Chicken Soup with Barley | Tried and True Recipes (2024)

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This chicken soup with barley is my favorite meal-prep recipe. It’s rich and comforting, and it freezes perfectly. Pearled barley has a relatively quick cooking time, making it perfect for adding to chicken soup.

But first, let’s talk about barley. It’s one of my favorite grains to add to soup because it’s so easy to cook. It releases some starch into the broth, lending a creamier texture, like in this mushroom barley stew recipe.

What is barley?

Barley is an amazing grain that’s perfect for soups, stews, and salads. There are three main barley varieties: unhulled, hulled, and pearled.

• Unhulled barley: Barley naturally has an indigestible outer husk. This husk (also called a hull) must be removed before cooking. If you buy unhulled barley, you must soak it overnight before cooking it for 40–50 minutes.
• Hulled barley: Hulled barley means that the outer husk has been removed, but the bran layer–making it a whole grain–is kept intact. The cooking time is about 40 minutes; you need not soak it beforehand.
• Pearled barley: Pearled barley has had the husk removed, and it’s also been polished to remove the bran layer. While it’s not a whole grain, it’s still an excellent source of fiber. The cooking time is 25–30 minutes, with no need for soaking.

The benefit of pearled barley is that it has a very fast cooking time; however, because the bran layer and husk have been removed, it’s no longer a whole grain. If you don’t mind a slightly longer cooking time and you want to increase your intake of whole grains, opt for hulled barley instead of pearled.

What I love about this grain is that you can add hulled or pearled barley straight to the soup without soaking them first. They absorb all the flavor of your soup, release some of their starch, and make for a creamy, nutritious finished dish.

One thing you should know is that barley continues to absorb liquid, even after it finishes cooking. The next day, you may need to loosen up the soup with a little water.

How to make this chicken soup with barley:

Ready to start cooking? Here’s what you need:

• Whole chicken, but you can use a cut-up chicken instead; I prefer whole chicken, personally.
• Aromatics for the broth and soup, including onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
• Spices for the soup, including dry thyme, garlic powder, paprika, and plenty of crushed red pepper.
• Pearled or hulled barley; you can also substitute farro or brown rice and adjust cooking time as needed.
• Lemon juice and parsley add a nice, herby brightness at the end of cooking.

Start with the broth:

1. Cover the whole bird with water and aromatics. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The meat will almost fall off the bone.
2. Remove the bird from the pot and rapid-simmer the broth until it reduces further. It will darken in color, and the flavors will intensify. Strain it through a sieve and discard the solids.
3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it from the bones and add the shredded chicken to the bowl of broth. This keeps it from drying out as you prepare the soup. Reserve the carcass for homemade stock, if you like.

Note: If you are short on time, skip the homemade broth. Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken and store-bought stock instead.

Make the soup:

1. Once the legwork of the broth has been completed, make the soup. Fry up some diced aromatics–onion, carrots, and celery with their leaves–and add a few spices with melted butter.
2. Add the barley along with the reserved broth and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the barley is tender.
3. Finish with lemon juice and minced parsley.

While it may seem like a labor-intensive project, most of the time is inactive. It’s perfect for meal prepping on Sunday evening, and the soup freezes perfectly.