I was on a college road trip when I had my first taste of Mushroom Barley Soup. My friends and I stopped at a roadside deli—I wish I could remember the name of the place. What I do remember is that piping hot bowl of delicious soup. It was love at first bite.
You can find this soup on most Jewish deli menus. The dish has roots in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. Mushrooms were popular in these cold-weather countries because they could be harvested, dried, and stored for later use. In my friend Etti Hadar’s family memoir, her Polish uncle Dov Levin talks about how his mother used to string up rows of mushrooms with a thread and needle in the attic. They would hang the mushrooms near the chimney; the heat of the stove would dry them out faster that way.
Barley was also plentiful and easy to grow in the Eastern European climate, making it a common addition to hearty winter dishes like soup and cholent. Barley’s history goes back even further; in fact, it is arguably the world’s first and most ancient cultivated grain. It is also one of the Seven Species mentioned in the Bible.
Ever since that fateful college road trip, I’ve worked on creating my own soup recipe to achieve what I consider the perfect balance of mushroom barley flavor. I’ve stuck to simple, natural ingredients. Inspired by Uncle Dov’s memoir, I added dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid to the broth, along with fresh mushrooms seared golden brown. The combination adds complex flavor to an otherwise simple soup. A long, slow simmer reduces the broth, making the soup thick and rich.
This robust, filling soup makes a hearty lunch or dinner on a chilly autumn day. Despite being “comfort food,” it is surprisingly healthy. Barley is rich in dietary fiber and selenium. The grain also contains beta glucan, a complex sugar that can help to lower cholesterol. Enjoy!
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Mushroom Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 3 quarts chicken or mushroom stock (low sodium okay)
- 1 1/4 cups pearl barley
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 dried shitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery, including leaves
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 pound white mushrooms, scrubbed and sliced
- Salt and pepper
NOTES
Instructions
- Pour chicken or mushroom stock into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley, add the bay leaves, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered. Set your timer for 2:15 (2 hours 15 minutes) starting now.
- While the soup simmers, place dried mushrooms in a separate small saucepan. Add 3 cups of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, remove saucepan from heat and let the mushrooms soak for 20 minutes.
- Drain the mushroom water by straining it through a coffee filter (use a mesh strainer or colander to hold the filter). Reserve the mushroom water.
- Chop the soaked, softened mushrooms into small pieces and reserve.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion to the skillet and sauté till softened.
- Add the celery and carrots and sauté for 5 more minutes till everything is browning and starting to caramelize.
- Add the soaked chopped dried mushroom pieces and crushed garlic, sauté for 2 more minutes. Your kitchen should smell really good right about now!
- Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the strained mushroom broth into the skillet, bring to a boil, stir. Cook for 2 more minutes till mixture is hot and bubbly. Add the contents of the skillet to the simmering stockpot with the broth and barley.
- Without rinsing the skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat, tilting to coat the bottom of the pan. Spread half of the sliced white mushrooms in a single layer at the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and turn heat to high. Let the mushrooms sear without stirring.
- After 2 minutes, stir the mushrooms continuously for another 1-2 minutes until they are seared golden brown and shrink to about half their size.
- Pour the seared mushrooms into the soup pot. Heat the last 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet and repeat the process for the remaining mushrooms. Add the rest of the seared mushrooms to the soup pot, stir to blend all ingredients.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook uncovered until your timer goes off (2 hours 15 minutes total cooking time), or until the barley is completely tender and the soup is nicely thickened. Add water during the simmer if the soup becomes overly thick. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Other Great Recipe Ideas
In Erika’s Kitchen: Winter Greens Soup with Mushrooms
The Pioneer Woman: French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms
Simply Recipes: Mushroom Risotto
Kalyn’s Kitchen: Chicken Barley Soup
Weelicious: Barley, Chicken and Broccoli Salad
Delicious soup and very filling! I used dried porcini mushrooms because that’s what I could find. It’s a very large pot of soup. Great recipe
This is comfort in a big bowl! We love this mushroom barley soup. It’s on deck for tomorrow allowing the flavors to meld together so we can eat it on Monday when the high temperature is going to be about 5 degrees…brr. I use baby Bella mushrooms instead because I like them better than the white button mushrooms.
The flavor of the soup was fine. However, the rehydrated dried shitake mushrooms were very rubbery – like eating small bits of rubber bands. Any ideas as to why this occurred?
Hi Jan! That is so interesting, I’ve never had that happen before. Is it possible they were old? So strange.
This is my favorite winter soup! I have always made it with chicken stock. However the other day I used 1/3 chicken stock and 2/3 mushroom broth (cannot find mushroom stock). It was even better than before. I’m going to switch to all mushroom broth next time. I also use Baby Bella mushrooms since I like the flavor and texture better than white button ones.
I like to freeze single portions and take one out when I need a delicious warm and cozy winter meal.
Great tips Marcy!
Apologies, for should have read through the older comments as you suggested. I found the answer to my question about freezing. Thank you.
Glad you found the answer you needed!
Soup’s on the stove simmering, though I did have to make some adjustments since I didn’t have quite everything, but the house smells wonderful and I have only one question, it’s a big potfull. I hope it can be frozen??
Soup was delicious. I used quick cooking barley which worked out equal to the regular barley without the need to spend so much time in preparation. Also used mushroom box soup and skimmed off the froth from the soup. Used to make this type of soup and your receipe helped me remember the ingredients,
Wow, I think this is the BEST mushroom barley soup I’ve ever made! The 3 cups of mushroom broth from the shittakes really boost the depth of the flavor. Searing the mushrooms also brings out so much more flavor. I added parsley stems and leaves and that was a good call. I make my own vegetable broth, which i feel is far superior to boxed or canned broth. It made a lot of soup, but I think everyone I share it will will be very happy!
I tried this for the first time today, and it was delicious! I don’t like to make substitutions the first time I make a recipe, but ended up needing to- I subbed dried porcini for the shiitake, and used some mushroom broth and not-chicken broth as they were at hand. I bought the wrong kind of barley, so ended up subbing wheat berries. In spite of all of that, the soup was wonderful, so I can only imagine how great it will be when I can make it as written! After the soup finished cooking, it set up like concrete! Most likely a me-problem from using the wheat berries. We just added more broth and it was perfect! My husband loved it and it will now be in the cool-weather rotation!
I can only find sliced dried shitake mushrooms near me. Would you adjust the recipe?
They should work fine!
Does this freeze well?
Yes it does.
Wow, I must have done something wrong. I have made mushroom barley soup several times and have had very good results. This recipe was watery and fatty, and veggies were overcooked, despite not even cooking for the full time. It was expensive, and I’m sorry I will be throwing it out.
So sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you, Nan! This has been a success for so many, I wonder what went wrong?
I made the mushroom barley soup and it was delicious but not thick. I simmered it on a very low simmer setting the whole time. Could this be the reason? My hubby prefers thick soup.
Hi Ellen, did you simmer it uncovered as directed? A higher simmer and keeping it uncovered, so excess liquid can evaporate, should help.