Make this hearty soup full of healthy veggies to fill your belly and warm you on cold winter nights. Tasty and low in fat, it's a budget-friendly bowl that vegetarians and omnivores (people who eat all foods) will enjoy!
It's also an excellent introduction to Instant Pot cooking. In general, soups are beginner-friendly home-cooked recipes.
You can even fix this healthy soup on a weeknight because the Instant Pot shaves 10 to 20 minutes off the recipe, so the soup gets to the table in less than an hour!
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- Key Ingredients
- How to Make Mushroom Barley Soup
- Top Questions about Mushroom Barley Soup
- 👊🏽 Nutrition bonuses and benefits of mushroom barley soup
- ❄❄❄Storage and freezing
- Top prep tips for the soup
- Serving Mushroom Barley Soup
- Other soup recipes you’ll enjoy
- Mushroom Barley Soup with Tomatoes--Instant Pot or Stovetop
Key Ingredients
What’s awesome about this list is that none of these items are rare or expensive. They may all be in your fridge and pantry!
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Mushrooms
- Pearled barley
- Parmesan rinds
- Salt and pepper
- Canned tomatoes
- Broth
Onion-carrots-celery: These veggies, aka mirepoix, are the start of many great soups and stews. I prefer white or yellow (sweet) onions to red. Chop or dice.
Garlic: Mince your garlic before chopping the other vegetables. As it sits, It will develop more allicins (anti-inflammatory organosulfur compounds, good for your heart).
Mushrooms: Use brown cremini/baby bellas, white button, or a combination of the two (my favorite). If you want to know more about these mushrooms, check out this article.
Pearled barley: This is the easiest to find in stores, but you can use pot barley or quick-cook. Pot barley, which still has the outer bran layer, will need 5-10 minutes longer in the Instant Pot. If you use quick-cook, decrease the cooking time by 5-10 minutes.
Rinse barley before using.
Parmesan rinds: The secret weapon of soup flavor. If you don’t have a cheese rind (I keep them in the freezer), use a bay leaf and some fresh or dried thyme.
Canned tomatoes: Petite or regular dice are nice in the mushroom barley soup. Don’t use crushed tomatoes.
Broth: Although vegetarian broth, such as my homemade Veggie Scraps Broth, or a mushroom broth, makes the soup suitable for vegetarians (and vegans) feel free to substitute chicken or beef broth. Even made with water, the soup will be delicious.
Other: If you saute the veggies before adding the barley and broth, you may want to use a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Fresh or dried herbs always add flavor and nutrition.
Special Equipment
- Instant Pot: I made the soup in a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo.
- Strainer: A variety of strainers makes kitchen life easier. From dusting cakes with powdered sugar to rinsing beans and grains, it's nice to have many sizes. I used a medium strainer to rinse the barley.
The other necessary items are a chef's knife, a cutting board, a large measuring cup, and measuring spoons.
How to Make Mushroom Barley Soup
Instant Pot instructions with photos
Saute setting: Choose saute and press the large center knob until “custom” shows on the display. Press again to choose a medium heat like LE3. Cook onion in olive oil until translucent; then, add the carrots and celery, cooking until brightly colored.
Cook the mushrooms with the mirepoix veggies until they soften and give up water. Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant.
Stir in pepper and salt (if using).
Add the barley and Parmesan rinds and stir to coat with vegetable juices.
Add the tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine all ingredients.
Pressure cook: Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the vent is closed. Choose pressure cook and set the time for 20 minutes.
When the time is up, release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Then, open the vent and release any remaining pressure. (There shouldn’t be much.)
The soup is ready to eat!
Stove top instructions
On medium-high heat, cook onion until translucent in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Add the carrots and celery and cook until brightly colored.
Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they soften and begin to give up water.
Toss in the minced garlic and stir. Cook until fragrant (about a minute). Season with pepper and salt (if using). Now would be the time to add the bay leaf and thyme if you want those flavors.
Drop the rinds into the mix and stir and add the barley. Stir.
Pour in the canned tomatoes and broth. Bring all to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
You can start testing the barley for softness at 40 minutes. Continue to cook, checking the grain every 5 minutes.
Soup is ready to serve as soon as barley is soft enough!
Top Questions about Mushroom Barley Soup
Do I need to soak or pre-cook barley?
No. But, if you are planning to freeze the soup or eat it on another day, it’s a good idea to use the stove-top method and add cooked barley when you reheat the soup.
Check out my post on how to cook barley in the Instant Pot if you want to make it ahead of time.
Barley can absorb up to three times its weight in liquid. So, the longer it sits in the soup, the less liquid you’ll have, and the more mushy the grain becomes.
If you want to keep the barley from getting mushy, cook the vegetables in the broth, and add the pre-cooked barley once they are soft.
This saves time at the dinner hour, too!
Can I use another grain?
Farro, sometimes called Italian barley or brown rice, can be used in place of barley.
Can I use dried mushrooms?
Dried mushrooms are a super tasty addition, especially porcini mushrooms. Start rehydrating them when you begin soup prep. Add the chopped rehydrated mushrooms with the garlic after the fresh mushrooms are soft.
You can use the soaking liquid in place of part of the broth, but be sure are strain it through a cheesecloth to remove any dirt or sediment.
Can I add meat?
Mushroom barley soup is delicious with meat. Add bits of chopped leftover beef, lamb, or chicken. You can even top it with bacon bits or diced ham.
Is mushroom barley soup vegan?
It can be--if you leave the Parmesan rinds out of the recipe. Nix them in favor of a bay leaf and some dried or fresh thyme, and you'll have a satisfying vegan soup!
👊🏽 Nutrition bonuses and benefits of mushroom barley soup
It is loaded with nutrition AND flavor!
Barley and mushrooms are rich in beta-glucans, an insoluble fiber good for heart health, lowering cholesterol and triglycerides, and managing blood sugar.
Beta-glucans are also beneficial for immunity and gut health since they are prebiotic fiber and feed your gut microbiota. They help with immunity, protect against leakiness (integrity), and may be helpful against cancer. (Source)
Mushrooms and barley are surprisingly good sources of protein and iron, which makes them a boon to vegetarians and vegans, who may have difficulty getting enough of these nutrients.
- Mushrooms offer a slew of vitamins and minerals. They are particularly high in copper and selenium, a powerful antioxidant, and a good source of phosphorous and potassium.
They are excellent sources of vitamins B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), and B5 (pantothenic acid) and supply a decent amount of B6. The B vitamins are essential for energy and heart health. They're also healthy for the digestive and nervous systems.
- Barley, NOT a gluten-free grain, is also rich in B vitamins. It is an excellent source of vitamin B6 and offers thiamin (B1) and niacin (B3). It’s a powerhouse source of manganese and provides almost half of your daily selenium needs.
It’s also terrific for potassium and phosphorous.
❄❄❄Storage and freezing
Refrigerate the soup for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to 165 F in the microwave or stovetop.
Stored soup will thicken because of the barley, so you’ll want to add some broth or water when reheating. Often soup is better the next day (or month)!
Another tip for freezing is to cook the barley separately from the vegetables in broth. Thaw both in the refrigerator and then add the barley when heating the soup for serving.
If you are going to freeze the soup, consider these pre-portioned silicone containers. You can pop out the frozen soup cubes and store them in freezer bags. (Genius!)
Top prep tips for the soup
- Buy pre-chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Trader Joe’s usually offers a plastic tub of these mirepoix veggies. Some stores sell each chopped vegetable individually.
Or, keep a bag of frozen chopped onions in the freezer. I always have one or two of these on hand!
- Skip all the sauteeing. Just dump everything in the Instant Pot or soup pot on the stovetop. You can even leave out the oil and save a few fat grams!
You’ll still need to cook the mushroom barley soup for 20 minutes in the Instant Pot or about 45 minutes on the stovetop.
Serving Mushroom Barley Soup
🌿🌿 Serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley on top. You could also top it with Parmesan cheese or offer some on the side.
Crusty bread and a green salad will make this a complete meal.
Cheesy toast would also be nice in place of the bread.
Other soup recipes you’ll enjoy
Minestrone di verdure is another vegetarian meal in a bowl and features a delicious splash of pesto on top!
Everyone enjoys chicken soup with rice. It’s especially comforting if you’re under the weather or have an upset stomach.
Corn and Sausage chowder is a hearty, creamy soup that's easy on the wallet and delicious!
Mushroom Barley Soup with Tomatoes--Instant Pot or Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespon olive oil
- ½ cup onion, chopped or diced, use white or yellow varieties
- ½ cup carrot, chopped or diced
- ½ cup celery, finely chopped
- 16 ounces mushrooms, sliced, use cremini, white button or a combination of both
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup barley, rinsed
- 1 or 2 Parmesan rinds (Leave them out if you want a vegan soup.)
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 14.5-ounce can chopped tomatoes, petite or regular dice
- 4 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Wash hands for 20 seconds before beginning with recipe.
- Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot until Custom appears. Press the center knob to choose LE2 or LE3 for 10 minutes. Heat the oil and cook the onion until it loses color.
- Add the carrot and celery to the onion and cook until their color brightens.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they soften and begin to lose water.
- Add the garlic, salt and pepper and Parmesan rinds. Stir to combine and cook until the garlic is fragrant (30 to 60 seconds).
- Add the barley and stir and then add the tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine.
- Place the lid securely on the pot and check to be sure the vent is closed. Choose Pressure Cook on high for 20 minutes. At the end of the cook time, keep the vent sealed and release naturally for 10 minutes. Then, open the vent to release any remaining pressure.
- Serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil on top!
Stove-top instructions
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and add the onion. Cook until translucent and then add the carrot and celery and cook until brightly colored.
- Add the mushrooms and cook until they soften and start to lose water.
- Add the Parmesan rinds, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook until fragrant (30 to 60 seconds).
- Add the barley and stir to combine and then pour in the tomatoes and broth, stirring. Bring all to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Partially cover and cook until the barley is soft, 40 to 50 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Copyright © 2023 Jani H. Leuschel
Jani H. Leuschel
It's a hearty meal with or without added meat! Hope you like it!
Ruth Hall
What an easy, soup with lots of added notes on nutrition—who wouldn’t try this?!