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
Mediterranean chicken and chickpea soup
Chicken, chickpeas and soft vegetables in an oregano broth.
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 chicken cooks through in 8 to 10 minutes
- Photograph the finished bowls
- Time
- About 35 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 350 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 38 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
No regulated allergens in the ingredients as listed. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- chicken stock. Stock often contains celery, and sometimes gluten or soya; check the label.
Cooking steps
Warm the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the carrot for 6 minutes.
Add the stock, chickpeas and oregano and simmer for 10 minutes, until the carrot is nearly tender.
Add the chicken and the courgette and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the courgette still holds its shape.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F in the thickest part. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
Stir in the parsley and serve.
The useful detail
Add courgette near the end so it retains some shape. Ten minutes is its limit in a simmering broth; beyond that it collapses into threads.
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.
White beans instead of chickpeas
Softer, and they thicken the broth as they break down.
Per serving: about 25 kcal less, about the same protein, about 2 g less fat.
Green beans instead of courgette
Firmer, and they keep their colour better.
Per serving: about 10 kcal more, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A clear soup with a full portion of chicken and the fibre of a tin of chickpeas, which is what makes it a meal rather than a starter.
| Energy | 350 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 38 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| of which sugars | 9 g |
| Fibre | 8 g |
| Sodium | 1,690 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| olive oil | 4.5 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 40 kcal | 0.0 g |
| carrot | 100 g | FDC 170393Carrots, raw | 41 kcal | 0.9 g |
| chicken stock | 735 g | FDC 174536Soup, chicken broth, ready-to-serve | 44 kcal | 4.7 g |
| chickpeas | 180 g | FDC 173800Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained solids | 250 kcal | 12.7 g |
| dried oregano | 0.5 g | FDC 171328Spices, oregano, dried | 1 kcal | 0.0 g |
| chicken breast | 250 g | FDC 171077Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, raw | 300 kcal | 56.3 g |
| courgette | 150 g | FDC 169291Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, raw | 26 kcal | 1.8 g |
| parsley | 5 g | FDC 170416Parsley, fresh | 2 kcal | 0.1 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 704 kcal | 76.6 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.
- 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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Roasted squash and white beans blended into a smooth sage soup.
About 50 min · 345 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
Vegetarian