Vegan Mushroom Barley Soup is packed with flavors and simple ingredients. This nutrient dense plant based soup is made with pearl barley, chopped veggies, mushrooms and simple seasonings. This easy mushroom barley soup is low in fat, dairy-free and super filling!
Mushroom Barley Soup Recipe
If you are looking for a budget friendly soup which is healthy as well than this instant pot mushroom barley soup recipe is for you. Made with fresh veggies, easy to cook pearl barley and baby bella mushrooms in a light vegetable broth.
Add fresh lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley for a bright flavor.
This is the best mushroom barley soup recipe you'll ever make in your instant pot or on the stove top.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Pearl barley: Highly nutritious, chewy and nutty, easy to cook pearl barley. We used Red Bob Mill's pearl barley. Mild in taste and packed with nutrition.
- Mushrooms: Bay bella mushrooms will add a depth of flavor. You can also add shitake or a combination of shitake and baby bella mushrooms.
- Aromatics: Yellow onion and minced garlic will elevate the flavor of this simple vegan soup. You can also sub the yellow onion with chopped shallots. Read NOTES below at the bottom of the post for exact quantity.
- Veggies: Celery.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice will brighten up the flavor. Do not use store bought lemon juice.
- Optional Garnishes: Fresh chopped parsley and red pepper flakes.
Tips for success
- Build more flavor: Sauté the aromatics and veggies to build more flavor!
- Lemon Juice: Add fresh lemon juice to the pressure cooked healthy barley mushroom soup to brighten the flavor.
- Avoid burn error: Deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the burn error.
Method
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Sauté aromatics & veggies
- Sauté aromatics & veggies: Sauté aromatics and veggies on Sauté mode set on High heat settings. Sauté until the onion begins to turn soft. Add seasonings and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the diced mushrooms and sauté for another 30 seconds. Turn off the sauté mode.
Step #2 Pressure cook
- Deglaze pot: Add liquid and deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and help prevent the burn error. Add the pearl barley and give everything a good stir. Throw in the bay leaf.
- Pressure cook: Secure the lid of the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 20 mins followed by 10 mins natural pressure release. Open the lid carefully. Cancel the Pressure cook mode and add fresh lemon juice. Give everything a good stir. Serve the vegan mushroom barley soup hot or warm and enjoy! You may garnish the soup with fresh chopped parsley.
Serving Ideas
You can serve this easy mushroom barley soup recipe with the following sides:
- Crusty whole wheat Sourdough Bread.
- Stir fried veggies.
- A light salad like roasted vegetable salad.
- Moroccan couscous.
- Brown rice with vegetables.
- Air fried veggies like acorn squash, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes, smashed brussel sprouts, roasted beets, carrots and potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, mushrooms and onion, baby gold potatoes, roasted radishes.
Leftovers and storage
Fridge: You can store this vegetarian mushroom barley soup for upto 4 days in the fridge in air tight containers.
Freezer: Freeze the plant-based soup for up to 2 months in heavy duty freezer safe bags or containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge and than follow the reheating directions shared below.
How to reheat
Stovetop: Reheat the vegan barley soup on the stove top on medium high heat in a heavy bottomed pot until warm or hot. You may add more vegetable broth or water to adjust the consistency of the soup.
FAQs
Yes barley soup is good for you. Barley is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins B and E and minerals such as zinc and magnesium. Barley also has a low glycemic index and is packed with antioxidants.
No there is no need to cook barley before adding to soup. Pearl barley cooks very well along with the other ingredients of the soup in less than 30 minutes.
Soaking barley before adding it to soup is not necessary, especially if you're using pearl barley, which is the most common type of barley found in stores. However, if you're using hulled barley or hull-less barley, these types are less processed and might benefit from soaking. Soaking hulled or hull-less barley for a few hours or overnight can help reduce the cooking time and make it more tender.
Barley is a whole grain that comes in several forms, including hulled barley and hull-less barley. Hulled barley has only the tough outer hull removed, leaving the bran and germ intact. Hull-less barley, as the name suggests, lacks a hard outer hull.
Pearl barley on the other hand is the most common form of barley found in stores. It has been processed to remove the tough outer hull, bran, and sometimes the germ. As a result of this processing, pearl barley cooks faster than hulled or hull-less barley but has fewer nutrients because the outer layers containing fiber and nutrients are removed.
MORE PLANT-BASED SOUPS MADE IN THE INSTANT POT
- Instant pot lentil soup with potatoes.
- Bean and potato soup instant pot.
- Potato leek soup instant pot dairy free.
- Instant pot vegetable soup with potatoes.
- Instant pot Portuguese bean soup.
- Dry Lima Beans Instant pot.
- Instant pot red lentil soup.
- Old fashioned vegetable barley soup.
- Sweet Potato and kale soup with coconut milk.
RECOMMENDED
I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU! If you try this best mushroom barley soup recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I would love to hear how it turned out for you, or any changes you make.
Vegan Mushroom Barley Soup
Equipment
- 1 6 quart instant pot
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 2 cups mushroom - **white mushrooms dice into quarters or halved.
- ½ cup celery - **roughly chopped.
- ½ cuo carrots - **diced into ½ inch cubes.
- ¾ cup onion - **yellow onion roughly chopped.
- ½ tablespoon garlic - **minced.
- 2 tablespoon olive oil - **extra light or light olive oil.
- 1 Bay Leaf
- ½ teaspoon better than bouilon - **veggie base.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice - **freshly squeezed.
Seasonings
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika - **smoked paprika.
- salt to taste - **add according to your preference.
Liquid
- 5 cups water - **warm or hot.
Instructions
Saute Veggies
- Set the instant pot on high heat setting and add oil. When the oil becomes moderately hot add the chopped onion, celery, and carrots and saute for a few minutes or until the onion turns soft. Add the minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Now, add all the seasonings mentioned above in the "seasonings" section of the ingredients list. Add the diced mushrooms and saute for 1 minute. Cancel the saute mode.
Deglaze pot
- Add warm or hot water, better than bouillon veggie base, and deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent burn errors. Now, add the pearled barley and give everything a quick stir. Throw in the bay leaf.
Pressure cook
- Secure the lid of the instant pot, seal the valve, and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. Once the cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep. Wait for 5 mins of natural pressure release and then release the rest of the pressure manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully when the floating metal pin on top of the lid drops. Discard the bay leaf. Cancel the pressure cook mode.
Serve soup
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice and give the soup a quick stir. Serve the vegan mushroom barley soup garnished with chopped parsley and red pepper flakes. Enjoy! Scroll up for the recipe substitutions, step-by-step photos, tips & tricks, FAQs, and lots more!
Notes
- Red pepper flakes: Skip adding the red pepper flakes if you are heat intolerant or making the soup for kids.
- Mushroom: You can substitute the white mushrooms with baby bella mushrooms.
- Garnishes: Garnish the healthy soup with fresh parsley, dill, red pepper flakes.
Beth says
This vegan mushroom soup tastes amazing. I made it for the first time and everybody loved it. Thanks so much for the delicious and easy recipe 🙂
mtr_admin says
Thanks a lot Beth for the wonderful feedback 🙂 We are so glad you loved this recipe so much.