Mushroom Barley Soup: Healthy and Delicious

If you are counting carbs for diabetes management, this soup may fit in perfectly paired with tuna or egg salad. But if the total amount of carbohydrates exceeds your meal target, serve yourself just a cup for a total of 24 grams of carbohydrate and 5 grams of fiber. NOTE: If you want a richer broth, use 12 ounces of fresh mushrooms and 1 ounce of dried mushrooms (I like porcini) soaked in 2 cups of hot water. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth and chop the mushrooms. Add both the mushrooms and the liquid to your soup. Reduce the vegetable broth to 8 cups if you do this.

5 from 7 votes

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Course: Soup

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1 7

Total Time: 1 22

Servings:

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, FAND

Ingredients

11/2 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil
4 celery stalks, chopped (include the leaves if you have them)
4 large carrots, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
16 ounces cremeni mushrooms sliced (see note above)
4 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup pearled barley
10 cups vegetable broth to keep the sodium to an almost-manageable level, I used half regular and half low sodium broth

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sauté the celery, carrots and onion about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushrooms, garlic, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Sauté another 2 minutes.
Add the barley and the broth. Raise the heat to bring the contents to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium low, cover and cook for about an hour or until the soup is thick and the barley is fully cooked. Stir periodically. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Refrigerate the leftovers, which heat beautifully in the microwave. You'll probably need to add more water or broth before reheating because that barley steals all the available liquid.

Nutrition