Can’t stop, won’t stop with the yummy soups over here! Soup is easy, soup is filling, soup is an easy way to pack some more vegetables into your day, and soup (usually) freezes well. This week I’m bringing you this awesome Vegetable Barley Soup that is packed with tons of color, texture, and flavor. And thanks to a healthy dose of barley, it’s also super filling. I’m so glad this recipe makes a huge batch because I’m going to be living off the frozen leftovers of this soup for the rest of winter!!
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What is Barley?
Barley is a short, chewy grain that is great in soups, stews, salads, pilafs, and more. You can usually find it in the grain section of your grocery store, near rice and dry beans. It’s usually labeled “pearled barley” which simply means the outer husk and some of the bran has been removed. Barley does contain a small amount of gluten, so it is not considered a gluten-free food.
Can I Substitute the Barley?
Yep! If you’re not into barley or can’t find it, you can use another grain, like farro or wheat berries, or even pasta. A small shape, like ditalini would be awesome.
Can I Use Other Vegetables?
The beauty of this Vegetable Barley Soup is that it is extremely versatile. You can add just about any vegetable to this soup, which makes it great for using up odds and ends of vegetables in your refrigerator and freezer. I used onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, carrots, potato, frozen green beans, frozen corn, and frozen peas, but you could also substitute or add in any of these vegetables:
- Celery (add in the beginning with onion)
- Zucchini (add at the end with green beans and peas)
- Spinach (add at the very end, stir in until wilted)
- Mushrooms (add in the beginning with onion)
- Cabbage (add in the beginning with carrots)
- Kale (add mid-way, with potatoes)
- Beans (kidney, chickpeas, cannellini, add mid-way with potatoes)
Broth Matters
Vegetable broth carries a lot of the flavor in this soup, so make sure you use a quality vegetable broth, or one that you know you like. As always, I use Better Than Bouillon soup base to make my broth. It is full-flavored and I can mix up any amount I need when I’m cooking, without having leftovers go to waste.
How Much Vegetable Barley Soup Does This Make?
This recipe makes a whopping 12 cups, which I would consider to be about 6 large 2-cup servings. Since the soup is mostly vegetables, I usually go with a slightly larger serving size. This is also a very thick soup once finished, so if you prefer it to be a little more brothy, you can add more vegetable broth and the yield will be even higher.
Can You Freeze Vegetable Soup?
Yes! This soup freezes great. Some people find that potatoes change in texture slightly when frozen and thawed, but it’s not something that I’ve ever noticed or that has bothered me, especially when in a soup.
What Do You Serve with Vegetable Barley Soup?
This soup is just asking for a nice piece of buttered crusty bread for dipping! I would go with something with a lot of texture, like a homemade no knead bread, cornbread, or sour dough. I wouldn’t even be against dropping a few cubes of Swiss cheese into this soup, for a little melty goodness in each bite!
P.S. If you have leftover barley, you should totally make my Baked Barley with Mushrooms!
Vegetable Barley Soup
Servings 6 2 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1/2 lb. carrots (about 4) ($0.45)
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes ($1.59)
- 1 cup pearled barley ($0.89)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 6 cups vegetable broth ($0.78)
- 1 russet potato (about 3/4 lb.) ($1.22)
- 1 cup frozen green beans ($0.271)
- 1/2 cup frozen corn ($0.10)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas ($0.19)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.03)
- 1 handful fresh parsley (optional garnish) ($0.20)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to a large soup pot and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Meanwhile, peel and dice the carrots. Once the onions are soft, add the carrots to the soup pot, along with the canned diced tomatoes (with juices), barley, basil, oregano, some freshly cracked pepper, and vegetable broth.
- Stir the contents of the pot to combine, place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the soup simmer, with the lid in place, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, peel and dice the potato into 1/2-inch cubes. After the soup has simmered and the barley is mostly tender, add the diced potatoes and continue to simmer for 10 minutes more, or just until the potatoes are tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, add the frozen green beans, corn, and peas. Stir to combine, and heat through (about 5 minutes in the simmering soup).
- Finally, add the lemon juice to the soup and stir to combine. Taste the soup and adjust the salt or pepper to your liking. Serve hot, with fresh chopped parsley on top as a garnish, if desired.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Chef’s Knife
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Vegetable Barley Soup – Step by Step Photos
Dice one onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a large soup pot (mine is 6 qt.) along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
While the onion and garlic are cooking, peel and slice 1/2 lb. of carrots (about 4 medium carrots). Add the carrots to the soup pot along with one 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (with juices), 1 cup pearled barley, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, some freshly cracked pepper, and 6 cups of vegetable broth. Stir to combine.
Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the soup up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer, lid in place, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. While the soup simmers, peel and dice a russet potato into 1/2-inch cubes. After simmering 30 minutes, add the diced potato and simmer 10 minutes more.
After simmering 10 minutes, the potatoes should be tender. Add 1 cup frozen green beans, 1/2 cup frozen peas, and 1/2 cup frozen corn to the soup. Stir to combine, and heat through (about 5 minutes).
Finally, stir 1 Tbsp lemon juice into the soup. Give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking (I added a touch more pepper, but no salt). Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.
YUMMMM. Vegetable-y goodness got me all warm and cozy!
This was delicious! I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables with corn, green beans, peas, and carrots, I added 3 cups of this frozen mix at the end. I used oregano, thyme, and rosemary for spices as I did not have basil and I used red wine instead of lemon juice. This made a ton of soup and tastes great!
Thereis no way you can prep the veggies etc. in 5 minutes unless perhaps you are an executive chef!!
Probably a four star recipe if the amount of barley was cut in half. I ended up with just barley and vegetables. I added a lot more water and it still just keeps soaking up what I’ve added and now the pot is getting diluted and losing flavor. :( I did add two bay leaves and a Parmesan rind while cooking.
Excellent. I am adding this to my physical recipe binder, with credit. Cheers
I added some dijon mustard and some butter because it felt like it needed a little something more, but otherwise this was an absolutely gorgeous meal! So delicious and hearty. Highly recommend!
Absolutely delicious, easy to make, and comforting in only a way good soup can be! I did sub veggie broth for chicken, but it is a knock out either way!
super!
We made this soup for dinner last night. It is so good. Makes a huge pot. It was a hit with adults and kids alike. Thanks for the recipe!
Can i skip the tomatoes?
Hmm, I don’t know about that, Sara! They’re a pretty big component, but if you did, I’d add a little bit extra of the veggies and maybe three more cups of broth. Maybe a squeeze of lemon juice to make up for the acid loss with the tomatoes.
How many carrots would that be in this recipe?
About 4.
This is my new favorite soup because I can just throw stuff in the instant pot and because all the veggies can come from my frozen stash. A++
How did you convert this to an instant pot recipe? I’d love to try it that way!
Delicious! My guest and I were both really happy with this soup.
I switched out about a quarter of the barley for green lentils (lentilles du puy), used a yam in place of the potato since that’s all I had, and similarly replaced the peas and beans with zucchini and broccoli. It was excellent, as I’m sure it would have been if I’d had the real ingredients!
Great soup recipes
I made this but used chicken stock instead of veg and I had a soup pack which contained barley, peas and lentils. I added a tablesoon of tomato puree for a bit more depth of flavour and it was really tasty and wholesome. Definitely one to do again.
I just realised I kind of did the tomsto paste thing too, because I’m in the Netherlands where canned tomatoes are usually in puree instead of juice. I’ll bet that helped make the soup so good!
Excellent recipe. My daughter made it tonight and I asked her for the recipe. Will make it very soon.
It was delicious fresh and also after freezing. Still have two more containers in the freezer ready to thaw for a quick weeknight meal. Thanks for the recipe!
We enjoyed the soup. Since I didn’t have barley, I cooked 1/2 cup of whole wheat macaroni and added it to the soup before serving.
Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe but added extra corn and peas as I didn’t have any green beans. Lovely and thick. Perfect fall comfort food.
I have been making a “basic” soup mix for many years. Mine does not contain veggies such as green beans, corn, peas, etc., nor do I use broth as I don’t keep it on hand. That way, my friends can add the veggies they like. I use water, canned (or fresh cooked and diced) tomatoes, tomato sauce, chopped onions, minced garlic, fresh diced green pepper. diced celery, rice, chopped carrots, and Quick pearled Barley, fresh ground sea salt and ground pepper, . I sometimes add a little sugar if there is too much of a tomato taste, Bay leaves or Oregano – it just depends on my mood for the day. Since this makes a huge pot, when done, I add two to four cups of soup mixture to a freezer bag, place the bag in a low loaf pan of some sort, and place in the freezer That way, it is not bulky and takes up less space in your freezer.
I really enjoyed this recipe, I think I might reduce the barley the next time I do it. I know it needs some sort of backbone to the soup, but for me it’s just taken over. I really love the spice level. I added pearl onions to the chopped onions. Added celery, and green beans. I loved it that way, but when I go back from going out to eat I added a chicken breast. Also good. Not vegetarian/vegan, but tasty.
Amazing soup. I’m looking for more veggie meals. This will be a go-to for me. I substituted oats for barley and added squash and spinach. Also added double the oregano and basil Worked fine! Thank you!
This recipe is delicious and versatile. I added celery and zucchini, and used a sweet potato instead of russet… only because that’s what I had on hand. Thanks – everyone in my family had seconds!
I didn’t see when or how much barley to add in. Cooked or uncooked?
The barley is added in step two, and it is not cooked first. :)
I added mushrooms at the beginning and while cooking flour/garlic salted and browned some stew cut beef in a pan to throw in at the end. I also deglazed the pan and put that into the pot because I totally forgot to just do the meat in the same pot at first.
In the future I’ll add something to give the soup a bit of a punch. Maybe some paprika?
This was so tasty and more important – satiating. If you´re trying to lose weight or save money, this is a winner. The barley will keep you filled up and quell your hunger. Bonus you’ll get the much needed and neglected vegetables. We topped it off with some hot sauce and jalepenos – loved it. Thanks for the added benefit of the price per item : )
This was so bland. I had to add a ton of seasoning to try and salvage it and it seems as though the cooking time is not accurate. After 30 minutes the barley was still really chewy and still 10 minutes later after the potatoes it was still chewey and the potatoes were not done either. Still working on it. Hopefully it comes out edible after a ton of tweaking.
It was good but quite plain. Had to add quite a bit of seasoning.
It was extremely bland. What did you add for seasoning to make it edible?
I use the better than bouillon vegetable base and it gave it a ton of flavor. Don’t use boxed or canned bc it lacks flavor for sure.
I left out the potato (didn’t have any) and used one one bag each of frozen peas with carrots and a bag of green beans, along with a (drained) can of corn. Ate it with some crusty rosemary Parmesan bread. Delicious dinner!
Can you use frozen carrots instead of fresh, and just add them to the soup when you add the corn, green beans and other frozen veggies? Also, if using celery, do you need to saute it with the onion and garlic?
Yes, and yes! I would add the celery in place of the fresh carrots, and add the frozen carrots with the rest of the frozen veggies as you suggested. ~Marion :)
So simple, flavorful! Good basic recipe that can easily be adjusted based on what you have on hand.
Can I add some sausage?
For sure! It will be amazing! I’m not sure if you mean Italian sausage (ground or links with casings removed) or something that you would slice up, but they can both be added in the same way! Before starting the recipe steps, brown the meat in the dutch oven with 1 Tbsp of oil (so it doesn’t stick). Once cooked, remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside (leaving behind the oil and any stuck-on bits in the pot, which will give the soup tons of meaty flavor!. If there’s more than 2-3Tbsp of oil left in the pot after the cooked sausage is removed, I’d pour some out before adding the onion and garlic — or, if there’s not enough, add the remaining 1 Tbsp cooking oil (it really depends on what kind of sausage you’re using). Add the sausage back to the pot at the end of the recipe when you add the frozen green beans, corn, and peas. Since you’ve pre-cooked it, you just need to warm it through. ~Marion :)
I used quick barley, like another reviewer, and ended up needing to add more broth. It basically doubled my soup amount, but I was ok with that! I froze half for another time. I did add a few more veggies and the potato to one half of my soup, and I’ll do the same with the other half when I thaw it. It reminds me more of a minestrone soup with a twist, the barley. Very tasty, and filling. I can’t wait to experiment with other vegetable variations.
Great recipe! Made it many times. Family favourite.
Can this soup be made in a slow cooker?
I’m sure with some tweaking this recipe could work in a slow cooker! Although, since we haven’t tested it ourselves, I hesitate to give you any specific suggestions that might not be successful. I’d also caution that the soup likely won’t be as flavorful if the veggies aren’t sauteed first. But don’t let me stop you! I’d suggest perusing some of our other slow cooker recipes for a gauge on cook times and techniques that might help you. If you try it out, let us know how it goes! ~ Marion :)
https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/slow-cooker/
I have made this soup over and over this winter. You must have the barley and use the Better Than Bullion veggie stock! It really takes the soup to the next level. I change out veggies each time – celery, spinach and/or mushrooms are all great additions. I made it once without potatoes and it was great that way too. This soup has made me love barley! (Swiss cheese on top is a great addition too)
Delicious and low in points for WW. Is now part of my repertoire!
hello this recipe looks delicious but i would like to do this on a pressure cooker, dol you have any recommendations on how to do that?
Hi, there! While this recipe may work in a pressure cooker with some tweaking, I am hesitant to give you any specific recommendations because we haven’t been able to test it ourselves and can’t promise the results would be equally successful. If you do try it out, let us know how it goes! ~ Marion :)
I don’t think a pressure cooker would help so much on this because of needing to wait for pressure and de-pressuring. I think it would cook faster on the stove top since the times are pretty short..
I sometimes do put everything in at once an pressure cook it but it comes out tasting like canned soup…..all soft and squishy and all parts flavored the same with no sense of biting into a carrot for example.
These pictures are so pretty! Trying more meatless meals this year, and the heartiness of this one made it appealing even for my meat-loving partner in crime. Didn’t have barley on hand, though I love it. Used brown rice instead and added a bit of chopped frozen spinach that was in the back of my freezer. Pinching those pennies in this season. Will definitely try with barley next time! Served with cornbread. Yummy!
This is my all time favorite soup recipe. I usually add either leftover roast beef or a can of cannellini beans for protein. This soup freezes beautifully!
Made this last night for my meat eating family and it was a big hit! The grandkids loved it. I added spinach at the end for the adults
My oldest grandson doesn’t like the sight of tomatoes so maybe next time I’ll blend them before adding. But we picked through them and he finished his bowl
This was delicious. I added some diced parsnip in with the carrots in place of green beans (not much of a fan), and added the last of a batch of mashed potatoes at the end which made the soup a bit creamy. I was particularly pleased that though this has a tin of tomatoes in it, it is by no means a tomatoey soup – it was just enough to provide a tiny bite of acidity and a bit of colour.
Perfect for a cold, rainy day – I will definitely make this again.
Fantastic!!
There really isn’t a Better Than Bouillon soup base on their site. Since this is a vegetable soup, do you mean the “Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base”?
Hi Brian! Bouillon is a soup base. And yes, the seasoned vegetable works great, but feel free to use chicken or beef as well. XOXO -Monti
Hey Beth, I’m trying to re-create y favourite canned soup (Amy’s brand vegetable barley) and came across your recipe. I am wanting to sub out a few things for other vegetables. In terms of broth/vegetable ratio, is there a general rule of thumb I should be following? Also, I am hoping to add some white navy beans in to mine, any advise on when/how to add and how much broth to add? Thanks for any help you can offer! P.S. I’ve seen you on the social a few times and you’re just the cutest most energetic person!
Hi Ashley, unfortunately, we haven’t tested it with white navy beans and can’t comment. xoxo Monti
This soup is so think and hearty and good! Used small purple potatoes and had to cook about 10 mins longer. Put 1/2 cup all frozen veggies + a little extra corn and peas due to personal taste. Made enough to freeze some.
I made a big batch of this last night and…yum! I doctored it up to my own preferences (as I’m sure we all do) but the base recipe was simple and delicious and easily made with ingredients I already had!
This soup is so good! I had some spinach that needed to be used so I added that but otherwise I followed the recipe as written. I’ll be making this one again.
This wasn’t my favorite, but I think at least part of the problem is that the broth I used was way too sweet. (I had no idea adding sugar to vegetable broth was so common!) I may try this again sometime with a better broth.
Thank you. Just provided neighbours and friends with a delicious hot dinner, Great recipe!
hmmm why so much sodium?
Most likely the broth and canned tomatoes, but keep in mind that nutritional data calculated using ingredient databases like this is just a broad estimate. It can vary greatly depending on the actual ingredients you use.
This is the best tomato based vegetable soup I’ve tried, and I’ve tried quite a few. I like that I could adapt it a bit while still maintaining the basic recipe. I substituted farro for barley, since that’s what I had in. I added some celery and a half cup of beans I needed to use up.
Served it with garlic bread – delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Too thick for my taste
If too thick just add more liquid or reduce amount of grain. Easy fix.
Love this soup! I can’t seem to find it in the app though! We like to add mushrooms as well :)
Hi Robin! The app comes pre-loaded with 500 recipes and those are the recipes that you can search for from the home screen. Everything new I’ve created since the app launched in 2017 is available to download to the app through the app’s marketplace (you can still get them for free). Just tap the little shopping bag icon on the home screen, then once in the marketplace make sure to tap over to “recipes” at the top instead of “bundles”. From there you can search and download all the latest recipes. If you type “barley” into that search bar this recipe will pop up. :)
Made this tonight and it was delicious!! Super flavorful and filling. We will definitely make it again!
Yummy! What sort of container do you use when freezing soup?
Thanks!
My favorite containers are those blue top Ziploc reusable containers. They’re inexpensive but last a long time and come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. :)
Hulled (rather than pearled) barley also works fine. This is a thick, solid, hearty soup… more of a stew! With the addition of some hot sauce and other tasty condiments (I just used Hickory Sticks and quick picked onions) top, this will not disappoint. Thank you :)
I don’t often comment on food blog recipes, but I needed to weigh in on this one. It is absolutely fantastic, and one that I make often. It’s easy, hearty, and full of colorful and delicious vegetables without needing any intensive chopping or prep. This is a great recipe, and I recommend it to everyone!
This was absolutely delicious and if you’re counting calories or WW points, this is a great way to fill up guilt free.
Barley can be soaked and cooked before adding to the soup, this will help in saving cooking time
Hi! I am SO appreciative of you writing our commonly asked substitutions/addition ideas and when to add them to the soup!! That MADE this recipe for me. It’s now a staple for me. Question for you, do you use better than bouillon as a substitute for broth or for stock? Is there a health reason you enjoy it more than boxed? Thanks!
Yes, I generally use BTB to make broth whenever broth is used in a recipe. :) I don’t do it for health reasons, but for convenience, cost, and flavor. I think it tastes much better than most boxed broths, I can mix up any quantity needed, and there are no leftovers to go bad in the fridge. The super-concentrated paste will stay good in the fridge for just about forever, but if I buy a box of broth and don’t happen to use the whole thing for the recipe, I then have to figure out how to use it before it goes bad. Oh, and it takes up way less space!
Using a crockpot for the first time, how many minutes before the end of cooking would you suggest throwing in the barley?
I’m not sure, unfortunately. I’d really need to test it before offering a suggestion.
Would it be ok to use a regular pot instead of a Dutch oven?
Yep! Any large soup pot will work great. :)
Please help, used quick cook barley as it was only one i could find & my soup looks like a pot full of barley rather than soup. I double vegetables, but worried it is beyond rescue ); Thx in advance
You can try adding more broth. :)
Used fresh late season veges from the garden — tomatos, beans, Yukon potatos and Kale. Made for a delicious, hearty soup/stew that was easy to make. Also added in a cup of lentils for some vegetarian “meatiness”. Needed to add a cup of water during simmering to bring the liquid level back up. Needed to add an extra 5 minutes for the potatoes to cook enough. Thanks for the recipe. My family loved it – Yum!
Very hardy and filling. This is a soup that really is a meal, no sides needed. I wish I’d added the potatoes in slightly sooner, but I didn’t use russets, so maybe that made a difference.
I switched to Vegetarian cooked meals in home to cut down on carbon footprint, garbage/waste, and to lessen my contribution to the way animals are farmed/treated.
Here I am looking for vegetarian soups, that include barley. I JUST finished making this low and slow over 2 hours. I made it with 14 servings in mind. I believe I have the same size pot in the glory shots near the end of the blog and for that size it was STRAIGHT to the brim. The end result is the most godly tasting soup I’ve ever let touch my tongue. I went straight for the basic recipe this first go around but I think next time I’ll toss in some celery and other such things, but stand alone? This is a fantastic recipe. Thank you!
Made this for last night’s dinner and did just a few tweaks per my own preferences (v8 vs. diced tomatoes, etc.) but kept the main flavor and we enjoyed this…will go in our regular monthly rotation! Reheated fine for today’s lunch. The full cup of barley made a lot, so added a bit more veg broth when initially making it.
Instead of the tomatoes and vegetable broth I used V-juice as I had neither the tomatoes or veggie broth. I added course chopped cabbage and a handful of Herb seasoned stuffing mix to replace the spices. I’m certain this is perfect as written but wanted to share how I made this work without a trip to the grocery store. The cabbage is a must in veggie soup in my opinion. I use the remaining cabbage and made some cole slaw and fried some with onions.
Do you think this would get over cooked in a crockpot?
Slow cookers have the potential to overcook any grain or pasta because it’s such a slow process with low heat. You could always add the barley later, or if a softer grain doesn’t bother you, just roll with it. :)
Was yummy but had to cook way longer than is stated in recipe. Adding the potatoes so late in the cooking time made them not be done when rest of soup was good. I’m going to add potatoes with the carrots next time.
Thank you for such a great adaptable recipe, especially the advice about what time to add substitute vegetable options.
The addition of the lemon juice at the end takes this soup to 5 stars.
I love this soup! I usually omit the potato and substitute a can of black beans for more protein, and though it gets thicker, it’s still delicious.
I substituted ditalini pasta for the barley and added some extra veggies. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly and it was absolutely the BEST VEGETABLE SOUP I HAVE EVER EATEN! Loved it. And so simple to make!
I made this, but omitted the potato. Both hubby and I LOVED it!
This is my favorite soup. I cook the barley in my instant pot while I ‘m cooking the other ingredients and then add the cooked barley after the potatoes are done. I also add an extra cup of water to the soup pot since the barley tends to absorb liquid after sitting.
This soup was wonderful. So easy and my husband wants it every week.
Nice healthy comforting meal. Another winner from Budget Bytes! Thanks!
So good and easy! Most time-consuming part for me was peeling and cubing the potatoes. My 1 year old who hates vegetables DEVOURED it, and my meatless-meal hating husband loved it too! I used ditalini pasta instead of barley because I prefer it in my vegetable soup. I cooked the pasta separate and added it to individual servings. This probably made my soup more brothy since none of the broth was absorbed by barley, but I like a brothy-er soup. I used vegetable stock, but next time I’m going to try chicken stock.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few different times. The barley does grow a lot and absorb liquid, so you may have to add some extra broth to the leftovers if you want it very soupy. Make sure to cut your potatoes very small, or add sooner. 10 minutes plus 5 with the frozen veggie left mine a bit too hard.
As for sodium, pay attention to your canned tomatoes & broth. It really varies a lot by brand. I used Kroger Petit Diced 28 oz can and Simple Truth veggie broth. When I added into My Fitness Pal, I got around 750 mg of sodium. You could get that even lower by thinning with water or getting a no-sodium broth.
Love love this recipe. So easy to customize for whatever veggies you have on hand!
So I made the (slightly modified) recipe and it turned out really, really tasty, so I’m not trying to bash it at all, but it’s just a bit of a stretch to call it truly “healthy” when it’s got half a day’s sodium in one serving. Obviously it’s easy to modify, but like, that’s just a heck of a lot of salt haha. Definitely 5 stars for ease of preparation and overall cost though!
Check the sodium content on the broth and tomatoes you are using. Once, I could not make it to Trader Joe’s and had to use another canned tomato brand from a local store in a recipe I had made several times. The recipe was extremely salty and when I reviewed the ingredients, I realized it came from the canned tomatoes. (We hardly salt our food.) The salt can vary from brand to brand. Same with broth.
Sodium isn’t unhealthy at all when paired with enough potassium in one’s diet.
Anyone try this in an instant pot?
This is good. Have eaten, but not cooked barley before. Wow, it does grow! This was a bit too much barley for me, so next time will decrease by at least 25%. thank you for an adaptable recipe!
Yum! I can’t recall if I’d ever had barley soup before but glad I took a chance on this recipe. I only added 14 oz of diced tomatoes but otherwise followed the recipe. This is an amazingly comforting soup! Fresh raised dinner rolls rounded this entree out. Looking forward to leftovers. Thank you!
I’d like to say the recipe is very straight forward and easy to execute. Cooking time is pretty accurate, though you might put the potatoes in sooner if you need to stick to a schedule. As barley continues to cook it can make the mouth feel a little ‘slick’, so overcooking it could be a problem for some. And looking at the picture vs what I made: 28oz of tomatoes is way too much. Use a small can instead to have it look like the pics above and not be tomato heavy. Adjust the liquid as necessary.
I think your recipe was meant for quick barley, because with a full cup of my regular barley, I had to add another 3 cups of liquid to get it to a consistency that would not burn and stick to the pot. It ended up more like a thick gruel consistency – still tasted good but not what it was meant to be ,based on the pictures. Am I missing something?
P.S. I love the recipes I’ve made from your site, so this is just one weird exception.
I make this soup with 1/2 lb hamburger beef was my mothers recipe 60 years ago all my siblings make this soup very good for all.
This soup was delicious, filling, and on our make again list. I added zucchini at the end another squeeze of lemon juice and a dollop of pesto.
I made this recipe exactly as printed with the exception of the broth. I always save the broth from canned vegetables & freeze it. I save it for when I make soup. I had about 2 cup of broth from corn, green beans & peas. Additional broth needed was made from “Betterr Than Broth” no chicken”. The finale pot of soup was delicious. I enjoyed the addition of the barley & served the soup with hommade cornbread. I know I will make it again so I printed the recipe. Thank you BudgetBytes!
I made this last night and it was pretty good! I only had one box of chicken broth (holiday recipes stripped the stores of all vegetable broth apparently) which was only 4 cups, so I had to sub the last two cups with water and olive oil, and then added butter for more flavoring. Overall it was pretty chunky and delicious. Topped with parsley and sour krout which I liked but wouldn’t serve it that way to someone who might not like pickled, fermented things. I also added two potatoes to make it a bit heartier :) would make it again, and plan to eat this all week for dinner. This recipe makes A LOT.
thank you for the awesome recipe. It’s the first time I used barley in a recipe, and im really happy I did!!
This was so tasty and a great recipe to follow! I was looking for a warm and hearty meal to use up what I had in my house (especially some barley that I had no idea what to do with!) and this was perfect. I added celery with the onions and skipped the peas and green beans because I did not have them, but other than that, I kept everything the same. Served it with some homemade focaccia for a yummy late fall meal. Comforting, tasty and simple!.
Why is there so much sodium listed in the nutritional information? Is it from the broth? 1180mg per serving? I will try this with reduced sodium chicken broth.
Probably a combination of the broth and the canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes tend to have quite a bit.
May I use organic chicken broth instead of vegetable broth? Will it change the taste?
Thanks.
Yes, that will still go nicely with the soup. :)
This is SO good! Mine was more of a stew consistency, but I like it that way and opted not to add more broth. I did need to cook it a little longer than in the recipe to get the potatoes soft but perhaps my pieces were not small enough. I tasted it after all the veggies cooked and it was so good – I decided not to add the lemon juice for fear it would taste sour. Maybe next time I’ll try that. On the first try, this jumped to the top of my list of favorite foods!
This recipe is so good. I love the addition of Lemon juice. It is something commonly used in other cultures to add a salt taste without adding salt. I’m glad it was used here. It adds an extra fresh flavor.
Delicious and versatile!
What happens if you don’t have veggie broth? Can you use water?
The broth provides a lot of flavor to this soup, so you’ll definitely be missing out on that if you use water. You’ll probably also need to add more salt at the end to make up for the salt that is in the broth. :)
Can I substitute rice for the barley? If so, at what point do you think I should add it in? This soup looks amazing and as a broke college student, I’ll definitely be making this a lot! Thank you!
It can probably be done, but I would need to test it to find the right time to add the rice so that it comes out correctly.
If you were to adapt this recipe for a slow cooker, what would you change?
Off the top of my head, I don’t think I would change anything. I’d just dump it all in there and turn it on. That being said, sometimes you never know what needs to be changed until you actually try it. :)
This recipe is beyond words! My husband and I make it all the time and it’s so good we even make it in the summer! I share it with everyone who’s willing to listen haha
Love this recipe! I recently started eating a vegetarian diet, and I am tracking my iron intake. Can you tell me how much iron is in one serving?
We only recently brought on a Registered Dietician to our team. She’s working hard behind the scenes to update the entire recipe database, over 1500+ recipes, with nutritional information. She’s working her way from the newest recipes back and it takes some time to update them all. Stay tuned!
Thank you. I’ll check back in soon
This recipe looks fabulous! I am a little curious about the cost of your russet potato. Do they cost almost $2/lb where you are? I am putting thi soup into the rotation this week!
Hi Sarah! You can check out how we calculate recipe costs here.
The vegetable barley soup is delicious! I love soups that are chunky and full of stuff. This met the bill. It was also easy to make. 3 adults in our household and it was a big hit. I would have added celery if we’d had some, but we didn’t have any. I can add some before we have the leftovers tomorrow. Hubby and daughter went to the store after supper. I didn’t have celery on the list for the previous visit to the store.
This soup is so easy to make and it is delicious!
I was skeptical, and gladly surprised of the results. We had two meals for two, and another meal for tow in the freezer.
This is a winner. I’ve tried so many vegetable soup recipes and they are always lacking in flavor. I think barley is the perfect thing to add, and the lemon adds some nice flavor. I doctored it up a little more with some onion powder and the Trader Joe’s Vegan Chickenless seasoning. Served with warm corn muffins! Light enough for the warmer months, too.
All i wanted to know was at what stage i should add the barley & this was omitted! I will find another (better or at least checked) recipe.
Barley is added in step 2. It is right there.
I just made this for dinner on an unexpectedly snowy evening and it was DELICIOUS! So hearty and flavorful! I was impressed with the lemon juice addition – it really added a lot of flavor and I would’ve never thought to add lemon juice to a soup. I’ll definitely make this again!
This is one of my new favorite budget bytes recipes. This soup is perfect and reminds me of soup my mom used to make, the only thing I add is lima beans. Makes a great addition. I also just made lemon poppy seed scones yesterday. So good.
Like everyone else says, it’s really simple and just delicious. I love that they note that you can amend the recipe as you see fit. I added cabbage and mushrooms and it was just perfect.
This is an awesome recipe! Really easy to use what you have on hand and it’s really filling. Definitely will be a good, staple meal for us.
Super tasty but the best part was that it was so easy! I used what I had on hand; onion, corn, peas, potatoes, spinach, barley.
I didn’t have canned tomatoes so when I was sautéing the onions I added in a can of tomato paste. My kids are picky about chunky tomatoes so this worked really well. The base was nice and thick and it was more like a stew. I was out of spices too and had a packet of italian dressing on hand which i wouldn’t normally use because it’s not *healthy* but it was soooo tasty! Everyone loved it.
I added celery, mushrooms, extra potato, and 1/4 cup extra barley. It’s pretty chunky right now, more like a stew. How would you suggest editing the broth and tomatoes? Thanks!
I added some celery, mushrooms, extra potato, and an extra 1/4 cup barley, how would you suggest that adjust the broth and/or tomatoes? It’s pretty chucky right now. Thanks!
Yes you can definitely add more broth by about 1/2 cup at a time to get it to your liking.
If I chose to add pasta to the soup, instead of barley, at what point would I add the pasta and should it be uncooked? This soup looks delicious! Thanks so much in advance.
Hi Donna! I’d add the pasta in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. Enjoy!
This soup was so good! We added celery and zucchini to the recipe. It had so much flavor!
I am eating this right now. I did wish to add the parsley and it’s very good. This is alot of soup! I’m looking forward to enjoying this throughtout the week as I hear from you all it gets even better.
Love vegetable soups, I have to try this recipe! Thanks :)
This soup is good to have around and I’m adding it to my repertoire. It was pretty good the first night, but…it got MUCH better after being in the fridge and “melding.” Some food is just like that. Next time I make, we won’t even eat it for a day or two. It really did go from ok to excellent. Also, it is so nice to have such a satisfying meal of vegetables. Thank you, Beth, for another really good, inexpensive and healthy recipe.
This looks wonderful. I do need to reduce my tomato/tomato sauce intake, though. Do you have any suggestions for what to substitute for the tomato base for these kinds of soups and stews? I love learning new things!
I loved this soup! It made quite a bit so I was able to freeze some. I used farro instead of barley because that’s what I had and cooked it for a bit longer. You have the most awesome soup recipes. Thank you!
I agree that this soup is just perfect! I added a bit more herbs though, but this is a personal preference. The soup was delicious, even my husband that didn’t want to eat barley before wants it on our weekly menu :)
Love it! Yay for barley converts! ;)
I asked my hubs if he would make this while I was recovering from surgery. He followed it precisely.
OMG… couldn’t get enough of this! Had my son and family visiting for the holidays and they loved it, including the fussy kids!
Definitely a keeper. I topped mine with shredded mozzarella cheese. YUM!!
Good job hubby! I’m so happy to hear you are recovering and this soup was such a hit.
This looks amazing.
If I were going to add cauliflower to this recipe (my favorite veggie), when would you recommend adding it?
Depending on if you’d use fresh or frozen, I’d put it in the last 15-20 minutes after being diced quite a bit for even cooking. Let me know.
This was a hit last night and even better for lunch today. The 5-year-old: “I don’t like it, I LOVE it!” I see this making it into the regular rotation this winter. I topped mine with Parmesan and I would like to try adding in lima beans next time.
Now THAT is a rave review! Tell your little one thank you!
I have made this twice in two weeks. We love it! No modifications at all.
Happy to hear it Emily!
Absolutely delicious! I uses fresh mushrooms instead of carrots. Will make again and again.
Thanks for sharing Annie!
I made this -is absolutely fantastic!! Very thick and comforting!!
Thank you Tess!
I have been looking for a vegetable barley soup for so long, and this is perfect! You always knock the ball out of the park, especially in the soup department. Thank you for keeping me (and my freezer!) full all winter long.
Thank you Zoe!
Delicious! Tastes just like the stuff you can get pre-made, but with less salt and broth thickeners, which is a win to me. I did add a bit more herbs because I felt it needed it. I must also say that the flavor was improved by a bit longer cooking from the residual heat of the pot as it cooled enough to fridge, and from sitting in the fridge for a day or so. With this being veggie-forward you can’t just cook it longer to get the flavors to meld better without the veg getting too soft, so the extra fridge time helped a lot I think.
Thanks for sharing Lilian!
Great soup for a cold day! I soaked the barley in advance so that it won’t soak up all of the broth. (Deborah Madison advises this in her recipes.) Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. The flavors were wonderful, and this soup is filling without being too much.
Great tip Eileen! Thank you for sharing.
Such a great recipe! With the holiday season treats upon us, I was feeling nutrient deplete and this gave me the hearty veggie kick I was after :) I forget about barley, but it was an excellent add for this soup! Thank you!
It really is packed full of great things for you!
I’ve used sticky brown rice as a substitute for barley and been happy with it. It has more chew than long grain rice when cooked in a lot of broth.
Thanks for sharing that swap Mary!
This is going to be my new go-to vegetable soup recipe! I looove veggie soup but it often lacks bulk, so adding the barley makes it a PERFECT meal. I also added a can of white beans and some spinach for some extra goodness.
Also in case it helps anyone else, I could only find instant/quick barley in my local Kroger, which says it cooks in 10 minutes. To keep it from overcooking, I added the barley and the potatoes at the same time and simmered for ~15 minutes. After that, I added my frozen veggies and proceded as normal and it turned out perfect! Thanks for such a great winter recipe :)
Happy to hear it Amanda! That’s great about finding the quick cook barley too. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.
Thank you, Amanda! Was looking for a comment about this! I can only find quick cooking barley too.
It’s freezing here in the northeast, so I decided to make this soup today. PERFECT! I’m enjoying another bowl as I type this comment. First of all, thank you for turning me onto barley. I would never have thought of barley on my own, but I like it! However, after doing some research, it turns out pearled barley is NOT a whole grain and is considered a refined grain (like white rice), so that matters to someone who needs more whole grains. Hulled barley is the whole grain version of barley, but it’s super expensive and difficult to find (I found it online for $11.99 per pound). That said, it’s still quite nutritious and has a considerable amount of fiber and bulk, which is good.
I cooked the barley with half a cup of dried chickpeas to increase the bean portion of this soup and to prevent these two from soaking up all the broth. Then I threw them both into the simmering pot. This method works well. I wouldn’t drain the remaining liquid because it contains both nutrients and flavors, so be sure to add them to the soup.
As much as I love basil and oregano, these two did not provide enough flavor. And I don’t skimp on these two – I wholeheartedly dump this stuff into the pot! Adding fresh parsley made a world of difference and made the soup delicious! I also added two large mushrooms because they had been sitting in my fridge and would have otherwise gone to waste. They’re a lovely addition! (I also dumped in black pepper and crushed red pepper.)
While I meant to add the lemon, I forgot. It was sitting on my countertop, but I overlooked it. I’m sure it would’ve added something to the flavor, so maybe next time. But the soup was perfect without it, especially after a freezing cold day. So, thanks for another great recipe! :)
P.S. I meant to the rosemary white bean soup, but chose this one instead. I think that one’s next because it just sounds incredible!
Stay warm Katie! Thanks for sharing all of these great tips and tricks.
I made this last night and it was delicious! We had it with cheese biscuits and it filled our bellies on a snowy night.
My kids (6 and 10) loved it as did my husband. I added celery because I had it on hand. We had 2 litres left over when we were done, so I froze a litre (4 cups) and kept a litre out for lunch on the weekend. I can definitely see adding this to our regular roster. Thank you so much!
Sounds like a great plan Steph!
Can you use pot barley instead of pearl?
Unfortunately I’ve never used pot barley, so I’m not sure how it would work in this recipe.
I substituted fire roasted tomatoes, half of a small cabbage instead of potatoes, and a zucchini instead of corn. No longer feeling vegetable starved! Thanks
That’s fantastic!
Would quinoa be a good substitute for barley.
Yes you could, however it will soak up a lot of the liquid and be more of a stew than a soup.
I make quinoa vegetable soup a lot and it’s not stew-like at all. The way I make it is to toast the quinoa in a pan for 10 min until it browns and add it to the soup pot shortly before the soup is done (so it doesn’t over cook). It keeps well in the fridge for 5-6 days.
Great tip Denise I’ll have to try that.
Made this for dinner tonight. It was a hit with even my picky eaters 💖 I added almost all of the extra add-ins – purple cabbage, celery, spinach, mushrooms, and chickpeas. I used quinoa instead of barely as my youngest child is celiac and it absorbed most of the broth, so it ended up as more of a stew than a soup but it was fantastic and i will definitely make it again!
Oh that’s awesome to hear! And good to know about the quinoa. We’re GF as well and I was wondering to try it as a swap.
I have a freezer overflowing with homemade chicken stock so I was wondering whether I could use that instead of vegetable stock to make this soup. What do you think?
Oh most definitely use what you have on hand!
This is one of my very favorite soups! Totally making this for dinner this week!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Could this work in a crock pot?
All I can find is Quick Pearled Barley. Will that work? I’m thinking about adding it part way through simmering. The box says it cooks in 10 minutes.
Yep, that will work and your intuitions are correct. Just add it a little later so it doesn’t over cook. :)
So delicious! Just made this for the second time and it was a hit with my grandparents. The first time I did it exactly as written, and the second time I added cabbage, subbed Lima beans for peas (was what I had on hand), added 2 extra cups of broth, and added the (fresh) green beans at the same time as the potatoes. I used quick cook barley the first time and pearled barley the second, and the pearled barley is definitely the way to go! Definitely my new favorite soup – love how flexible it is
Do you think buckwheat would be a good alternative to the barley?
Yes, that would probably work. :)
It came out great with the buckwheat! I just added it in when I added the potatoes since they only take about 10-15 mins to cook. Thanks for the recipe! :)