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.
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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 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!