Mushroom and Barley Soup
with white beans / celery / carrots / baguette
Hearty and comforting, this classic soup got great reviews when first featured in 2017.
Smarts: This soup requires 25 to 30 minutes of hands-off simmer time to cook the pearl barley. If you are short on time, make the soup ahead (it reheats well), look for quick-cooking barley (Trader Joe’s sells one that cooks in 10 minutes), or use canned white beans as a substitute.
Smarts: This recipe could be made in the Instant Pot. For tips, join the Cook Smarts Instant Pot Facebook Group.
Ingredients
- Carrots - 6 oz, chopped
- Celery - 3 stalks, chopped
- Onions, medium - 1, chopped
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp
- Thyme, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp
- Mushrooms, any brown - 12 oz
- Green onions - 2 stalks, chopped, green and white parts combined
- Beans, cannellini or butter (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Pearl barley - 1/3 cup (sub cooked white beans, using 3x the amount listed)
- Tomato paste - 2 Tbsp
- Flour, all-purpose - 2 Tbsp
- Stock, any type - 5 cups
- Bay leaves (opt) - 2
- Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1/2 cup
- Baguette, small (opt) - 1
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Carrots / Celery / Onions - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make spice mix - Combine salt, garlic powder, thyme, and red pepper flakes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Mushrooms - If not pre-sliced, slice mushrooms. (Can be done 2 days ahead)
- Green onions - Slice green onions, combining green and white parts. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
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Make
- Heat a Dutch oven with oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add butter and then carrots, celery, onions, and barley to melted butter. Saute until vegetables are starting to soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in spice mix, tomato paste, and flour and cook for 1 minute more.
- Pour stock and bay leaves over vegetables. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until barley is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. (If using quick cooking barley, it should cook in about 10 minutes.)
- Stir beans and lemon juice into soup and season with some salt and pepper.
- Divide soup between bowls. Enjoy with yogurt and green onions on top and baguette on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
37 reviews
Added sweet potatoes we had on hand and used one cup red wine and four cups broth. Used faro instead of barley because that's what we had in the pantry.
0 HelpfulSecond time making this one. I doubled the barley, added a bit of red wine before the veggies, and I didn't have celery so I subbed cabbage instead.
0 HelpfulReally love this soup. Relatively easy and so tasty. I've made it three times now and will be making it for years to come!
0 Helpful