Chicken and Barley Soup
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Chicken Barley Soup is a hearty, easy-to-make soup loaded with barley, chicken, and vegetables that’s sure to satisfy! It’s packed with hearty ingredients, making it more filling than your average chicken soup recipes.
Chicken and Barley Soup
If you are looking to add more healthy foods to your diet, this chicken barley soup recipe is a great alternative to chicken noodle soup which tastes just as good but is a healthier option. The traditional egg noodles found in most chicken noodle soups don’t have much nutrition but hulled barley on the other hand is a substitute that is perfectly good for you.
I make chicken noodle soup at my house almost every week lately so it’s nice to have something I can rotate it with. I will likely even find myself making this more than the traditional chicken noodle soup. I love the texture and flavor that barley adds and how filling it makes this soup. If carbs aren’t a concern, you can also add diced potatoes to bulk up this soup even more.
This would also be a great recipe to have on hand next week when you have an abundance of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Simply swap the chicken thighs for turkey!
Try this recipe in your slow cooker to make it even easier—just slightly increase your chicken bouillon or homemade chicken stock and fresh herbs if you plan to let it stew all day. I sometimes add a bit of red pepper and garlic powder for even more punch.
Serve up these bowls of comfort with yummy rolls, enjoy, and stay warm!
Soup Sides to Try
I love a good loaded soup, but I almost always want a side. Usually bread! Try these recipes I’ve loved:
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Chicken and Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast , cooked and shredded
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (about 4)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery (about 4)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as desired
- 3/4 cup pearl barley (uncooked)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp of each dried rosemary , thyme, and marjoram
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1/4 cup slightly packed , chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion and saute 3 - 4 minutes, add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
- Stir in chicken broth, barely, bay leaves, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until barely is tender, about 50 - 60 minutes.
- Stir in chicken, parsley and lemon juice and serve warm. As soup rests the barely will absorb more liquid so add more chicken broth to thin as desired.