Barley Chicken Soup

Barley Chicken Soup
Barley Chicken Soup

The weather is starting to get cool here, which has me thinking about all those fall and winter comfort foods like chilis and stews.  But in Maryland, Mother Nature is fickle, so we still get that odd hot day.  This soup is great for that bridge between summer and fall.  It’s the fall soup you want, but our barley chicken soup is a light broth full of summer vegetables.

Barley Chicken Soup
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Barley Chicken Soup

The weather is starting to get cool here, which has me thinking about all those fall and winter comfort foods like chilis and stews. 
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword Dairy Free, Nut Free
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 534kcal

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or stock pot

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves divided
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 large bone-in chicken breast skin removed
  • 1/3 cup pearl barely
  • 15 oz canned, diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup asparagus trimmed and sliced
  • 1 cup peas canned, fresh, or thawed from frozen
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
  • Add onion and celery and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, 2 to 4 minutes.
  • Grate or finely chop 1 clove garlic; add to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add broth, chicken and barley. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
  • Transfer the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon. Return the broth to a simmer and cook until the barley is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken or cut into bite-size pieces; discard the bone.
  • When the barley is done, add the chicken, tomatoes and juice, asparagus, peas, salt and a grinding of pepper; return to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes more.

Notes

This recipe is 4 Green, 2 Blue, and 1 Purple WW points.  
Jump to nutritional information
Ingredients for Barley Chicken Soup:

I love soup.  And I don’t make it enough.  I guess because for years soup was either something that came from a can that was probably just a quick lunch, or an appetizer when out to eat.  Really, who does appetizers at home?  But I don’t give soup enough credit.  They can be an incredibly versatile dish.  Light meal, full dinner, snack, or side dish, a soup can fit anywhere in your meal plan.

This soup takes over an hour, but most of that time is just allowing the chicken and barley to cook, and all the flavors to blend together.  Start by heating your oil over medium high heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven.

Celery and Onion cooking in the Dutch oven. Once celery and onion are soft, the garlic will be added.

Once the oil is hot, add the onion and celery.  Stir the vegetables until they begin to soften.  This will take between two and four minutes.  Once the celery and onion are a little soft, add your garlic to the pot.  Continue to stir as they cook.  Cook for about one minute.  The garlic will become very fragrant.

Broth and chicken have been added to the Dutch oven

Once the onion, celery, and garlic have begun to cook, add the chicken broth, chicken breast, and barley to the pot.  Bring the soup to a gentle simmer.  You will see some slight bubbling in the liquid as the soup warms, but do not bring it to a rapid simmer or a boil.  Once there is slight bubbling, cover the pot and lower the heat to low.  Allow the chicken to cook.  This will take about twenty minutes.After twenty minutes, remove the chicken from the pot.  Replace the cover and put the heat up a bit until the soup once again reaches the light simmer.  Continue to cook the soup until the barely is tender.  Start checking after about twenty minutes, but could take as long as thirty.

Chicken breast, shredded and ready to go back in the pot once the barley is done.

While the barley continues to cook, pull the chicken meat from the bone.  After cooking in the broth, the chicken should be nice and tender.  Shred the chicken or cut it into bite sized pieces.  Discard the bone.

Chicken and remaining vegetables added to the pot.

When the barely is tender, return the chicken to the pot.  Add the tomatoes, asparagus, and peas.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper.  Stir the soup and return it once again to a simmer.  Cover the soup and cook over low heat until the asparagus is done.  The asparagus should take another 5 minutes or so, depending on how tender you like it.

Barley Chicken Soup

When ready to serve, remove the pot from the heat.  You can either dish the soup into individual bowls, or serve straight out of your Dutch oven. 

 Can’t get enough soup?  Check out our Garlic Shrimp Soup.  

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10 Comments

  1. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…

  2. Natalie – Healthy food blogger, passionate about living a healthy lifestyle.
    Natalie


    It’s soup season and I’m constantly looking for new recipes to try. This soup sounds good and healthy. I will put it on my list to make.

  3. Chef Dennis – Kissimmee, Florida – My name is Dennis Littley or “Chef Dennis” as I’m known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.
    Chef Dennis


    I want to have this in my bowl today! Looks so delicious!

  4. itsnotcomplicatedrecipes
    Alexandra


    Soup season is well and truly here, and I am loving this Barley Chicken Soup!

  5. ramonascuisine – I'm a busy mom that enjoys cooking (the healthy way) for my family.
    Ramona


    Nice and healthy. Perfect for this weather.

  6. Emily Flint
    Emily Flint


    This soup sound so yummy, I can’t wait to try it now that it is cold outside!


  7. I love soups make the cold winter days more pleasant! Thank you for this yummy recipe

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