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It’s definitely soup weather! I happen to think that pretty much any weather is soup weather, but December in the Northern Hemisphere is most definitely fair game for soup. This Chicken Barley Veggie Soup makes enough to feed a hungry crowd, and it’s warm and comforting on a cold, blustery day. It also happens to be cheap and filling. Serve it with some homemade bread and dinner is served!
This soup really has pretty much everything: chicken chunks to satisfy the meat-eaters, cooked barley to fill you up and rev your metabolism with slow-burning carbs, radishes that take the place of potatoes, lots of veggies full of nutrients, and a flavorful broth.
Can I reiterate that this makes a humongous pot of soup? It filled my 6 quart soup kettle to overflowing and made enough to feed our family of 6 for several meals.
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- 2-3 lbs. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 cups cooked barley
- 1 T butter or coconut oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 16-oz. package radishes, chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 2-3 medium carrots, sliced into thin coins
- ⅓-1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 6 cups low fat chicken broth (either homemade, or make some using chicken or turkey bouillon)
- Extra chicken/turkey bouillon or nutritional yeast for added flavor, if desired
- Salt, to taste
- 1 T parsley flakes
- 2 tsp. each dried sage, basil, cilantro, dill weed, and garlic powder
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- Red pepper, to taste
- In a huge soup kettle, sauté the onion, radishes, celery, carrots, and cabbage in one tablespoon of butter or coconut oil over medium-high heat until mostly tender (leave the lid on the kettle to retain the juices).
- Meanwhile, sauté the chicken in its own juices in a nonstick skillet until the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink in the middle.
- When the vegetables are mostly soft, add the frozen peas, chicken broth, and seasonings. Add additional chicken/turkey bouillon and/or nutritional yeast for a stronger flavored broth, if desired.
- Add the cooked chicken (juice and all) and barley to the soup. Add additional chicken broth to thin it down if necessary. Add salt to taste.
- Simmer everything together until the veggies are as soft as you want them to be. Yields about 6 quarts of soup.
I am gluten free so cannot eat barley. What’s a good substitute for this recipe? I was thinking lentils to add bulk?
I personally would prefer quinoa over lentils in this recipe. 🙂
How many cups can you eat to keep it an e meal?
You could eat over a quart of soup and still not exceed the carbs for an E meal. 😉 Just eat until you’re satisfied.
Briana, I find myself with a 40lb bucket of hulled barley. I have never cooked barley before. Should I cook it like rice? Please tell me how to get the cooked barley for your recipe. Thanks!
Hi Barbara! I usually just follow the instructions on the package so I didn’t have info off the top of my head, but I Googled it and this is what I found: “To cook hulled (whole grain) barley kernels, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add 1 cup hulled barley and return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 50-55 minutes. Drain off any unabsorbed liquid at the end of the cooking time. Makes about 3 cups.” (from http://www.barleyfoods.org/barleyfacts-nutrition.pdf)
Is there a crockpot version?
Just heat everything in a crockpot until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft. 🙂 Never done it that way, so I don’t know how long it would take.