Easy vegan Vegetable Barley Soup! Hearty, satisfying, and ultra-cozy in the wintertime. (Plus super simple to customize with your own favorite veggies.)
Vegetable Barley Soup is such a classic cold-weather comfort meal. It’s super warm and cozy, plus filled with colorful veggies. And I love the addition of chewy, tender pearled barley in soups – so pleasantly filling and satisfying.
In winter, I like to make use of any frozen vegetables I happen to have on hand. (Usually peas, sweet corn, green beans, and broccoli.) Of course feel free to customize this soup with your own favorites! Cabbage, bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, or even greens stirred in at the end are all lovely additions.
Barley contains gluten, so for those with allergies/sensitivities, simply replace it with rice, quinoa, or your favorite GF pasta for a gluten-free version. And if you’re looking for more cozy soups, here are a few more of our favorites:
- Chickpea Noodle Soup
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- Vegan Corn & Potato Chowder
- Healing Turmeric Noodle Soup
Vegetable Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup pearled barley, uncooked
- 1 1/2 cups cut green beans (I use frozen)
- 1 cup sweet corn (I use frozen)
- 1 cup peas (I use frozen)
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Optional additions:
- 1 Tbsp. white miso (to stir in at the end)
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Dice onion.
- In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, saute onion for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/vegetable broth for no-oil saute method.)
- Meanwhile, dice carrot and mince garlic.
- When onions are translucent, add carrot, garlic, basil, and oregano. Stir and saute 1 minute.
- Add broth, tomatoes with juice, and green beans. Increase heat and bring to a light boil.
- Rinse barley well.
- When broth is lightly boiling, add barley. Stir and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 35-40 minutes or until barley is tender. (Add more broth or water if desired as the barley will soak up some liquid.)
- When barley is cooked, stir in sweet corn and peas. Heat for 5 more minutes.
- Optional (but recommended!) miso addition: in a small bowl, whisk 1 Tbsp. white miso with 1/3 cup warm water to remove clumps. Add to pot right before serving and stir well to combine. (Or simply salt/pepper to taste as needed.)
- Great served with chopped parsley (or your favorite herbs).
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
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This looks amazing! I have to make this very soon!
WOW this looks so hearty and delicious! perfect for the fall!
This is the second time I've made this and it is *so good.* The only thing I changed was to add all chicken broth and no water (because I have so much chicken broth in the freezer), and it is very savory. Thank you for this recipe! ( I even pinned it to my "food i've actually made" board…ha!)
So glad you’re enjoying it. Wishing you a lovely weekend!
I have made this soup with barley [something my wife showed me 40 years ago] but plan to try it with quinoa next time I make veggie soup.
Thanks for the idea.
Question for you, can this be made in a crock pot w/o sauteing the carrots, onion and garlic??
Hi there! Fantastic idea swapping out the barley with quinoa. I’ve tried that before as well and it was great! I can’t speak from experience, but I bet it would be a great crock pot meal as well – would love to hear if you give it a try. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your week!
I am going to make this in the crock pot today! Will let you know how it turns out.
So great! Would love to hear how it turned out for you in the crock pot 🙂 Have a beautiful rest of the week! -Kaitlin
Made this tonight, and had to sub out the barley with Risoni (Trader Joe’s lentil and chickpea flour “rice substitute” although it’s not like rice at all to me ha!) I didn’t want to go to the stores as I’m currently minimizing trips. This soup was DELICIOUS! So flavorful and healthy, and despite it being a ‘soup’ it had a fresh taste like spring 🙂 Will definitely make again!!
Ooh what a fun substitute! Trader Joe’s is awesome. (I’ve been missing them the past few years since we don’t have any TJ stores in Montana!) Always so grateful for your kindness and feedback on the recipes. Hope you’ve been staying well! Sending love your way. -Kaitlin
Wondering how well this would do in an Instant Pot?! 👍
Hi Mary! I haven’t tried this in the Instant Pot, but I think it’d do well. (I’m guessing about 20 minutes on high pressure, then let it naturally release.) Would love to hear if you give it a go 🙂