VEGETABLE BARLEY SOUP
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Let the homey flavors speak for themselves with this hearty vegetable barley soup. It’s so easy to throw together, it’s healthy, filling, low fat, and costs less than $1 per serving.
Plus, you can easily customize this terrific recipe with any leftover vegetables. I usually go for carrots, celery, onion, and frozen peas, they’re always in my fridge, but you can mix up any seasonal veggies or whatever you have on hand.
Then saute’ your veggies in olive oil with aromatic oregano and bay leaves, and let simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes until the barley softens and the flavors mingle.
It’s worth waiting, and you’ll get your 5 a day plus a portion of high-fiber whole grain in one delicious meal.
Make a big batch of this barley soup, freeze it or bring it to work for lunch. It’s even better the next day.
What ingredients you need
- Pearled barley
- Frozen peas
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Potato
- Tomato paste
- Broth
- Olive oil
- Thyme, bay leaves, oregano
- Salt & pepper
How to make it
- Saute’ carrots, onion, celery in olive oil for about 5-7 minutes (soffritto)
- Add garlic and herb and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute
- Stir in barley, tomato paste, and the potato cubes
- Add broth, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes
- Stir in frozen peas
- Cook for a further 5 minutes
- Taste and adjust the seasoning
- Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated parmesan if you like
- Doesn’t it look delicious? Enjoy 🙂
RECIPE NOTES & FAQ
IS BARLEY SOUP GOOD FOR YOU?
YES. Barley is a versatile and inexpensive whole grain, it’s rich in fiber and other important folates and minerals like selenium, great for heart health. Plus, the fiber content makes you feel fuller for longer, promoting weight loss.
Last but not least, adding plenty of veggies to this recipe turns a simple barley soup into a nourishing meal packed with nutrients.
WHAT IS BARLEY?
Cooked barley is a cereal grain with a slightly chewy texture and nutty flavor, similar to brown rice.
It’s a versatile whole grain for many different dishes, from stews to soups and salads. It’s inexpensive and easily available, especially if you buy it from the bulk section or pulse section.
Plus, it’s easy to cook, and it can be interchanged with rice in many recipes. However, barley is not gluten-free.
WHAT KIND OF BARLEY DO YOU USE IN SOUPS?
There are two types of barley: hulled barley and pearled barley.
Hulled barley is the healthies kind of barley, with only the outermost hull removed and very rich in fiber, while pearled barley has been processed to remove its fibrous outer hull and some or all of the bran layer. For this reason, pearled barley cooks faster than hulled barley and is the most common for soups and salads.
CAN I SUBSTITUTE THE BARLEY?
Yes, if you don’t have any barley on hand, you can use whole grain rice, regular rice, spelt, bulgur or even short pasta shapes. However, make sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
CAN YOU FREEZE BARLEY SOUP?
Yes, this barley soup freezes well.
VEGETABLE BARLEY SOUP VARIATIONS
You can easily customize this barley soup with any orphan ingredients in the vegetable fridge drawer. I usually add carrots, celery, onion, and frozen peas, but you can mix up any veggies of your choice or whatever you have on hand.
- Vegetables: you can add summer vegetables like zucchini, green beans or fresh tomatoes, just in the last 5 minutes of cooking. In winter, you can add mushrooms, squash, cabbage, kale at the beginning, when you add the barley to the pot.
- Beans: canned chickpeas or canned white beans are rich in protein and work great, add them alongside barley if you wish.
- Chicken: if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, you can add chicken too. Sometimes, I add a couple of raw skinless chicken legs at the beginning, when I stir in the broth. They cook for about 30 minutes, making the broth richer and flavorsome. Then I remove the chicken flesh from the bone with a fork and discard the bones. Delicious.
Looking for more hearty soups?
- Vegetarian cabbage soup
- White bean soup
- Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans)
- Creamy chickpea soup
- Spicy red lentil soup
If you like this vegetable barley soup, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you! x
Barley soup
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (130 grams) pearled barley, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup (130 grams) frozen peas (or other beans)
- 4 ½ cups water or vegetable broth, plus more if needed
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste, or 1 diced tomato
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 large celery rib, sliced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 medium-sized potato, cut into cubes
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 thyme sprigs (optional)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion, carrot, celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add garlic, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and stir for about 1 minute.
- Add the barley, cubed potatoes, tomato paste, and give a good stir.
- Then add the vegetable broth, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat and cook gently for 25-30 minutes or until the barley is tender. If you need more liquid or if you prefer a thinner soup, add an extra cup of water or broth now.
- When the barley is cooked, add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, then remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. Taste and season with salt and pepper*. (I usually add a pinch of salt at the beginning + 1/2 tsp later. You might need more salt, depending on your vegetable broth and on your personal preferences.)*
- Divide into bowls, drizzle with olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, and more freshly ground black pepper if you like. If you don't keep it vegan, serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese for extra flavor. Enjoy!
- NOTE: The nutrition data provided are estimates only.
Notes
- Seasoning: If you use a broth that tastes quite salty on its own, it’s important to adjust the seasoning at the end and not at the beginning as you never really know how strong the salt from the broth is. I would start only with a good pinch of salt, no more than that.
- Leftover: it keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. t’s also freezable: divide among airtight containers (leaving 1-inch space at the top), and freeze up to 1 month.
- Broth: both vegetable or chicken broths are fine.
I usually make my own vegetable broth cooking vegetable scraps and herbs for 10 minutes.
But when I’m short on time I go for hot water and vegan low salt vegetable broth cubes. NOTE: Nutritional values are estimates only.
I’m wanting to make this gluten-free with French lentils or brown rice. What’s the change of cooking time?
Hello Adriana, you should check the cooking time on the package. Sometimes brown rice is ready in 20 minutes other times it requires 40 minutes. It depends, and I can’t be more precise.
However, make sure you adjust the quantity of the broth accordingly if the cooking time is longer. x
Made double for family 😃😃loved it 👏🏻👏🏻Now on winter meal list 😃👏🏻😃👏🏻😃👏🏻 Great no fuss recipe thank you 🙏
Brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing, I’m so glad to hear that! : )
Cheers x
Thanks for recipe! We made this and loved it! We threw in a splash of tobasco at the end and was delish!
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, Kirsty! I’m so glad it was delish : )
Have a great weekend. x
I made this last week and I enjoyed the soup very much . Tasty , filling , low cost and easy to make . I am making it again tomorrow and putting in a little left over chicken l have in the fridge . Thank you for the recipe Katia
You’re very welcome, Gray! I’m very pleased you liked it, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
Cheers x
I made this but forgot the peas lol. It was pretty good. Not sure I’ll make it again though. The flavors were a little weird.
Thank you for your feedback, Candy! I’m glad to hear it turned out pretty good (despite the weird flavors! ; ).
Have a great evening x
I really like the soup. I am not a corn fan, so I did not put corn in. I added parsnips to the recipe and 2 more cups of water. There was not enough liquid for me. Thank you for sharing. I am definitely going to make this often.
You’re so welcome, Alison! Thanks for your feedback. Cheers x
I hope you can help, I’m not really a cook, but I am trying to learn.
In the cooking method at item 4 you say now add the vegetable broth, I don’t understand, If we haven’t made the broth yet where does the broth come from that we have to add?
Any help or advice would be gratefully received. Thank you
Hi Mike, no problem at all! : )
The list of the ingredients mentions vegetable broth (or water, which is ok if you don’t have any broth on hand). Having the broth listed among the ingredients means you’re supposed to have it ready (for example store-bought vegetable broth), and the recipe doesn’t mention how to make it because of that.
But as I said, it’s fine to use water if that makes the preparation easier.
Hope this helps. Cheers x
Thanks for sharing! Just wondering if I can use dried thyme and bay leaves, and if so, how to go about it
Thanks kindly
Hi Friya, you’re very welcome!
You can use dried thyme, about 1/4 tsp. Cheers x
Hi, I have just taken down the recipe it looks amazing. I have a soup maker, assuming I can put it all in there and let it cook for me?
HI Charl, I’ve never used a soup maker, but it’s important that you start with a flavor base by cooking onion, carrot and celery + garlic in olive. This is the first step, and it adds more flavor rather than adding all the ingredients (broth included) to the pot straight away. Same for the peas: you might want to add them in the last few minutes of the cooking time, not at the beginning.
If your soup maker allows you to add the ingredients in different steps, go for it!
Have a nice weekend. x
Delicious soup! We loved it, added to favourites 🍁
Hi Leanne, thanks so much for taking the time to share your lovely feedback!
Cheers x
Great recipe! I added minced ginger too
I’m so glad to hear that, thanks for sharing your feedback, Gaby!
Cheers, K
Thank you for the recipe! Have you ever tried this recipe in a crock pot? I’m just wondering when you’d add the barley?
You’re so welcome, Megan! 😊 But I’ve never cooked barley in a crock pot, sorry if I can’t help x
Just made this soup! It is very good. I left out the olive oil (we are oil free) and added extra veggies that I had on hand that I needed to use. And added cayenne too. I didn’t need to add extra broth as others have said. Will definitely make again. Great recipe!
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback 💛 I’m SO pleased you loved it. x
Soo goood 😋 Been trying your recipes lately for lunch and sometimes dinner and loving it so far! Soup and sourdough bread is the way to go! 😉
Very good soup but I ended up doubling the amount of stock
I’m glad you liked it, Becca, and thanks so much for the helpful comment x
Found it to have too much barley and not enough vegetables. Needed to add almost one quart more of veggie broth. If not, we would have had barley pilaf.Next time will cook barley separate and add to soup later. Otherwise quite tasty.
Thanks for your comment, Mary! The recipe says to add more broth if needed, as you did, but I’m going to test the recipe again to make this step clear. I’m glad it’s tasty, but I want the recipe to be easy and clear for everyone x
Mmmm…it looks delicious! I’ll try it for lunch!!
Thank you, Lucy, let me know how it turns out x