This chicken and barley soup is delicious, wholesome, and a comforting meal to stay warm during cold weather. Surprise yourself with this healthy and nutrient-packed bowl of warm soup.
I love eating soups. Especially during the winter months, when the weather outside is always planning on taking revenge on us, a bowl of warm soup is the real comforter. You will agree with me if you live in areas that experience snowfalls.
And my love for soups inspires me to try out different recipes in my kitchen. I have shared some successful recipes in the past here for you all to enjoy. In particular, the healthy vegetarian barley soup is one of the most popular soup recipes on our blog to date. It has been shared more than 200,000 times on Pinterest. Your response and love motivate us to keep going on!
How to make chicken barley soup?
Eager to know about this hearty chicken and barley soup recipe?
As its name suggests, it is made using whole grain barley and chicken. I also used some celery stalks to further boost its fiber content. And I feel onion, garlic, ginger, and some fresh herbs (I used thyme) are a must to enhance the flavors.
Stir-fry bite-sized chicken pieces in a stockpot with some seasonings like salt, pepper, and smoked paprika to make this soup. We enjoyed the flavors of smoked paprika in this soup. Take out the chicken once done, and then cook the remaining ingredients (onion, tomato, celery, etc. ) with chicken stock and water until the barley is nice and tender. Step-by-step instructions are given below.
How this chicken and barley soup is healthy?
This homemade barley soup is healthy due to all the clean ingredients used in making it.
- Whole grain barley is a rich source of essential nutrients such as dietary fiber, protein, and vitamin B. It is also rich in dietary minerals like manganese and phosphorous.
- Chicken is one of the leaner meat. It is a very good source of protein, vitamin B, and niacin. (1)
- Celery provides low-calorie dietary fiber that helps to lose weight.
📖 Recipe
Hearty Chicken and Barley Soup
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Ingredients
- ¾ cup barley raw
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken cut into bite size pieces
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 medium tomato chopped
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2-3 springs of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- ½" ginger finely julienned
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika divided
- 3 cup organic chicken stock low sodium
- 3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a stock pot on medium to high heat. Add chicken, salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. Sauté chicken for about 5-6 min or until tender and all the water has evaporated. Take out the chicken and keep aside
- In the same pot, add minced garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant for about 30 sec. Then add onion and sauté until translucent
- Add chopped tomatoes and cook for about 2-3 min.
- Add celery, barley, chicken stock and water. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Then add fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and the remaining smoked paprika. Simmer the mixture on low heat for about 25 to 30 min.
- Add cooked chicken, adjust seasonings, if necessary and simmer for about 5 min.
Notes
- You can cook chicken breast or thigh first and then cut them into bite size pieces. However, make sure that the chicken is well done
- If you don't like ginger, you can skip it altogether
- You can also add vegetables like carrot, spinach, peppers etc. to make it even more healthy (and colorful!).
- Looking for meatless version? Follow this recipe to make Vegetable Barley Soup
Nutrition
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