Hearty Lentil Barley Soup Recipe | Easy & Flavor-Packed!
I am an avid soup fan. The moment I feel even the faintest chill in the air in the fall, I start rotating my favorite soups into our weekly meal plan. This hearty lentil barley soup recipe has been a staple for most of my adult life. It is simple to make, yet filling and packed with flavor. Plus it’s super healthy!
After perusing the recipe, true carnivores may notice that this is a vegetarian soup. A vestige of my health-nut-vegetarian days. Those days are long gone, but this soup recipe has remained, which means it truly has stood the test of time. For those who are bothered by the lack of meat, you can easily add sausage. Just brown a pound of sausage (breakfast, Italian, or your preferred flavor) in the pan first, then proceed with the recipe as written.
Try this soup with one of my favorite easy bread recipes!
Intermission: Start a New Christmas Tradition
This soup, paired with some rustic homemade bread, is the perfect dish for a Christmas-time Shepherd’s Meal. I heard of this idea through a comment on a Facebook thread about family Christmas traditions, and I just loved it. The idea is to have a simple meal in a subdued atmosphere (such as by candlelight), ideally on Christmas Eve, to remember Jesus’ humble beginnings, and the shepherds who were summoned to be the first to gaze upon the newborn King.
Last year I did some quick Google research to try to figure out what foods would have been staples for Jewish shepherds in Jesus’ time. I am no culinary scholar, so take this with a large grain of salt, but from what I could gather, lentils and barley were common, as well as basic breads. Thus, this hearty lentil barley soup recipe seemed to be a fitting meal that is also accessible to the modern Western cook.
It is my goal to work in the Shepherd’s Meal as a regular part of our family Christmas traditions. I just think it is a great way to start of the Christmas festivities, and focus on the astounding circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth.
Back to the Hearty Lentil Barley Soup Recipe
Recipe Credits
This hearty lentil barley soup recipe is based on one I found at Taste of Home many moons ago, plus ingredients I compiled from other recipes across the internet.
Secret Ingredients
The soup has three secret ingredients, which give it a complex and savory flavor:
- Red wine vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Molasses
You certainly could make the soup without any of these, and it would turn out fine. But this trio of ingredients really give it an amazing depth of flavor!
The Barley
There are two kinds of barley you are likely to find at the grocery store: pearl barley and quick barley. This recipe as written uses pearl barley. Last year at Christmastime I could only find quick barley. I waited and added it in towards the end with the carrots and tomatoes, giving it just enough to soften up without overcooking.
Also, I would just like to say that barley is an underrated grain. It’s delicious, versatile, and adds a yummy texture. Maybe I need to come up with some more recipes involving barley…
Other Notes
- I often substitute the canned tomatoes for fresh or my frozen tomatoes.
- I generally use oregano and thyme in this soup, but rosemary, basil, or other herbs would work well also.
- This recipe makes a huge batch (about 8 servings), but you can easily cut it in half if you don’t want that much soup!
Hearty Lentil Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 6 c broth chicken or vegetable
- ¾ c dried lentils washed and picked through
- ¾ c pearl barley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 28 oz diced tomatoes with liquid
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 4 ½ tsp molasses
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large stockpot, and sauté the celery, onion, and garlic until tender.
- Stir in the broth, lentils, barley, oregano, thyme, and salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the lentils and barley are almost tender.
- Add the tomatoes, carrots, lemon juice, molasses, and red wine vinegar. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the carrots, lentils, and barley are tender. Adjust liquid and seasonings if needed.
Notes
- You can easily add sausage to this soup; simply brown a pound of sausage in the stockpot, and then proceed with the recipe as written.
- If using quick barley instead of pearl barley, simply add it in with the tomatoes and carrots (instead of with the lentils).
One thought on “Hearty Lentil Barley Soup Recipe | Easy & Flavor-Packed!”