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A bowl of vegetarian barley soup with potatoes and mint, with some bread and a spoon.
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4.10 from 10 votes

Vegetarian Barley Soup with Potatoes, Lime and Mint

A rustic vegetarian barley soup made hearty with potatoes, onion and celery. It's lightened with a squirt of lime and a little freshly chopped mint. With only 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes cooking time, this is an ideal easy recipe for a weeknight dinner.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: vegetarian barley soup
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 182.4kcal
Author: Susan Pridmore

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot
  • Chef's knife

Ingredients

Cooking the Barley

  • cup pearl barley (to make 1 cup barley cooked)
  • 1 cup vegetable broth or Better Than Bouillon, or water
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon table salt (do not add salt if you use Better Than Bouillon)
  • 1 bay leaf

Making the Soup

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • cup grated yellow onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ¼ cup finely chopped celery
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon table salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 2 cups vegetable broth or Better Than Bouillon
  • 1 Yukon gold potato diced
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Instructions

  • If you don't have cooked barley in the refrigerator or freezer, start it first.
    To do this: bring 1 cup of broth (or water) to a boil, and add ⅓ cup of barley to the broth. Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or ¼ teaspoon table salt) and the bay leaf. Cover the pot, reduce to a simmer, and cook until al dente. This should take 25 - 30 minutes for pearl barley. Drain.
    You should end up with 1 cup of cooked barley grain.
    If you have hulled barley, it will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook.
    This step can be done ahead. Click the link for more details on how to cook pearl barley.
  • Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed, large pot you plan to cook the entire soup. Add the onion, garlic, and celery, and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in the tomato paste, turmeric, salt and pepper, and cook for another couple of minutes to bring up the flavor of the tomato paste.
    The tomato paste adds great umami to this dish, and contributes to a super flavorful broth. So, make sure it's very fragrant before moving to the next step.
  • Stir in the broth, bring to a simmer, and add the potato and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked barley (you should about 1 cup of cooked barley).
  • Add the fresh mint, lime juice, and serve immediately with a hunk of crusty bread. Serve with a lime wedge and additional mint.

Nutrition

Calories: 182.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 27.3g | Protein: 3.3g | Fat: 7.3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.1g | Sodium: 1620.2mg | Potassium: 348.6mg | Fiber: 4.5g | Sugar: 3.7g | Vitamin A: 576.8IU | Vitamin C: 13.2mg | Calcium: 30.7mg | Iron: 1.2mg