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Vegetable Barley Soup Recipe
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5 from 6 votes

Vegetable Barley Soup

Roasted vegetables, barley, and more vegetables; OH MY! Vegetable barley soup is a hearty, healthy vegetable soup that will leave you satisfied and warm all over.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Additional Time10 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Soups
Cuisine: American
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 135kcal

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables

  • ¾ cup sweet potatoes ½ large sweet potato, diced
  • ½ cup red bell pepper ½ large red pepper, diced
  • ¾ cup butternut squash diced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce or Tamari

Soup Ingredients

  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large yellow onions diced (mild 1 cup)
  • ½ cup zucchini diced
  • ½ cup yellow summer squash diced
  • ½ cup sweet potatoes diced
  • 1 cup butternut squash diced
  • ½ cup carrots diced
  • ½ cup celery diced
  • 6 cups organic vegetable broth
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
  • 1 ½ cups cooked pearl barley
  • 1 bay leaf

Garnish

  • ¼ cup fresh chopped dill
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh thyme chopped
  • 3 Tablespoon fresh basil chopped

Instructions

Roasted Vegetables

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, chop sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, and butternut squash.
  • Combine balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, dijon mustard, and rosemary.
  • Whisk ingredients together and pour over the vegetables.
  • Stir to combine.
  • Pour the vegetables into a casserole dish, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.
  • When the vegetables are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly.
  • Using a fork, mash the roasted vegetables and set aside.

Cooking the Barley

  • In a medium-sized pot, combine 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 bay leaf, and 1 cup pearl barley.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Cover, and reduce heat to simmer.
  • Cook for 45 minutes.

Preparing the Soup

  • Saute onions and garlic in a large soup pot until the onions are translucent.
  • Add raw, chopped vegetables.
  • Stir and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add 6 cups of vegetable broth.
  • Add bay leaf, lemon juice, zest and salt, and pepper.
  • Stir and bring to a boil.
  • Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
  • Cook for 30 minutes covered.
  • Add mashed roasted vegetables.
  • Stir to combine.
  • Add cooked barley last.
  • Stir to combine.
  • Add herbs, and stir.
  • Serve hot.

Notes

  • Barley is NOT gluten-free, so if you suffer from gluten-intolerance, do not use barley.
  • Cook barley separately to avoid overcooking
  • Vegetable barley soup can be reheated
  • Vegetable barley soup can be frozen but should be at room temperature before freezing.
  • Thaw soup completely before reheating as well.Choose any combination of vegetables you enjoy.
    Sauteing the vegetables in a particular order to ensure the vegetables aren't under or over cooked.Before adding it to the soup pot, cooking the barley first makes it the perfect consistency.
  • Cutting the vegetables in similar sizes for roasting and cooking in a pot helps cook the vegetables evenly.Heat broth-based soups over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until hot, or reheat in the microwave on the reheat setting.
  • I like Souper Cubes for freezing the vegetable barley soup recipe. Thaw overnight in a refrigerator before reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 494mg | Potassium: 495mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 11329IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg