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
Jacob Mandelblum says
I looked up a barley soup recipe at GOOGLE, remembering the one my beloved mother used to make for us..
In the northern South American country my parents immigrated into we their children were all born, I remember
the mushrooms mother sent any of us to get at rhe grocery for the soup were dry ones with a clor and smell
strange to us but I don’t remember having this array of stuff your recipe lists in mother’s soup…..
But then again, is like with music…Everyone playing it makes its own interpretation and you said it already..
Guess I’ll get my daughter to make it..
thanks anyway
Jacob
Amy crane says
Best mushroom barley soup I have ever eaten or made!! No more ordering in a restaurant!!! Just as a note I couldn’t find shitaki mushrooms so I used porcini and they were so good and flavorful!!
Thank you for this recipe!!!
Lori says
For a couple of weeks now I have been wanting to make a mushroom barley soup as I have had a craving for it. Being from New York, I have always had the best ones at the Jewish deli’s as no other places can compare.
I made this today and it was phenomenal. I did not have enough chicken stock at home so I substituted with 1 quart of beef broth. It does come out very thick so depending on how you like it, you may want to add a cup or two of additional broth while it is simmering as the recipe suggests. It was so satisfying and tons of flavor. Perfect comfort food.
Sarah says
Glad to find your website! And glad to subscribe, too. Thank you for sharing your research & your recipes!
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D says
I am wanting to make this because I have a ton of barley cooked. Would you alter the liquid amounts to use already cooked barley?
Sally says
I just did this and yes, you need only about half of the amount of liquid. (I used 9 cups: 4 cups each mushroom soaking liquid and Not-Chick’n bouillon, and a cup of water and splash of red wine.) I also worked with 2 oz dried mushrooms (as I didn’t have fresh), sauteed in butter after reconstituting, and used about 3 cups pre-cooked barley. Came out great!
Mark Soffer says
This has been my favorite comfort soup since I was a kid growing up in Queens. The third time I made it, I replaced store bought stock with made from scratch beef stock; I always have dried porcini in my pantry and used them instead of shitakes. It made a world of difference and is fabulous, lots of depth, the best I’ve ever had. For a nice little zing I added a few drops of pickapeppa sauce. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be making it on a regular basis
Marilyn says
I have made this soup twice now. Delicious both times. I cooked the barley 25 minutes in the instant pot in a box of beef broth (aprox. 4 cups). Instead of pearl barley I used pot barley the first time and half pot barley and half hulled barley the second time. Once I opened the instant pot I added a box of chicken broth and the sautéed veggies and mushrooms just as it says in the recipe. I cooked it about fifteen minutes on saute in the instant pot. But since my pot does not adjust that was too hot for a simmer. I changed the pot to slow cook which kept it warm for a half hour until my husband got home. My husband really likes this soup and so do I. Thank you for sharing.
Jan Revelle says
I rated this recipe the other day and did not give it enough credit. I came back to modify my review but it’s not here, so I will start over. After sitting over night, this is by far the best mushroom barley soup I have ever made. In fact, the soup could compete with the mushroom barley soup at Max and Benny’s, a Jewish deli here in Illinois.
Next time though, I won’t use quick barley or low sodium broth. I think those ingredients are the reason the soup was outstanding on the second day, instead of the first.
Thank you thank you for this recipe.
Tori Avey says
Hi Jan, sorry comments got a little backed up – I have a new baby, still learning how to juggle motherhood and comment moderation. 🙂 Glad the overnight sit made a difference for you. I do recommend regular stock vs. low sodium if you don’t have a health concern. With so few ingredients, the salt really makes a difference in flavor.
Jan says
I must have done something wrong because it’s not that good. I’ll try again though. Thanks for the recipe.
Sue says
If you are thinking of making this soup with low-sodium vegetable broth–DON’T DO IT! I did, and I had to work like a crazed witch at her cauldron to bring this soup to an acceptable level of flavor before I served it to a gathering. I made the soup the night before, so it had plenty of time to develop flavor. But it didn’t, and I had to throw in soy, salt, tons of pepper, and thyme just to wring some flavor out of it. The soup had to be vegan, which meant no Worcestershire.
So USE MUSHROOM stock–no less!! Double the amount of garlic cloves, throw a shallot bulb in as well, and add 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp rosemary, and 1 tsp oregano to the onions near the end of their frying. The soup really needs that herbal boost!
Also, despite my using an entire ounce of dried porcini mushrooms and 2 lbs of baby bellas, the depth of mushroom flavor just wasn’t there. Don’t get me wrong–it’s good soup (with all the above caveats/adjustments). But it’s not great when it’s made vegan.
Tori Avey says
Thank you for the feedback Sue. The recipe does call for mushroom stock, not low sodium vegetable stock (I offer the low sodium option for readers who are on a low salt diet and sensitive to salt flavors). Many readers have made it as written and enjoyed it immensely, but I appreciate your perspective and sharing your modifications.
fredstat says
One of my favorite soups. Best mushroom barley I’ve ever made. Made soup exactly as written and every time it was super.
Michelle says
Hi! I love your recipes! How do u recommend to make chicken / vegetable stock if I didn’t make that soup ?
Irma Kahn says
I am known as the soup expert in my large extended family on buying kosher flanken and chickens for my soups ( do not keep kosher) but many of the younger generation has become vegetarian/vegan. Made this soup with mushroom stock. Best mushroom barley I will now make without the meat. Delicious!
Ellyn says
I made this soup from your recipe a while back, it came out wonderful. I am making it again, but in the Instant Pot. It would be helpful if you could have instructions for IP’s, since many of us (to get more of our life back) now use the IP for almost everything! Thanks.
Tori Avey says
Hi Ellyn, glad you like the recipe! To provide Instant Pot instructions would require me to retest every recipe on the site that works with an Instant Pot, which would take me the better part of a few years (seriously – I have close to 1,000 recipes and all of them are tested in my kitchen!). I’ve found that the Instant Pot isn’t a “one size fits all” adjustment and individual recipes really need to be tested thoroughly to make the right modifications – mostly to do with liquid levels. However, I have tried a few recipes on the site that way and updated those posts with the IP instructions. If you have success modifying this for Instant Pot, please share your experience here as I know it will help others!
Ashley says
Followed the instructions but mine turned out more like risotto and not soup. Not sure where I went wrong. It takes really good but definitely not a soup!
Tori Avey says
I’m not sure where you went wrong either, Ashley! So many people have enjoyed this recipe. Did you keep the soup at a low simmer (not a boil)? Did you remember to add the mushroom water? Sorry it didn’t turn out for you.
Raya Kovensky says
Dear Tori,
Wanted you to know that I made your Mushroom Barley soup and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do want to comment on the Kobete that my husband and I made today and after working on it for two and a half hours, we were slightly disappointed. It seemed very dry to me as you cannot have any excessive moisture in this recipe otherwise the puff pastry will turn to “mush”. I am willing to give it another try but need to ask you what we can add to this recipe to give it more moisture???? Anything that you would suggest would be greatly appreciated.
Tori Avey says
Hi Raya! Glad you enjoyed the soup. Next time you make the kobete, make sure you don’t use a ground beef that is too lean. A mixture of ground beef and lamb is ideal, because lamb has extra fat, but all ground beef will work too as long as it’s not too lean. You can also skip the step where you squeeze the tomatoes; drain them in a colander, but don’t squeeze the moisture out in a tea towel. With these modifications you may find the bottom crust gets a little soggy, but you will have a much juicier filling. Good luck!
Ben Braunstein says
Can I make this in a slow cooker for shabbos lunch ?
sharon galatas says
so good, my whole family loved it and they are not big mushroom fans. Making it again after one week,
very rich flavor. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! Thank you 🙂
PATRICIA L BRENNER says
This seems to be a bit high in sodium for me. Would that change if using a low sodium or the new no salt added broths? We are a vegan family and your recipies are always a welcome addition. Thank you.
Tori Avey says
Yes, use low sodium or no sodium broth and only add salt to taste. Glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
ty says
I have some fresh chanterelles and would love to make this soup with them, do you see an issue?
Tori Avey says
No issue. 🙂 Be sure to trim the bottoms. I do recommend also including the dried mushrooms if you can, they help to flavor the broth quite a bit.