Veggie barley soup is a one-pot mix of vegetables and pearl barley in a deeply savory broth, and one pantry staple stirred in at the end is why I know this one's a keeper.
I can't believe this is the first soup recipe I'm releasing all year, and we're already in the last weeks of winter. I love soup, I just think we've had such a warm winter that it never felt urgent.
I'm happy to finally share this one though. It's comforting, and it's a spin-off of my chunky veggie soup with a completely different flavor, closer in spirit to my amazing lentil soup for how filling the barley makes it.
Ingredients
If you've cooked some of my recipes before you'll most likely have all these ingredients already, the full list and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
Pearl barley is the main base ingredient, and it goes into the pot raw, no pre-cooking needed, simmering right along with everything else until it's tender in about 30 minutes. Once cooked it takes on a satisfying chew, with a nutty taste that complements the vegetables. Make sure it's pearl barley you're using and not hulled: pearl barley has had the outer hull and bran polished off, which is what lets it cook that quickly. Hulled barley keeps the bran, so it's higher in fiber but takes closer to an hour to soften, it isn't a straight swap here without adjusting the simmer time.
It isn't unique to any one country's kitchen, but pearl barley is one of the oldest cultivated grains in the Middle East, grown across the Fertile Crescent long before wheat became the dominant grain there, and it still shows up in soups and porridges across Levantine and broader Middle Eastern cooking today. Another recipe I often make with it is my savory pearl barley porridge, quick, filling, and cheap to make.
All the veggies used here have been diced uniformly using a chopper which I linked below. It's so handy, the veggies cook evenly and look near perfect. The carrot, onion, and celery are cooked first, and the butternut squash and zucchini go in last since they don't need as much time.
Vegetable bouillon is my favorite way to add depth, vegetable stock can be used in its place.
Now, I'm usually a creature of habit and brighten my soups with lemon juice, but I'd run out when I made this one, so I reached for apple cider vinegar instead. I stirred it in at the end, off the heat, and wow, I wish I'd tried this years ago. It's the flavor I've tasted in cafes and restaurants and could never place, turns out it wasn't lemon at all. Try it before you add the vinegar and then after, the difference is real.
What I Use to Make This Recipe
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Add the apple cider vinegar off the heat, right at the very end. If it simmers with the soup, the brightness cooks off and you lose the whole point of adding it.
Pearl barley keeps absorbing liquid as it sits, so if you're not eating this the same day, expect it to thicken considerably in the fridge. You will need to loosen leftovers with water, do this to suit how liquidy you like it - you may need to readjust the salt.
Taste before adding extra salt at the end. Bouillon cubes vary a lot in sodium between brands, I'd rather you adjust up than oversalt from the start.
To serve this vegetable barley soup it's good with a slice of crusty bread on the side if you want something more filling.
Storage
This can store in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container. I always portion mine into individual containers for storage, it makes it much easier to grab, defrost, and control the amount you need.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Veggie Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbs Olive oil
- 1 medium Carrot diced
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 1 rib Celery diced
- 3 cloves Garlic crushed, or to taste
- 8 cups Water
- 1 cup Pearl barley rinsed
- 2 cubes Vegetable bouillon
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper cracked
- 4 Bay leaves
- 1½ cups Zucchini diced
- 1½ cups Butternut Squash diced
- 2 tbsps Parsley finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a pot over high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and stir until softened and slightly golden. Stir in the garlic until fragrant.
- Pour in the water and add the pearl barley, vegetable bouillon, salt, turmeric, pepper, and bay leaves. Cover, bring to a soft boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the zucchini and butternut squash, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and discard the bay leaves. Stir through the fresh parsley and apple cider vinegar. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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