This mushroom barley soup is delicious, comforting, and loaded with savory flavor! Super easy to make and hearty enough for a meal, it's guaranteed to warm you up when it's cold out.
Simple mushroom barley soup is one of my own personal favorite comfort foods. I shared a recipe for creamy vegan mushroom barley soup a few years back, and while I love that soup, sometimes I find myself craving a simplified version. This one is just as hearty and delicious as the creamy version, but it's brothy and not as rich. It's also quite a bit easier to make!
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This particular version is adapted from an old family recipe that I used to have jotted down on an index card. I'd bust it out every winter to cook up batch after batch of the stuff.
I've adapted and adjusted the recipe over the years and it's just gotten better and better. A big bowl of this simple vegan soup is so incredibly soothing when it's cold outside!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. This recipe calls for a decent amount of oil, as this is what's needed to brown the mushrooms properly. You can cut back on the amount if you'd like, but I find the mushrooms cook up best with plenty of oil.
- Mushrooms. We're using cremini mushrooms (also known as baby bella mushrooms), but you can absolutely substitute with other varieties of fresh mushrooms if you'd like. White button mushrooms, shiitakes, and portobello mushrooms will all work.
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Celery.
- Garlic.
- White wine. You can leave this out if you prefer to cook without alcohol.
- Spices. We're using dried thyme and rubbed sage.
- Pearl barley. Hulled barley can be substituted if that's what you have on hand, but you'll need to roughly double the simmer time and add a bit more liquid as it reduces. It's also a good idea to soak hulled barley for a few hours before cooking.
- Vegetable broth.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh parsley. This is optional, but I love sprinkling a bit on top of my soup for a burst of freshness.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Cook the mushrooms. Cook sliced mushrooms first in a generous amount of olive oil. You'll want to cook them for a few minutes on each side, until they brown. Remove them from the pot when they're done.
Step 2: Cook the vegetables. Sweat diced onion, carrots, and celery in a bit more olive oil. Cook them until they soften, then add minced garlic.
Tip: Consider cooking the mushrooms in batches to avoid crowding the pot too much, which can prevent them from browning. I cooked mine in two batches.
Step 3: Reduce the wine. Add the wine and herbs to the pot, and simmer briefly until the liquid reduces by about half.
Step 4: Simmer. Add the barley and broth. Raise the heat, bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer until the barley is tender.
Tip: Add water to the pot if the broth reduces too much while cooking. I like to keep a kettle of hot water on the stove so I can add as needed without cooling down the soup.
Step 5: Finish the soup. Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6: Serve. Ladle your mushroom barley soup into bowls and optionally top each one with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover mushroom barley soup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for 3 months. The barley will continue to soak up liquid as it sits, so you may need to thin the soup with some broth or water.
Variations
- Mushroom swap. Try this soup with button, portobello, or oyster mushrooms.
- Add greens. Leafy greens make a great addition to mushroom barley soup. Stir in some chopped kale, chard, or spinach during the last few minutes of simmering.
- Add beans. Make this already hearty soup even more satisfying by stirring in a can of chickpeas, cannellini beans, lentils, or your favorite variety of bean.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, barley does contain gluten. If you need a gluten-free substitute, try wild rice, brown rice, or quinoa. You'll need to adjust the cook time with any substitutions. You could also give my vegan cream of mushroom soup or creamy mushroom wild rice soup a try — both can easily be made gluten-free by using all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Pearled barley is barley that has had the outer husk, bran layer, and germ removed, whereas hulled barley has only the husk removed. Hulled barley is therefore somewhat more nutritious, but takes longer to cook.
You can! The wine adds flavor, but isn't an essential ingredient. Simply skip step 3 of the recipe.
More Soup Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Classic Mushroom Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed, divided
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon rubbed sage
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup pearl barley
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, optional, for topping
Instructions
- Generously coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the mushrooms in a single layer. (Note 1). Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and transfer them to a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pot and give it a minute to heat up. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic to the pot and cook it with the vegetables for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the wine, thyme, and sage. Bring the wine to a simmer and let it cook until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 4 minutes.
- Return the mushrooms to the pot, then stir in the broth and barley. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 40 to 45 minutes (Note 2), stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender. Add water to the pot if the liquid reduces too much.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and optionally top each with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Serve.
Notes
- You may need to cook the mushrooms in batches to avoid crowding the pot. I generally do two batches using my 7 quart Dutch oven. The amount of oil needed can vary a bit, but I generally use about 4 tablespoons to cook all of my mushrooms (2 tablespoons per batch).
- Cook the soup for less time if you prefer firmer barley, more time if you prefer softer barley.
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This was WONDERFUL! I made it with the farro substituting for barley on a 1:1 basis with a little added water as noted in your recipe notes. And made it 1.5 x recipe so I could give some to my friend who's recovering from surgery. The only slight other change was that I used tarragon instead of sage for seasoning (b/c I love tarragon in soup!) and added a little soy sauce at the end instead of adjusting the salt-- which I'd put in with the mushrooms at the beginning. (O.K, so did I make A FEW changes to basic instructions...sorry) I LOVE the recipe and will be adding it to my soup making repertoire for the rest of the winter. Hearty and so good!
I have a question-- I am sure I will love the soup when I make it (which will be soon) because the ingredient list makes it look as it will be very delicious and savory. But I was out of barley and don't use it very much so didn't want to buy the whole bag, I had farro and I thought I'd swap it in instead.. I know it cooks quicker than barley (EVERYTHING cooks quicker that barley!) but do I use the same amount of farro as would be barley in recipe or less (or more) ?? I guess it's been quite a while since the last commentor but i still hope yu'll read this sometime sooner than later and reply! Thanks in advance. (and when I make it I'll def leave a rating, don't worry!
So yummy!! I made mine with a vegan "beef" bouillon and it worked so nicely with the other flavors of the soup. Will definitely make this again!
So darn good! I printed the recipie and it's going in the must make again recipie pile I have lol. I'm quite a food critic so that should say something about how good this soup is lol
Truly special and delicious!
Deliciious, and perfect for this time of year. Btw, this is how I cook mushrooms--I'm not oil-free, but I prefer to use it judiciously, i.e., as little as possible. This method uses only 1/2 teaspoon, and there's no need to cook in batches.
https://youtu.be/XLPLCmwBLBY