Mushroom and Barley Soupwith 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.
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.
Reviews
This meal has 35 reviews
Was good. Would double the barley next time.
Really love this soup. Relatively easy and so tasty. I've made it three times now and will be making it for years to come!
Loved the flavor! Used beef broth instead of water.
Great flavour! Love the spice combination.
Substituted the heck out of this one, but what we ended up with was great. Used Gardein beef tips and vegetable broth to make vegetarian, doubled the butter, and used wild rice in place of the barley. Had to cook for an extra 20 minutes for the rice, but all the extra cooking time made the (non-)beef tips nice and tender.
Excellent soup. Will be making again.