | FDC 168877Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched | 292 kcal | 5.7 g |
| carrot | 100 g | FDC 170393Carrots, raw | 41 kcal | 0.9 g |
| celery | 60 g | FDC 169988Celery, raw | 8 kcal | 0.4 g |
| chicken stock | 945 g | FDC 174536Soup, chicken broth, ready-to-serve | 57 kcal | 6.1 g |
| chicken breast | 250 g | FDC 171077Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, raw | 300 kcal | 56.3 g |
| lemon juice | 10 g | FDC 167747Lemon juice, raw | 2 kcal | 0.0 g |
| parsley | 5 g | FDC 170416Parsley, fresh | 2 kcal | 0.1 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 702 kcal | 69.5 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool it quickly, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. The FDA chart gives soups and stews 3 to 4 days. The rice keeps swelling; expect a much thicker soup the next day.
- In the freezer
- The same chart gives soups and stews 2 to 3 months in the freezer for best quality.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout, stirring so it heats evenly.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
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