This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Table of Contents
This vegetable barley soup is about to blow your mind! Not only is it a healthier and lighter version of traditional barley soup, it’s packed with flavors the whole family will enjoy.
If this is your first time buying barley, head to the rice and dry beans section of your grocery store. Look for the box labeled “quick pearled barley” (which speeds up the cook time). Let’s pull out that stockpot and simmer up this 1-pot soup recipe loaded with heart-healthy vegetables and grains to fill your belly with goodness and warmth.
My Favorite Vegetable Barley Soup—Here’s Why
Here’s a few reasons you need to make this vegetable barley soup recipe asap:
- It’s made in one pot: I don’t like doing dishes. Anytime I can cook an entire meal in a single pot, I’m a happy mama.
- It actually keeps me full: The addition of barley to this soup made me wanna do a cartwheel. It screams comfort food, but it’s also really healthy. Plus, all the fiber and whole grains really do keep me full longer than a classic vegetable soup.
- Affordable to make: This vegetable barley soup could be the poor man’s soup and easily modified to toss in whatever vegetables are on sale or you have in the fridge. I’ve done green beans, rice and butternut squash before too— and it was still a winner!
- Leftovers are really good: Most vegetables soups can get a bit mushy when freezing and reheating. Not this one, thanks to the hearty barley and root vegetables like carrots. If you’re planning to freeze it for later, you can even undercook everything a smidge to help with the reheating process.
Vegetable Barley Soup Ingredients
You can easily substitute, add, or decrease the amount of vegetables in this soup based on personal preference. Use what you can easily source and afford— this recipe is very forgiving!
Mushrooms: If you don’t like mushrooms, leave them out. Yet if you’re like me and have grown to appreciate a ‘shroom, toss in some bella, shitake or portobello.
Quick-cooking barley: I advise getting barley that says “quick” if you’re short on time. This is how I created the recipe, yet you can always use traditional barley and cook for a longer period of time. You can use pearled barley or hulled barley— both will work. Pearl barley is created when unhulled barley is polished, removing the inedible coating and creating pearled barley grains with a smooth surface and quicker cooking time.
Gluten-Free Suggestions
Barley is a whole grain that does contain gluten. If you’re sensitive to gluten, swap barley for brown rice, kidney beans or white beans, and adjust cook time accordingly.
Kale: A hearty leafy green goes great in a soup like this. I chose kale because the subtle bitterness pairs well with the seasonings. You can also use Swiss chard or spinach if you have it on hand. It will just require less cook time.
Mirepoix: Also known as the holy trinity of soup: carrots, onions and celery. You can buy this already diced in a single container in most grocery stores to save some time. It’s usually in the produce section next to the packaged fresh vegetables.
Vegetable stock: You can purchase vegetable broth (or stock) or make your own using veggie scraps with my homemade vegetable stock recipe. You can also swap it for mushroom broth for a deeper flavor. if you’re concerned about sodium levels, use reduced-sodium or low sodium vegetable broth or make your own with less, or no, salt.
This soup is technically vegan, yet if you’re not and have a quart of beef broth or chicken broth in the pantry, you can easily swap it in here.
Seasonings: I used Italian seasoning in this vegetable barley soup recipe, yet you can also swap it for any combination of dried thyme, parsley, basil, rosemary and oregano. The bay leaf helps to add flavor and deepen existing flavor— feel free to add a few if you want to actually taste the difference. I recommend Colima Sea Salt, which is an unrefined, coarse, crunchy, moist sea salt that is great for soups.
How to Make Vegetable Barley Soup
Saute the onion, carrots and celery in avocado oil over medium heat. If you only have olive oil or vegetable oil, you can use that, too. You want to heat long enough to get the vegetables tender.
Toast the barley in the same pot as the mirepoix to enhance the flavors of the whole grain. Then add in the mushrooms, seasonings and vegetable broth.
Adding in the tomatoes and peas towards the end of cook time helps them not get mushy. You can also use fresh tomatoes and dice them up small. I would extend the cook time to make sure they soften a bit.
Before serving, toss in a bunch of chopped kale and stir well. Kale will shrink down once heated so don’t skimp on the amount of kale you put in initially. Make sure the soup is hot enough for the kale to start to soften in the soup. If it’s too tough, turn on the stove and warm the soup up more.
How to Freeze Barley Soup
I like to make big batches of my vegetable barley soup and freeze in Souper Cubes. I can quickly pop a cube or two out of the freezer and heat up to have a warm soup in minutes (and not have to wash another pot).
Serving Suggestions
You can eat this soup alone or serve alongside a salad, like my Crunchy Chickpea Salad, Lemon Arugula Salad (it has barley in it too!) or Kale Caesar Salad. All three are savory and hearty in their own special ways. Soup and salads pair so well together.
With fresh loaf of Italian bread and butter. I like to toast the loaf, ,sprinkle garlic powder and italian seasoning on top and heat in the oven for 15 minutes.
You can top vegetable barley soup with additional flavors and textures with things like croutons, fresh herbs or grated parmesan cheese.
Common Questions
Standard pearl barley takes 30-40 minutes to cook. You can cut down on the cooking time by using quick-cook barley (ex: Trader Joe’s sells a 10-Minute Barley.) For this recipe, we used quick-cooking barley yet you can swap it for standard barley and cook longer.
Barley is a short, slightly nutty, chewy grain that really compliments a soup or salad. Look for it near the rice and dry beans section of your grocery store. It’s usually in a box and labeled “pearled barley” which means the outer husk and some of the bran has been removed. Barley is not considered a gluten-free food because it does contain a small amount of gluten.
Pearl barley doesn’t need to be pre-cooked before adding to the soup. But you could definitely cook it in advance. One thing I like to do is make a giant batch of barley and divide it between freezer-safe containers and store until I’m ready to use it in a recipe. Pearl barley is the most common type (and easiest to find), which is why I’m using it in vegetable barley soup. I try to keep things as easy as possible when food shopping and cooking.
Barley soup can be a healthy meal option if you’re using lots of vegetables with it, like we are! This recipe is loaded with plant-based ingredients that are high in vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. In addition, soups like this vegetable barley soup are high in fiber and liquid, meaning that a hearty bowl will help you stay fuller for longer and not spike your blood sugar.
The best vegetables to put in any veggie soup recipe are the ones you like! I’ll go even further to say that I tend to throw whatever leftover veggies I have in my fridge into soup – roasted veggies, greens, a little of this or that. In addition to broth and barley, here’s a few vegetables you can toss in for a major flavor win: carrots, zucchini, potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, kale, chard, mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes.
You can freeze homemade barley soup for up to 6 months, for best results. Store in airtight containers made for the freezer to preserve the best. Reheat soup in a crockpot, stovetop or microwave (if in a pinch).
You can make this vegetable barley soup in an Instant Pot. Turn on the saute function and heat the oil so you can saute the carrots, celery, and onion for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, barley and mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except the kaele) and put the lid on your Instant Pot (make sure the sealing valve is set to sealing). Turn on the pressure cooker function to high pressure for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, manually release the pressure and open the lid. Remove the bay leaves and mix in the kale. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Vegetable Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 carrots diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup quick-cooking barley see recipe notes
- 1 cup baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups diced tomatoes 28oz, undrained
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper ground, to taste
- 1 cup peas frozen
- 2 cups kale chopped
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot set over medium heat until shimmering. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and sauté for 5-10 minutes, or until onions start to soften.
- Add the garlic and barley. Cook, stirring constantly, to lightly toast the barley, for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and continue sautéing. The mushrooms will start to release their liquid.
- Add the stock, dried herbs, and bay leaf, and stir well. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Add the undrained diced tomatoes to the pot. Season well with salt and pepper. Raise heat again and continue cooking for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until barley and vegetables are tender. Add the peas and simmer a few more minutes.
- Just before serving, remove the bay leaf, stir in chopped leafy greens and allow them to wilt in the residual heat. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.
Equipment
- stove
Notes
- Regular (i.e. not quick-cooking) barley can be used. Add an extra 20 minutes of initial simmering time, or until barley is tender.
- To make gluten-free: Swap the barley with brown rice.
- Use store-bought vegetable stock or make your own.
- How to freeze: store soup in freezer safe containers, like Souper Cubes to make reheating easy.
Good for my first try. Mainly followed recipe with the following exceptions based on what I had on hand. Used olive oil, added yellow bell pepper, used herbs de provence instead of Italian, and bok choy instead of kale adding the white part to the initial vegetables for sauteing. Turned out tasty, but on the salty side probably because of the broth and tomatoes I used. I also used a little too much herbs de provence
Next time I’ll probably go with beef broth, add some beef and watch the salt and seasoning amounts. Some French bread would go good with it too.
Made this for the soup challenge. It has a lot of flavor and made plenty to freeze for another day.
This was so tasty! I loved that the vegetables weren’t mushy like many vegetable soups. I used farro instead of barley and used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis for a bit of spice!
Great modifications. Farro is always a winner. Thanks for sharing Karla!
So good, warm and filling! A lot more flavor than I was expecting. Will be making again!
It’s a magical soup! All those greens and still tons of flavor— yummy!
Great vegetable soup. Hearty and filling. I will definitely be making this again and again.
Lot of flavor, we enjoyed every bite
Wooot! Now that’s what I love to hear!
My FIL would have loved this recipe since he was of Scottish descent and his mother and he emigrated to the US after his dad was killed during WWI. His favorite soup of all-time was vegetable barley. It reminded him of the struggles they encountered as a widow with a young child as new-comers to the US. It always helped to sustain them then in the early 1920s and beyond. Thanks, Jen, for sharing this recipe again with us.
Delicious soup! I did use the standard barley and swapped in sweet potatoes instead of using carrots. This is a winner!
Oh I love that sweet potato swap. Good thinking!!!!
Wow— what a powerful story Mame. You have such a strong family and a powerful story to pass on for generations.