Hearty Mushroom & Barley Soup (Vegan)
Looking for a cozy, nourishing plant-based soup? Follow these steps at home to make this warm, hearty bowl of vegetable mushroom-barley soup. Using a variety of fresh mushrooms, it packs plenty of flavour and gut-friendly ingredients to help support digestion. It's freezer-friendly too!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ½ pound mushrooms sliced (use a variety such as cremini, oyster, baby bella)
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots finely diced
- 2 ribs celery finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 7 cups water or low sodium vegetable stock if you don't have bouillon concentrate
- 5 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Beef Concentrate
- 1 cup dried pearl or pot barley pearl cooks faster
- 1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce see note for substitution
- 1½ teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Heat avocado oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring once.
- Add carrot, onion and celery, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are brown and carrot is beginning to soften, 5-7 minutes.
- Add garlic, stirring constantly for one minute.
- Next, add water, bouillon concentrate, barley, worcestershire sauce, thyme, onion powder, cumin and bay leaves and bring to a boil for five minutes on high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium and partially cover with a lid, keeping at a bubbling simmer, until barley is tender not mushy, about 30 minutes if using pearl barley and up to 50 minutes if using pot barley.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
Notes
Soup will keep, covered, in fridge for four days or in the freezer for a month. Let thaw overnight in fridge and then bring up to a full steaming simmer on medium heat before serving.