I was on a college road trip when I had my first taste of Mushroom Barley Soup. My friends and I stopped at a roadside deli—I wish I could remember the name of the place. What I do remember is that piping hot bowl of delicious soup. It was love at first bite.
You can find this soup on most Jewish deli menus. The dish has roots in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. Mushrooms were popular in these cold-weather countries because they could be harvested, dried, and stored for later use. In my friend Etti Hadar’s family memoir, her Polish uncle Dov Levin talks about how his mother used to string up rows of mushrooms with a thread and needle in the attic. They would hang the mushrooms near the chimney; the heat of the stove would dry them out faster that way.
Barley was also plentiful and easy to grow in the Eastern European climate, making it a common addition to hearty winter dishes like soup and cholent. Barley’s history goes back even further; in fact, it is arguably the world’s first and most ancient cultivated grain. It is also one of the Seven Species mentioned in the Bible.
Ever since that fateful college road trip, I’ve worked on creating my own soup recipe to achieve what I consider the perfect balance of mushroom barley flavor. I’ve stuck to simple, natural ingredients. Inspired by Uncle Dov’s memoir, I added dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid to the broth, along with fresh mushrooms seared golden brown. The combination adds complex flavor to an otherwise simple soup. A long, slow simmer reduces the broth, making the soup thick and rich.
This robust, filling soup makes a hearty lunch or dinner on a chilly autumn day. Despite being “comfort food,” it is surprisingly healthy. Barley is rich in dietary fiber and selenium. The grain also contains beta glucan, a complex sugar that can help to lower cholesterol. Enjoy!
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Mushroom Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 3 qts (12 cups) chicken or mushroom stock (low sodium okay)
- 1 1/4 cups pearl barley
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 dried shitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery, including leaves
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 lb white mushrooms, scrubbed and sliced
- Salt and pepper
You will also need
- Large stock pot, timer, small saucepan, skillet, paper coffee filter or clean mesh coffee filter
- Pour chicken or mushroom stock into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley, add the bay leaves, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered. Set your timer for 2:15 (2 hours 15 minutes) starting now.
While the soup simmers, place dried mushrooms in a separate small saucepan. Add 3 cups of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, remove saucepan from heat and let the mushrooms soak for 20 minutes.
Drain the mushroom water by straining it through a coffee filter (use a mesh strainer or colander to hold the filter). Reserve the mushroom water. 
Chop the soaked, softened mushrooms into small pieces and reserve.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion to the skillet and sauté till softened. 
Add the celery and carrots and sauté for 5 more minutes till everything is browning and starting to caramelize. 
Add the soaked chopped dried mushroom pieces and crushed garlic, sauté for 2 more minutes. Your kitchen should smell really good right about now!
Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the strained mushroom broth into the skillet, bring to a boil, stir. Cook for 2 more minutes till mixture is hot and bubbly. Add the contents of the skillet to the simmering stockpot with the broth and barley.
Without rinsing the skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat, tilting to coat the bottom of the pan. Spread half of the sliced white mushrooms in a single layer at the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and turn heat to high. Let the mushrooms sear without stirring. 
After 2 minutes, stir the mushrooms continuously for another 1-2 minutes until they are seared golden brown and shrink to about half their size.
Pour the seared mushrooms into the soup pot. Heat the last 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet and repeat the process for the remaining mushrooms. Add the rest of the seared mushrooms to the soup pot, stir to blend all ingredients.
Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook uncovered until your timer goes off (2 hours 15 minutes total cooking time), or until the barley is completely tender and the soup is nicely thickened. Add water during the simmer if the soup becomes overly thick. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Other Great Recipe Ideas
In Erika’s Kitchen: Winter Greens Soup with Mushrooms
The Pioneer Woman: French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms
Simply Recipes: Mushroom Risotto
Kalyn’s Kitchen: Chicken Barley Soup
Weelicious: Barley, Chicken and Broccoli Salad
I can’t wait for the weather to cool off so I can try this, we’re in the middle of an unseasonal heat wave here in San Diego, wish it would chill off a bit so I coulf break out all my soup recipes! I will def be trying this one though when it gets cold outside!
Wow this look so good, bet it’d be even better with pieces of meat.
You can add some flanken with the barley Maria, it will get nice and tender as the soup simmers.
Thanks, this looks good. I’ve trouble finding a good mushroom barley soup recipe. I’ll try this one soon. Bet it will be good both vegetarian and with flanken or short ribs.
thank you, I have had a love of Jewish food for years, had some incredible Jewish men in my life, and admiration for the Jewish faith, traditions and lore. Do you have a sweet cougal recipe that’s a favorite?? Bless you, dear lady.
Looks wonderful! I just found your Facebook page. I love Jewish cooking although I am a Gentile. So glad to find your site!
Thanks everybody! Hope you all get a chance to try this. Sarah, here’s a link to one of my favorite kugel recipes:
http://theshiksa.com/2012/05/18/sweet-lokshen-kugel/
Hi
Do you have a version of the reciepie you can post or email me that is easily printable. I want to make this today.
Thanks
Hi Ali, I recently updated the blog with a new print function. Click on Print Recipe and a print friendly version should pop up. Let me know if you’re having any trouble. Thanks!
Does this freeze well?
Tina, I have never frozen this soup, but I imagine it would freeze well.
yummy, I will try this week , for sure : -) thanks so much
I made the mushroom barley soup in my slow cooker and it was YUMMY! I lightly sauteed all the vegetables, placed them in the slow cooker and covered with chicken stock. I added a box of quick oats and cooked the soup on high for about 3 hours (keep checking that the liquid doesnt cook away because of the barley).
It was restaurant quality soup !
i have frozen it and it reheats perfectly well.
This recipe is so so so good! Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it Roni! Michele, good to know that freezing worked well for you. Seems like every time I make this soup it disappears too quickly to freeze the leftovers.
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YUM! YUM! YUM! This soup is soo good! This recipe is a “keeper” as we call good ones in my house. Thanks so much. Love your site.
Fabulous Kelly!
the weather here is a little bit chilly already, this soup is perfect, already in my menu for this week, yummm!!! Have a great week Tori. xo
Love this recipe, but due to mushroom allergies, will have to omit them. Do you have a suggestion for something to replace the mushrooms? Leeks? Spinach? I would like to have your input.
Hi Jan! That’s a great question. I’ve never made a sub in this recipe before, it’s tough to imagine mushroom barley soup without the mushrooms. What you could try is omit the mushrooms, and instead saute 1-2 lbs. of beef– flanken, perhaps, or short ribs– and let that cook slowly in the soup till tender. This will make it more of a beef/barley soup with lots of flavor. If you’re trying to keep it vegetarian, you could try subbing diced eggplant. Salt the cut up eggplant for 30 minutes first to pull out the bitterness, then rinse it well before adding to the pot. I’ve never tried it with eggplant, so no promises! But it might work out well. If you try it, let me know!
Looks amazing! We love this soup…I use some black Polish dried mushrooms that make the broth really dark. Sometimes I add a piece of flanken as well…perfect soup weather!
It freezes very well…
Gorgeous pics Tori!
Hi Tori!
I was able to get my hands on some fresh shitake mushrooms & was wondering if I would be able to substitute for the dry? Thanks!
Hi Suzanne– the dried mushrooms are used (in combination with fresh) because their flavor is much more intense than fresh. While you can sub fresh shitakes, it kind of defeats the purpose… soaking the dried mushrooms and using their soaking liquid in the soup adds a lot of flavor that you just can’t get from fresh. That said, the soup won’t taste bad if you use fresh– it just won’t be as tasty as it will if you use dry.
What brand of Mushroom stock to do use and if you make it fresh please share the receipe.
Hi Rhoda, I like Pacific Natural Foods Organic Mushroom Broth. It’s kosher, organic, and very tasty.
Hi Tori!
I just made this soup, and it looks, smells, and tastes absolutely wonderful! I didn’t have barley at hand, so I substituted it with red lentils, and it worked just as well.
I love your blog! It’s my new favorite thing! I love that I can find a recipe for just about anything I want, and the history behind each recipe is so interesting to read.
So far everything I have made from your recipes has been a total success (Butter Bean Soup, Crunchy Broccoli Craisin Salad, Date Nut Honey Cake..)!
Great job!! xx
Fabulous Darina! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for commenting! xo
this looks great…..very similar the the one that I make
My mom always used beef stock and a bay leaf. This is one of my favorite soups along with split pea.
I love your recipes! Was just curious about the ‘uncovered’-ness …. I always cover the pot when making a soup … won’t the liquid evaporate if left uncovered? Thanks so much
I use the strained soaking liquid from the dried shitakes or porcini’s, also use a porcini soup stock cube from Italy, and a teaspoon of black truffle paste in the jar, towards the end I had some light cream……..also why am I blocked on Facebook Shiksa page?
Sounds delish Steve! The only time people are blocked from the Shiksa page is when they use excessive profanity, are unkind/rude to another group member, or they spam the page. It doesn’t happen very often. Were you hacked recently? If yes, the hacker may have spammed the page, resulting in a block. I’ll go unblock you, and as long as the above rules are adhered to you should have no worries.
I made this today and it was so fantastic, it will definitely be a staple in our winter diet from now on! I added no salt to the mushrooms or at the end and it was still plenty salty. A high 5 for this one, thanks so much.
High five!
I love barley in soups and this looks so comforting and delicious!
The lady with mushroom allergies and everyone else for that matter, might try large dried Lima Beans. They give a texture and thicken the soup too. I start with Water and Telme Israeli chicken or beef bullion instead of ready made stock. You can also put 2 medium peeled potatoes, quartered into the soup as it is simmering. Again, it thickens the soup and so this (and yours) is a soup that “grows” as it cooks!
Thanks for a terrific recipe. The addition of my Lima’s and Potato are Litvak (Polish/Russian/Lithuanian) in origin and a favorite of my Bubbe.
Any suggestions to make this gluten free? Sounds so delicious! Love the blog, thank you so much for all your great recipes and stories and history!!
Hi Ang! You could try omitting the barley, cooking the soup as written with only mushrooms and the other vegetables. Then add 1 1/4 cups rinsed quinoa to the pot about 20 minutes before the end of cooking. Reduce the broth till the soup is thickened. I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing it would work! If you give it a try, let me know.
If you use 1 oz of porcini mushrooms (do exactly what you did with the shiitake) your soup will taste like it’s a beef mushroom and barley soup. Leave out the celery and garlic and add a little soy sauce at the end. Oh yeah, lots of pepper. Also, cooking time doesn’t have to be more than 25 minutes. Best to eat the next day. The recipe I use is from Mark Bittman and has never disappointed. If I have room I’ll paste below…
Notes:
I find that mushrooms and shallots make a superior soup base compared to the standard carrot-onion-celery mirepoix when one is making a vegan soup; caramelizing a couple of Tbs of tomato paste in that before adding liquid gives another boost. (All of this adds the umami factor that is often missing in vegan soups.)
Mine includes a small amount (4 tablespoons) of dry sherry.
Note from Tori: I removed the recipe from this comment due to copyright laws. I am linking to it instead for anybody who is interested: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/recipe-of-the-day-mushroom-barley-soup/
I just made this soup and it is so delicious!! Thank you
OMG….I just tasted the soup. It is amazing. It is so refreshing to be able to get recipes from you and have them turn out so good!
Aww, thanks Dave! I really work hard to make sure my recipes are reliable and foolproof. Getting feedback like this makes my day.
I think I’ll give this a try tonight. This cold midwest weather calls for a nice hot soup and this should do the trick.
Recently made it and it was amazing! Followed your reciepe and it was out of this world. Such comfort food! Raved about it so much that so many people took the reciepe to make it too! Thanks for all your great hints, ideas and great flavors! Truly look forward to your emails! Granddaughter is coming to stay and cannot wait for her to taste it too! Very satisfying and makes a great meal with a salad and perhaps a vegetable side dish and your done! Thanks again!
Terrific Victoria, thanks for writing!