Vegetable Barley Soup is a cozy, hearty, and healthy soup recipe, packed with all kinds of veggies and flavor. This version has carrots, parsnips, potatoes, cabbage, and leeks, with chewy, nutty barley studded throughout. It’s half-puréed for a rustic texture, with soy sauce and lemon juice added at the end for brightness and flavor.
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Soup is such a great way to eat tons of vegetables in one sitting, and this soup is no exception! This one is packed with vegetables – carrots, potatoes, leeks, and parsnips. It’s inspired by Irish vegetable barley soup, with some distinctly non-Irish ingredients added at the end for a unique boost of flavor.
Barley is one of my favorite ingredients in the world, and it’s perfect in soup. It’s chewy and nutty and adds hearty nutrition – including protein and fiber – to the soup. But so many other grains would work well here – farro, rice, or even steel cut oats!
But my favorite part about this soup is the surprising amount of flavor from other ingredients. Garlic and thyme added in the beginning, and parsley, soy sauce, and lemon juice added at the end. Plus, I like to stir in a little extra butter at the end, which adds a rich, pure, unadulterated butter flavor to the pot.
Like so many soup recipes, this one is flexible. Use whatever broth you want, whatever veggies you prefer or have on hand – it’s hard to mess this one up!
I hope you love this cozy soup as much as I do!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pearl Barley – hulled could be used, but you’ll need to soak it first. Other grains, such as farro, rice, sorghum, etc. would work too!
- Onions
- Celery
- Carrots
- Leeks
- Potatoes
- Parsnips – you can use turnips, more potatoes, or celery root instead.
- Cabbage
- Broth – any kind you want – chicken, beef, or vegetable. I threw some leftover pot roast drippings in mine!
- Garlic
- Thyme – rosemary would also be great.
- Parsley
- Soy sauce
- Lemon Juice
- Butter – or olive oil for a vegan/dairy free option
How to make Vegetable Barley Soup
First, sauté the onions, celery, carrots, and leeks in butter with a pinch of salt and pepper. Then add the garlic and thyme and sauté until fragrant. Pour in the broth, and add the parsnips, potatoes, cabbage, and barley.
Simmer, covered, until the barley and vegetables are cooked. Purée about half of it with an immersion blender, then stir in the soy sauce, lemon juice, parsley, and butter. Don’t forget to season to taste with salt and pepper.
That’s it! Serve with a nice hunk of buttered bread.
How to make it gluten-free
Barley has gluten, so make sure to use a gluten-free grain instead of the barley, such as rice, wild rice, quinoa, or farro. Steel cut oats would also work really well! Also, be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce or alternative.
How to make it vegan
Make this vegetable barley soup vegan by using olive oil instead of butter, or use a vegan butter substitute. And of course, be sure to use vegetable broth.
Adding more protein to the soup
The barley adds some protein to this soup, but if you want more, feel free to use bone broth, add a can of white beans, or some cooked shredded chicken.
Other vegetables to use in this soup
Vegetable barley soup is a great way to use what you have, what’s in season, or what’s on sale at your grocery store! Mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, leafy greens such as kale or spinach… I think all of that would be spectacular.
Just remember that some vegetables cook faster than others, so you may need to adjust timing accordingly.
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Rustic Vegetable Barley Soup
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Equipment
- Immersion Blender optional, or standing blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 onion diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 stalks celery diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 carrots diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 lb. leeks trimmed and halved lengthwise, sliced, and washed well (see notes), about 3-4 cups
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried, plus more for serving
- 6 cups broth any kind will do – chicken, vegetable, beef, or a combination.
- 2 medium potatoes diced (about 2-3 cups)
- 2 parsnips diced (about 2-3 cups, or use more potatoes)
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
- ½ cup pearl barley rinsed, see notes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the diced 1 onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 2 carrots, and sliced 1 lb. leeks, along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until softened and much of the vegetables' water has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
- Add the minced 2 cloves garlic and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves. Sauté until fragrant, then pour in the 6 cups broth. Add the diced 2 medium potatoes, diced 2 parsnips, 2 cups chopped cabbage, and rinsed ½ cup pearl barley. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 30 minutes, or until barley and all the vegetables are fully cooked. If soup is too thick after everything cooks, feel free to add more broth or some water.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup no more than halfway right in the pot. You want there to still be plenty of texture, so don't go overboard with blending! Alternatively, you can use a standing blender to blend about 4-6 cups of the soup and add it back to the pot.
- Turn off heat. Stir in the 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Serve, garnished with a bit more fresh parsley, thyme, and fresh cracked black pepper if desired.
Notes
- To make it vegan, use oil of choice instead of butter and be sure to use vegetable broth.
- Use another grain instead of pearl barley – farro is very similar to barley. For a gluten-free alternative, try sorghum, quinoa, steel cut oats, or rice (and use a GF soy sauce). Keep in mind different grains need different amounts of time and liquid amounts to cook, so you may have to adjust.
- Hulled barley can be used instead of pearl, but you should soak it first since it takes much longer to cook without soaking.
- Add protein by using bone broth, and/or stirring in some white beans when you add the barley. You can also add some cooked shredded chicken if you like.
- This soup is extremely flexible. Use the veggies you have on hand – onions instead of leeks, add mushrooms, omit anything you don’t have, use turnips, celery root… etc. And I’m serious about using whatever broth. I used pot roast drippings I had stashed in my freezer for part of the broth! Keep in mind different vegetables require different cooking times and will impart different flavors to the soup.
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Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
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