Lunch

Pearl Barley with Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale

Name: Pearl Barley with Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 40 g Chorizo; 150 g Cooked pearl barley; 120 g Butter beans, tinned and drained; 60 g Kale; 150 g Chicken stock; 1 clove, about 3 g Garlic; Half a tsp Smoked paprika; A squeeze Lemon juice

A little chorizo fried until its oil runs, then barley, butter beans and kale cooked in that oil with stock and smoked paprika. 22 g of protein for 441 kcal.

Calories: 441kcal
Protein: 22g
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 64g

Per serving, makes 1. 15 minutes of work. Published 8 September 2026.

Allergens

Gluten
Celery

Some chorizo contains milk protein. Check the label.
Nearly every stock cube and pot lists celery. Home-made stock without it carries no flag.

Flags follow UK labelling rules and come from the ingredients as listed, not from any particular brand. Check the packet before cooking for somebody with an allergy.

Recipe in pictures

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Pearl Barley with Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale, plated and ready to serve. — The finished recipe. Pearl Barley with Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale

Ingredients 1 to 6 for pearl barley with chorizo, butter beans and kale arranged separately on a dark worktop. — Ingredients 1 to 6. 40 g Chorizo (Forty grams is enough to flavour the whole bowl, because the fat that runs out of it is the cooking oil. As sold. This is where the fat in the dish is.). 150 g Cooked pearl barley (Cooked weight.). 120 g Butter beans, tinned and drained (Drained weight.). 60 g Kale. 150 g Chicken stock (Made up from a cube or a pot.). 1 clove, about 3 g Garlic

Ingredients 7 to 8 for pearl barley with chorizo, butter beans and kale arranged separately on a dark worktop. — Ingredients 7 to 8. Half a tsp Smoked paprika. A squeeze Lemon juice

Pearl Barley with Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale, preparation step 1: Dice the chorizo small and fry it in a dry pan over a medium heat for three minutes until it is crisp and has stained the pan orange. — Step 1. Dice the chorizo small and fry it in a dry pan over a medium heat for three minutes until it is crisp and has stained the pan orange.

Pearl Barley with Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale, preparation step 2: Add the garlic and paprika for thirty seconds, then the barley, beans and stock. Simmer for five minutes, crushing a few beans against the side to thicken it. — Step 2. Add the garlic and paprika for thirty seconds, then the barley, beans and stock. Simmer for five minutes, crushing a few beans against the side to thicken it.

The finished pearl barley with chorizo, butter beans and kale. — Step 3. Stir the torn kale through and cook for two minutes more until it wilts, then finish with the lemon.

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Ingredients

Chorizo40 g
Forty grams is enough to flavour the whole bowl, because the fat that runs out of it is the cooking oil. As sold. This is where the fat in the dish is.
Cooked pearl barley150 g
Cooked weight.
Butter beans, tinned and drained120 g
Drained weight.
Kale60 g
Chicken stock150 g
Made up from a cube or a pot.
Garlic1 clove, about 3 g
Smoked paprikaHalf a tsp
Lemon juiceA squeeze

Method

Dice the chorizo small and fry it in a dry pan over a medium heat for three minutes until it is crisp and has stained the pan orange.
Add the garlic and paprika for thirty seconds, then the barley, beans and stock. Simmer for five minutes, crushing a few beans against the side to thicken it.
Stir the torn kale through and cook for two minutes more until it wilts, then finish with the lemon.

Worth knowing

No oil is added because chorizo is 22% fat and gives up most of it in the pan. If the pan looks dry after the chorizo, the chorizo was lean, and a teaspoon of oil is fine.
The beans and the chorizo split the protein about evenly. Chickpeas or cannellini swap in at the same weight for about the same numbers.

Other lunch recipes that share ingredients with this one, or every lunch between 300 and 450 calories a serving.

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Macros are calculated from the weights listed above using standard food composition values, and will shift with your own brands and measuring. Weigh what you can. This is a recipe, not dietary advice. The full health disclaimer is below.