Homemade Vegetable Barley Soup is thick, hearty, and jam-packed with fresh veggies in a flavorful broth!
Simply combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and let the Crock Pot do the rest! The result is a perfectly healthy meal that everyone will love!
A Fresh and Hearty Favorite
This is the perfect budget-friendly soup and is great if you’re short on time! Just set it and forget it…until the house smells amazing in a few hours that is!
This soup is so versatile! If you have extra veggies in the fridge or garden, chop them up and add them in to stretch this soup even further.
You can keep it vegetarian or add some protein like beef or chicken! This classic Crockpot favorite that can be made with any leftover veggies or meat.
Slow cooker vegetable barley soup is packed with healthy veggies and fiber.
Ingredients and Variations
Whatever ingredients are in the pantry, fridge, or garden can be used to give this vibrant soup extra texture, color, and flavor!
BARLEY This veggie barley soup is made with pearl barley! Quinoa, rice, pasta or lentils will also taste delicious if you don’t have barley (cooking time may vary based on the grain added).
VEGETABLES This soup is loaded with fresh veggies! Carrots, celery, potato, tomato, corn, and bell peppers are all added to this soup, but any vegetable will work great. Zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, or even cauliflower.
BROTH Beef broth is added to this soup because of the rich flavor it adds. Use vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian soup!
SPICES Garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a bay leaf are all that’s needed to complete the flavor of this soup!
To Add a Little Protein: Toss in some chuck roast beef, ground beef or turkey, leftover shredded chicken or steak. If your meat is already cooked, add it in the last hour of cooking. Or keep it meatless by adding in lentils, garbanzo beans or black beans to stretch this soup even further!
How to Make Vegetable Barley Soup
An easy and super healthy soup will be ready and waiting in the Crockpot!
- Combine all ingredients (per recipe below) in a crockpot.
- Cook until barley is tender, about 3-4 hours on high.
- Discard bay leaf and serve.
Season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese if desired. If you have fresh herbs on hand (parsley or basil) stir those in just before serving.
Serve with homemade french bread and a beet salad for a complete meal! Serve with some homemade cheesy breadsticks and a tangy cucumber tomato salad!
Tips for Perfect Barley Soup
- Like most soups, vegetable barley soup only gets better the next day. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- To reheat and refresh the flavors, just add a few dashes of salt and pepper and heat on the stovetop.
- To freeze vegetable barley soup, ladle chilled soup directly into zippered bags and label them with the date. Lay them flat in the freezer and once they are frozen, store the bags upright to save freezer space. Vegetable barley soup should keep about 8 weeks in the freezer!
More Soup-er Recipes
- Easy Hamburger Soup – budget-friendly
- Homemade Lentil Soup – meatless main dish
- Potato and Sausage Soup – crockpot version
- Chicken Vegetable Soup – fresh & flavorful
- Chicken Tortilla Soup – made from scratch
- Chicken Noodle Soup – a classic favorite
- Chicken Tortellini Soup – hearty & filling
- Mushroom Barley Soup – an easy favorite
Did you make this Vegetable Barley Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Vegetable Barley Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 onion diced
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice, 1 can
- 1 large potato cubed or sweet potato
- 1 carrot chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels thawed
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 cups beef broth or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat butter in a medium pan and cook onion until it is slightly tender, 2-3 minutes.
- Combine all ingredients in a 6qt slow cooker.
- Cook on low 7-8 hour or on high 3-4 hours until barley is tender.
- Discard bay leaf, season with salt & pepper to taste, garnish with parmesan cheese and stir in the fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Lunch, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
great recipe and Bible Study group LOVED it – added both garbanzo & black beans and handful of spinach at last 10 minutes – very healthy and vegan/Vegetarian – thank you!
great recipe and Bible Study group LOVED it – added both garbanzo & black beans and handful of spinach at last 10 minutes – very healthy and vegan/Vegetarian – thank you!
A Question – in the narrative under How to Make it says:
Combine all ingredients (per recipe below) in a crockpot except for tomatoes.
Cook until barley is tender. Add tomatoes.
But the recipe says:
Combine all ingredients in a 6qt slow cooker.
Cook on low 7-8 hour or on high 3-4 hours until barley is tender
Should the tomatoes be added in the beginning or at the end?
Thank you
Sorry for the confusion, Sandra! The post has been updated. Add all ingredients and cook until barley is tender, including tomatoes I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I will definitely make this again. Very yummy with homemade bread twists. I did it exactly as written, but I will either add the potatoes later or cook them first. The acidity of the tomatoes keep the potatoes from cooking.