This Vegetable Chicken Barley Soup is delicious, hearty, and the perfect comfort food. The soup is loaded with vegetables, chicken, and barley, making it great for lunch or dinner.
Soup is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. I not only love a good bowl of soup during the winter months, but I love it all year round. My favorite thing to serve with the chicken barley soup is a simple grilled cheese. You can never go wrong when it comes to soup and grilled cheese.
I enjoy making a large pot of this soup because the leftovers are just as tasty if not tastier than when you make the soup. The leftovers make for a quick meal when you need something fast.
Helpful Tips:
- I like to chop the celery and onions into small pieces. The carrots I like to slice. If you like larger slices, that will work, but it will change the cooking time.
- The carrots, celery, and onions should be sauteed before adding the other ingredients. Sauteing the vegetables first will help bring out the flavors. Stir often and watch the vegetables carefully, the vegetables should not be browned.
- For this recipe, I use quick-cooking barley. You can use your favorite type of barley. If you use a different type of barley, the cooking time for the soup will change.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper when adding the peas and corn. Add the salt and pepper gradually. Taste as you season to make sure that the soup is not over-seasoned.
- The soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
The steps for making vegetable chicken barley soup
Step one
Add the olive oil, carrots, onion, and celery to a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Saute until they start to tender.
Step two
Add the cooked chicken, diced tomatoes, quick-cooked barley, bay leaves, and broth to the sauteed vegetables and stir in.
Step three
Bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling turn it down and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the peas and corn and mix in. Season with salt and pepper and continue to simmer for another five minutes or until barley and vegetables are tender.
Check out these additional soup recipes:
If you make this vegetable chicken barely soup, I would love to hear about it! Please leave me a comment and a rating.
Vegetable Chicken Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 2 cups cooked chicken cut into bite size pieces
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 14.5 ounces can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup quick-cooked barley
- 2 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or a large soup pot add the olive oil, carrots, celery, and onions. Saute for 6 to 10 minutes or until they are starting to get tender.
- When you are finished with sauteing the vegetables ad the cooked chicken, diced tomatoes, barley, bay leaf, and broth.
- Bring the soup to a boil, once it starts to boil turn it down and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the corn, peas, salt, and pepper. Simmer another 5 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables and barley are tender.
- Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Notes
- Sautee the onions, celery, and carrots before adding the other ingredients to the soup. This will bring out the flavors of the vegetables.
- I use quick-cooking barley for this soup. You can use your favorite barley if you are not a fan of quick-cooking barley. The cooking time will vary.
- Season the soup after the soup has time to simmer and meld the flavors of the ingredients. This will help with not over-seasoning the soup.
- The soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days or it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure to use an airtight container.
This recipe was originally published on January 4, 2016. It has been updated with new content and pictures on September 14, 2023.
It looks so warming, comforting and very satisfying too.
I like barley but haven’t had any in a couple of years. Thanks for the inspiration, your soup looks terrific.
HI Dawn, I don’t have much will power either over the Holidays, sometimes I can’t wait for them to end for that very reason. Love barley in soups, looks delicious!
I don’t have ANY willpower around the holidays Dawn so don’t feel bad! This soup looks very hearty and warming! We’re having our first deep freeze here and all I want to do is eat soup. Hope you’re holidays were wonderful! Wishing you the best for the new year!
What a delicious hearty soup! I love soups that are filling enough to be a main dish!
This looks like the perfect warming, hearty cold weather meal. Only I’d have it for dinner instead of lunch.
Love soup! We’ve been having it a bunch so far this year. Am having it again tonight, as a matter of fact. 🙂 This looks terrific — my kind of recipe. Thanks!
Mmmmm…..I love barley soup and with the change of seasons, this will be a fabulous fall dinner!!