Name: Chicken and vegetable soup
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 400 g Chicken breast fillet or strips; 500 g Potatoes; 300 g Soup vegetables (carrot, swede, celeriac); 100 g Leek; 1000 g Chicken or vegetable stock; 10 g Rapeseed or olive oil; 5 g Seasonings (salt, allspice, bay leaf, parsley)

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Chicken and vegetable soup

Published 6 August 2026 · Johannes P.

⏱ 40 min4 servings, kcal / serving

A flexible chicken and vegetable soup with weighed ingredients and four easy weekday portions.

A soup that adapts to the vegetables available

This chicken soup is intentionally flexible. Potatoes and root vegetables form the base, while the remaining vegetables can follow what is available in the refrigerator or freezer. Flexibility does not mean the calculation has to be vague. I weigh what goes into the saucepan and update the recipe when I make a meaningful replacement.

When I started tracking food, soup portions were difficult to estimate after cooking. Water changes the weight without adding energy. My practical solution is to record all ingredients, weigh the finished batch when possible and divide that weight between the actual containers. The number per one hundred grams can change with evaporation, but the energy in the ingredients remains in the pot.

Cooking chicken safely without drying it out

I sear the chicken strips briefly at the start and let them finish cooking gently in the soup. A gentle simmer rather than a hard boil keeps the meat from drying out. Pieces should be similar in size and fully cooked before serving. Raw chicken requires separate utensils and careful hand washing so it does not contaminate ready-to-eat ingredients.

Chicken stock can be salty, so I taste near the end instead of adding salt automatically. Parsley, leek, allspice and bay leaf provide flavour without needing a complicated seasoning mix. Lemon juice can brighten a flat soup, while a small amount of chilli changes its character without changing the basic method.

Making the soup useful later

I cool the soup promptly and divide it into containers. It keeps well for several lunches and can be frozen, although potato texture may soften after thawing. When reheating, stir the portion so the heat is distributed and make sure the chicken becomes hot throughout.

This soup supported the kind of routine that worked during my loss of more than 40 kilograms: cook enough, know roughly what a portion contains and keep an easy meal available. It is not special diet food. It is simply ordinary food arranged in a way that makes consistent tracking easier.

Weighing a soup batch in practice

Before cooking, I note the empty saucepan weight or transfer the finished soup to another known container. Once the soup is ready, I weigh the whole batch and subtract the container. Dividing that number by four gives a repeatable serving weight. Extra water changes the weight per one hundred grams but does not add calories, which is why the final batch weight matters.

The soup often thickens slightly in the refrigerator as potatoes and vegetables absorb liquid. I add water only when reheating the individual portion. If I serve bread, spread or another side with it, those foods are logged separately rather than being hidden inside the soup calculation.

Sources and notes

The nutrition values use the same ingredient amounts and product values as the Finnish recipe. Brands and the finished weight can change the estimate. Sources reviewed 6 August 2026: Fineli, Finnish Food Authority and EFSA.

Note: This recipe shares my personal cooking and tracking experience. It is general information, not individual medical or nutritional advice.

About the author

Johannes P. is a self taught, 24 year old fitness enthusiast who lost more than 40 kilograms. That experience inspired him to build RestinCal as a simple and free nutrition tracking service.

Nutrition

kcal

Protein

Carbs

Fat

Fiber,

Sugar,

Saturated fat,

Salt,

Select ingredients included in the calculation:

Ingredients (4 servings)

Chicken breast fillet or strips400 g

Potatoes500 g (about 5–6)

Soup vegetables (carrot, swede, celeriac)300 g

Leek100 g (1 smallish piece)

Chicken or vegetable stock1000 g (1 litre)

Rapeseed or olive oil10 g (1 tbsp)

Seasonings (salt, allspice, bay leaf, parsley)5 g

Instructions

Peel the potatoes and soup vegetables and cut them into generous bite-sized cubes. Rinse and slice the leek.

Heat the oil in the bottom of a saucepan. Add the chicken strips and cook them lightly for a few minutes, until the surface changes colour.

Add the sliced leek and the diced soup vegetables to the pan. Stir the ingredients in the oil for a minute.

Pour the chicken or vegetable stock into the pan. Add the whole allspice berries and the bay leaf. Bring to the boil.

Add the diced potatoes to the boiling soup. Let the soup simmer gently under a lid for about 15–20 minutes, until the potatoes and vegetables are fully cooked and soft.

Remove the bay leaf from the pan. Check the salt and add plenty of chopped fresh parsley before serving.

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