Baby it’s cold outside, and this is one of my favorite soup recipes. I like to serve this with toasted garlic bread, a fresh baguette or No-Knead Bread with a slather of butter. This vegetable soup recipe is really versatile. You can use whatever vegetables are in season or those leftover veggies from the night before.
Sautéing onion, carrots, and celery forms the base. Then we’ll add in our other veggies and season with salt throughout the cooking process, to help build the maximum flavor. Prepare a large batch and you’ll have a healthy dish ready to go for the rest of the week to help avoid that last minute snacking.
Chunky Vegetable Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cups chicken broth, or more vegetable broth
- 1 cup water, or more as needed
- 2 potatoes, cubed
- 1 small zucchini, cubed
- ½-¾ cup barley
- 1 teaspoon chicken soup consommé, optional
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Paprika, for color
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery for a few minutes until translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 ½ – 2 hours, until the barley has a nice bite to it. Adjust seasoning to taste.