Vegetarian Barley Lentil Soup

January 30, 2024 / By: Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy 38 Comments

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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.

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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