This favorite mushroom barley soup is full of vegetables, chewy barley, and warming broth. It’s a recipe for cozy on gray days!
Here’s of the coziest soups out there, ready to join the ranks of tomato basil and wild rice. Yep, it’s mushroom barley soup! This one is full of flavor: it uses both dried and fresh mushrooms for earthy savoriness. And it’s got a warming broth and nutritious veggies. But the star? Barley, which infuses each bite with a pasta-like chewy texture. If you love barley soup, you’re going to be all about this one! It’s perfect for healthy desk lunches in a thermos or enjoying a big steaming bowl after a long day. Alex made this one for me, and from the first bite I was hooked.
Mushrooms: both dried and fresh!
If you’re reading this, we’ll assume you’re mushroom lovers like we are. It took me years, but I finally learned to embrace the incredible flavor you can get from the humble mushroom, especially in plant based recipes.
For this recipe, you’ll use two types of mushrooms: both dried and fresh! Don’t be scared of the dried mushrooms: they’re very easy to use! If you’ve never worked with them before, here’s the down-low on using dried mushrooms:
- Use any type. For this mushroom barley soup, you can use whatever type of dried mushroom you find at the store. Porcini is likely the easiest to find, but any will do.
- Soak before using. Dried mushrooms needs to be dehydrated before using. For this recipe, you’ll soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes before adding to the soup.
- Use the soaking liquid too. You’ll also pour in the mushroom soaking liquid into the soup, since that has lots of flavor too! Just make sure to strain out the liquid to make sure there are no tough parts of the mushrooms included.
Want more? Here’s all you need to know about working with dried mushrooms.
Tips on making mushroom barley soup
This mushroom barley soup is warming and cozy, but you can make it literally any time of the year. Packed with whole grains and vegetables, it’s a restoring, healthy dinner recipe or perfect for lunch. This soup is pretty straightforward to make, after you keep in mind the notes on using dried mushrooms above. Other than that, you’ll find it’s similar to many soup recipes you’ll find. Here are a few notes on this soup:
- Speed it up with knife skills. The easiest place to get time savings in cooking is knowing your knife skills! To brush up, head to our Knife Skills 101 or click the links to the vegetables in the recipe below.
- Try homemade veggie broth. Did you know you can make your own vegetable broth? It’s super easy and a great way to use up leftover veggies. Go to How to Make Vegetable Broth.
- To make it more filling, add white beans. The soup is seriously good and filling on its own. If you want to take it up a level, add 1 15-ounce can of white beans with all the veggies. It adds even more plant based protein to keep you full!
- Is barley gluten free? No! Barley contains gluten, so it’s not part of a gluten free diet.
What to serve with barley soup
How to make this mushroom barley soup into a meal? With soup, it’s all about the right sides. Here are some of our favorites to add to this one:
- Flaky Homemade Biscuits plus salted butter? Yes please.
- Crusty bread like our Best Sourdough Bread or Artisan Dutch Oven Bread (a much easier version).
- Grilled cheese would be perfect; try our Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese.
- Best Homemade Cornbread is really the best — and our Cornbread Muffins and Easy Vegan Cornbread are just as good.
- Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing goes with the cool weather vibe.
- Perfect Caesar Salad is a tasty pairing: use the cornbread above for the croutons and serve leftovers on the side.
- Easy Garlic Bread Wow, is this easy garlic bread tasty! It’s crunchy on top, chewy on the inside, and full of flavor.
This barley soup recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Print
Mushroom Barley Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This favorite mushroom barley soup is full of vegetables, chewy barley, and warming broth. It’s a recipe for cozy on gray days!
Ingredients
- ½ ounce dried mushrooms
- 8 ounces baby bella (aka cremini) mushrooms*
- 1 medium onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1 cup pearled barley
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Soak the dried mushrooms in 2 cups of room temperature water for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice the onion. Peel and dice the carrots. Dice the celery. Slice the baby bella mushrooms. Mince the garlic.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced baby bella mushrooms, soy sauce, and basil. Cook 4 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook 5 to 6 minutes until softened. Stir in the barley and cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and kosher salt.
- Bring to simmer and cook 25 to 30 minutes until barley is soft. Whenever the dried mushrooms are finished soaking (likely around when the simmering starts), remove and rinse them, then add them to the soup. Pour the remaining liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into the soup (this avoids any tough particles).
- Finish the remaining simmering time, then taste and add additional salt or pepper if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Notes
*Substitute button mushrooms if you can’t find baby bella / cremini.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keywords: Barley Soup, Mushroom Barley Soup, Vegetable Barley Soup
Mushroom recipes
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I listened to you and added the white beans and it really was filling! Thank you!
We are so glad to hear this! Thank you so much for making it, and glad you liked the white beans! :)
This soup was divine. Used my own broth made from scraps. Added the beans. The highlight was your Dutch over bread. Great meal on a gray day!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup and the bread!!
Hi, I am really interested in making this, but I really don’t like onions unless they are basically translucent and undetectable. I am worried that if I follow your directions and cook the mushrooms for only 5 or 6 minutes they won’t be as soft as I prefer. I am also worried that if I cook them longer that I might overcook the mushrooms. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Hi! I think you could cook both the onions and garlic for 5 minutes before adding other ingredients and cooking 5-6 more minutes.
Hi! Really looking forward to making this. Is there any way to substitute for hulled barley? I’m worried that the increased cooking time would make the vegetables overcook.
Thanks very much :)
You could try much-faster cooking bulgur.
Ah I will, thanks very much!
I always used hulled barley instead of the other type. I just cook the barley separately before adding it to whatever dish I am making and it works out well. Or you could partially cook it before adding to the soup. Hope that works for you.