🥗 STARTER
Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup)
Smoky roasted green wheat simmered in a cardamom and bay-scented chicken broth with onion softened in olive oil and shredded chicken, finished with cinnamon, black pepper and parsley.
Palestinian · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 80 min
~424 cal · 35g protein · 36g carbs · 15g fat · 7g fiber · 2g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Freekeh is wheat harvested young and green, then set alight so the straw and husks burn away while the moist grains inside only toast. Rubbed free of their chaff, which is where the name, from the Arabic for "rubbing", comes from, and often cracked, the grains keep a smoky, nutty flavour. It is an old food of the eastern Mediterranean and a treasured one in Palestinian kitchens.
Shorbat freekeh, freekeh soup, is the simplest way to cook it. A broth is made from chicken or lamb on the bone with onion, , bay and cinnamon; onion is softened in olive oil, the freekeh is stirred in, and the two are simmered together until the grain is tender and the soup thick. The meat goes back in at the end.
It is above all a Ramadan soup, served warm and filling at iftar, the meal that breaks the fast at sunset, and a bowl of it makes a gentle first course before the main dishes.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 700 g chicken thighs or breasts, on the bone
- 2 litres water
- 2 onions (1 halved for the broth, 1 finely chopped)
- 1 celery stick
- 6 green pods, cracked
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups (about 250 g) freekeh, cracked (or whole, pulsed briefly), rinsed
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon, to serve
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
- 1Put the chicken in a large pot with the water, the halved onion, celery, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and salt. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then cover partly and simmer gently for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- 2Lift out the chicken and let it cool a little. Strain the broth and throw away the vegetables and spices. Pull the chicken off the bones and shred it.
- 3Wipe out the pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the chopped onion for about 5 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the freekeh, allspice and black pepper and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to toast the grain.
- 4Pour in the strained broth, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes, until the freekeh is tender and the soup has thickened. Add a little hot water if it gets too thick.
- 5Stir the shredded chicken back in and simmer for 5 minutes more. Taste for salt, then ladle into bowls and finish with a pinch of cinnamon, the parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
Palestinian home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
West Bank. Musakhan means heated, and the name comes from farmers warming yesterday's taboon bread through with the new oil. It belongs particularly to the Tulkarm and Jenin area, it is made at the olive harvest when the oil is fresh and green, and pine nuts or almonds go over the top of it.
🗺️
Palestine. Musakhan means heated, and the dish began as a way of using day-old taboon bread: soaked with new olive oil, piled with onions cooked slowly with sumac, and topped with chicken. It is associated with the Tulkarm and Jenin area and is made at olive-harvest time, when the first pressing of the year is running and the oil is at its sharpest.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Palestine
MusakhanSumac-and-onion roasted chicken over olive-oil-soaked taboon bread, showered with toasted pine nuts, Palestine on a platter.
Labneh with Za'atarThick strained yogurt swirled with olive oil and za'atar, scooped with warm taboon bread.
MaftoulHand-rolled Palestinian couscous simmered with chicken and chickpeas in a warmly spiced broth, a warming village dish.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Palestine meal
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QatayefDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup)?
Smoky roasted green wheat simmered in a cardamom and bay-scented chicken broth with onion softened in olive oil and shredded chicken, finished with cinnamon, black pepper and parsley.
Where does Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup) come from?
Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup) is a Palestinian dish from West Bank, Palestine.
Can Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Shorbat Freekeh (Palestinian Freekeh and Chicken Soup) take to make?
About 95 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 80 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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