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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian/Meatless

    Vegetarian Barley Lentil Soup

    *Updated* Jan 27, 2025 Published: January 30, 2024 / By: Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy 38 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Disclosure Policy.
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    This healthy Barley Lentil Soup is comfort food in a bowl. It is made in one pot in about an hour. Perfect for batch cooking. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly. Great for meatless Monday!

    Wholesome homemade soup is the perfect comfort food. Nutrient-rich, flavourful, and loaded with veggies. It is a cozy, satisfying, budget-friendly hearty meal.

    Vegetarian lentil barley soup with vegetables.

    Flavourful vegetarian soup with barley, lentils, and assorted vegetables. Rich in fibre, protein, and lots of essential nutrients. It is a delicious choice for anyone seeking a healthy bowl of goodness.

    When it comes to comfort food, anything served in a bowl is great. Soups, stews, and chilis are a staple in my house during the cold winter months.

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    Cooking with lentils, legumes, and grains is fantastic, especially if you want to include more meatless meals. They are the perfect meat substitute for vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes.

    They can be used in so many delicious ways. Most people will not even miss the meat. We love having poached eggs and lentils for dinner. Need a great party appetizer? This vegan mushroom pate is always a hit.

    If you are a meatloaf lover, give this recipe for a satisfying and budget-friendly meatless meatloaf a try.

    Easy Barley Lentil Vegetable Soup

    This vegetable soup recipe has lots of wholesome ingredients. Perfect for adopting more meatless recipes into your meals. Don’t worry if there is something you do not like. I have lots of great suggestions below.

    Ingredients for making vegan lentil and barley soup with vegetables.
    • olive oil
    • onion
    • vegetable stock
    • green lentils
    • pearl barley
    • crushed tomatoes
    • Cajun seasoning
    • bell peppers
    • mushrooms
    • carrots
    • Worcestershire sauce
    • salt and pepper

    Making One Pot Barley Lentil Soup

    Making this vegetable soup with lentils and barley is super easy. Full instructions are in the recipe card below. Here is the condensed version.

    Steps in making vegan soup with barley, lentils and vegetables.
    • Wash and chop the vegetables and set aside. Rinse the lentils and set aside.
    • Add the olive oil to a Dutch oven or heavy pot.
    • Cook the onions and carrots.
    • Add the seasonings, mushrooms, and peppers. Saute for a few minutes.
    • Toss in the stock, tomatoes, barley, and lentils.
    A pot of vegetable soup with lentils and barley.

    Satisfying, wholesome lentil barley vegetable soup is made in about an hour. The perfect balance of flavour and nutrition. Indulge in a cozy meal with this tasty bowl of goodness today!

    Suggestions/Recipe Tips

    This healthy homemade soup is easy, full of flavour, and great for vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free diets. Cooking the barley and lentils together in one pot, along with all the other ingredients makes for less cleanup too.

    Make a huge pot for easy meals during the week. It reheats nicely in a pot. If you find it thickens up too much, just add some additional water or stock. You can also freeze it for longer storage. Just defrost in the fridge before reheating.

    You can use pot or pearl barley in this recipe. You do not need to rinse it before adding it to the pot. Pearl barley cooks in about 30 minutes, and pot barley takes a little longer, around 50 minutes.

    If you are not a fan of barley, you can try farro, bulgur, quinoa, or buckwheat instead. Read package directions on cooking times.

    Easy soup made with vegetables, lentils and barley.

    Lentils come in lots of colours as well. For this recipe, I used green lentils. A great substitute would be brown lentils. Red lentils are also great, but they take much less time to cook, so add them a little later in the recipe.

    Vegetable stock is perfect, but by all means chicken or beef is a great substitute if vegetarian is not a concern. You can also use just water, but the flavour profile is not as good.

    Mix up the vegetables. This recipe has lots of mushrooms, carrots, and any colour of bell pepper you like. Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and even potatoes are great options.

    Not into Cajun seasoning? Use Greek or Italian instead. Make your own blend of herbs and spices. I always add salt and pepper to my bowl. I find most of the time there is enough salt in the other ingredients.

    A spoonful of vegetarian soup packed with veggies, barley and lentils.

    Marinated lentils are great for adding to salads, soups, and sandwiches. They can be eaten hot or cold.

    Give this beluga pasta sauce a try. Made with black lentils, dried mushrooms, and red wine. Perfect for date night.

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    Vegetarian Soup with Barley and Lentils for dinner.Pin
    Vegetarian lentil barley soup with vegetables.

    Vegetarian Barley Lentil Soup

    This vegetarain soup with barley and lentils is hearty and nutritious. Budget-friendly and super easy to make. Perfect for batch cooking.
    5 from 50 votes
    Pin Recipe Print Rate Save To Your Recipe Box Saved!
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Canadian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 349kcal
    Author: Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 3 ounces onion chopped
    • 8 cups vegetable stock
    • 1 cup green lentils rinsed
    • 1 cup pearl barley
    • 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
    • 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
    • 6 ounces bell peppers diced
    • 8 ounces mushrooms chopped
    • 8 ounces carrots diced
    • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • salt and pepper to taste
    US Customary – Metric

    Instructions

    • Wash and chop all the veggies and set aside. Rinse the lentils and set aside.
    • In a dutch oven or heavy pot, add the olive oil and heat.
      2 tablespoon olive oil
    • Add the onion and carrots and cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
      3 ounces onion, 8 ounces carrots
    • Add the cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce, and mix well.
      2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • Add the mushrooms and peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes.
      6 ounces bell peppers, 8 ounces mushrooms
    • Add the tomates, stock, lentils and barley. Mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 55-60 minutes.
      8 cups vegetable stock, 1 cup green lentils, 14 ounces crushed tomatoes, 1 cup pearl barley

    Nutrition Information

    Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1413mg | Potassium: 952mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 8363IU | Vitamin C: 48mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 5mg
    Tried this recipe?Take a picture and tag @homemadeandyummy
    Nutritional information on this site is generated via a plugin. I am not responsible for the accuracy of the plugin information.

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    MEET THE AUTHOR

    Gloria Duggan is the author for Homemade & Yummy, where she creates fun and easy recipes. She is also a brand ambassador/influencer for well-known companies. Gloria has judged food competitions and has posted about local food events. Gloria's work has been featured in magazines, and she has been interviewed on several podcasts. Read More…

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sandy

      February 25, 2024 at 8:51 am

      Dear Gloria: Have you ever thought of publishing a cookbook? I have tried many of your recipes and they always turn out great. This recipe is next on my list, although I make a similar soup. I love soups, stews and chilis especially during the cold winter months. Thank you for sharing your recipes. Watching from Windsor, Ontario Canada.

      Reply
      • Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy

        February 25, 2024 at 9:30 am

        Hello Sandy, thanks so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this soup recipe as much as we do.

    2. Krysten

      February 12, 2024 at 1:22 pm

      Delicious recipe! I left out the mushrooms but made no other changes. I love the flavor, especially with the Cajun seasoning.

      Reply
      • Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy

        February 12, 2024 at 2:56 pm

        That is the beauty of this recipe, you can adapt it to your liking. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.

    3. andrea

      February 12, 2024 at 8:49 am

      The perfect hearty soup! I love how easy it is to prep. It’s perfect for a busy night after work.

      Reply
      • Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy

        February 12, 2024 at 2:57 pm

        Homemade soup is hearty and delicious. Perfect for making lots for reheating during the week.

    4. Hayley Dhanecha

      February 12, 2024 at 3:20 am

      This vegetarian barley soup is packed with flavours and goodness, made a huge batch and stored in the freezer for coming days.

      Reply
      • Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy

        February 12, 2024 at 8:42 am

        I love that you can freeze this soup, makes for easy meals down the road.

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