Slow cooker mushroom barley soup is an easy, delicious, and filling dish. Made with three different kinds of mushrooms, veggies, barley, and broth, this easy pleaser is comfort food at its finest!
As the famous slogan says: soup is good food. Soup is filling, warm and wonderful. It can be a full meal, an appetizer, a side dish, or even a snack. Soup is just plain GOOD - any time of year.
This crockpot barley soup is no exception! It is satisfying, delicious, and easy to make. All that and it also manages to be vegetarian and pretty inexpensive! A winning bowl.
Jump to:
🍄Ingredients
I promise this mushroom barley slow cooker recipe is really easy to make. Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredient list, it all just gets tossed together in the end! If you want to make things as lazy as possible, check out the Hints & Hacks below.
To make this easy crockpot barley soup, you will need to gather the following:
- mushroom or vegetable broth
- baby bella mushrooms
- shiitake mushrooms
- white button mushrooms
- carrots
- celery
- onion
- minced garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- soy sauce
- basil
- thyme
- barley
🥣Method
Slow cooker mushroom barley soup is a true dump-and-go recipe. The ingredients are rather voluminous, so a 6 quart or larger slow cooker is recommended. Once your pot is set, you are going to slice your mushrooms and dice up your vegetables, and put them in the pot. Next, you will add the spices and barley.
The final ingredient to add is broth. Just cover over your slow cooker with its lid and you are all done. The hardest part is cutting the vegetables!
Of course, the most important step is always to turn your crockpot on and then double-check to confirm that it is, in fact, on! I wish I had a dime for each time someone told me they either forgot to turn their slow cooker on, OR they turned it on only to realize much later that it was unplugged!
🍽Serving ideas
Barley is a wonderful soup ingredient in that it emits starch naturally during the cooking process. This is why soup with barley in it tends to be so thick and hearty.
To balance out the thick, rich soup, I recommend serving this dish with a cool crisp salad or, in colder weather, with a delicious cooked vegetable. Avocado toast is another amazing pairing for this soup. Crusty French bread makes a great companion too.
Storing leftovers
If you have leftovers, they can be stored in airtight containers in either the refrigerator or freezer. They will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator or for several months in the freezer. Frozen leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, on the stovetop, or even right back in your slow cooker.
One great way to store leftovers is in a mini food warmer! (here is a different brand). The warmer's insert can be stored in the refrigerator and then transferred to the warmer when you want to reheat. This makes for a super way to transport and reheat leftovers (so awesome to have a warm, homemade soup for lunch at work!).
😉Hints & Hacks
- Looking to save extra time? You can purchase all of the mushrooms needed for this recipe pre-sliced.
- Want to save even more time? Purchase your carrots, celery and onion already cut. While they can often be found in the fresh produce section of your market pre-cut, a more economical way is to purchase them frozen from the frozen veggie section. You can purchase each individually or buy find them all together as Mirepoix.
- Having trouble finding one of the types of mushrooms listed in the ingredients? That's ok! This recipe is delicious with many different types of mushrooms! If you decide to swap mushrooms, we would love to hear about it in the comment section below.
- This is a great make-in-advance recipe. You can assemble all ingredients other than barley and the broth the night before. Barley and broth can then be carefully added at the time you are ready to commence cooking.
- Use a vegan Worcestershire sauce to make this recipe vegan.
- This is a perfect meal for days when your people will be eating at different times. After the cooking time, turn your slow cooker to warm (or have it automatically switch to warm if your slow cooker has this feature) and everyone can have a hot and filling meal, no matter what time they are ready to eat.
- I always recommend the use of a slow cooker liner. Of course, this is an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price. Here are the liners I buy.
- In the market for a new slow cooker? Here is the one I am currently lusting after
❓Frequently asked questions
Nope! your barley will slow cook to perfection right in your soup
Yes! This soup freezes really well. The texture of the barley may change very slightly, but it will still be delicious!
Barley contains starch which is released naturally into the liquid surrounding it during cooking. This lends a thick creaminess to any soup it is cooked with.
This is the perfect set it and forget it soup. Both barley and mushrooms are prime for low and slow cooking. Although it can be made stovetop, putting it in your slow cooker allows you the freedom to go about your day and not watch over it.
Yes! Barley contains soluble fiber which helps to reduce hunger by making you feel full longer. This can aid in weight loss.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
📖 Recipe
Lazy Mushroom Barley Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 5 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 large celery stalk, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce I use reduced sodium
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ cup pearl barley
- 8 cups broth vegetable, mushroom or beef broth would all work well
Instructions
- place slow cooker liner into slow cooker, if using
- place mushrooms into slow cooker
- add diced vegetables to slow cooker
- add garlic, Worcestershire sauce, say sauce, basil, thyme and barley to slow cooker
- pour broth over ingredients in slow cooker
- stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
- serve in bowls and enjoy!
Nutrition
Check out my latest on Instagram
Susan Moskal says
Can dried mushrooms be used instead of the fresh mushrooms?
admin says
Although I haven’t tried it, I can’t see why it wouldn’t. I would just follow the package instructions for how to reconstitute them and do that before adding to the soup. Otherwise, they might make the soup too dry. If you try it, I would love to hear how it goes!
Lena says
I had to really doctor up this recipe with garlic powder, onion powder, Lawry's seasoned salt, and 2 bay leaves. Otherwise, it was quite bland. Rather disappointed because the photos looked so good!
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
Glad you were able to add flavoring to suit your taste. This is not meant to be a spicy or garlicky soup. It is intentionally mild so that flavor of the mushroom can come through. But, I always leave lots of condiments on the table so that everyone can customize to their liking. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know what you thought!
Stacey B says
What is the serving size?
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
Each serving comes out to be a little more than one cup.
gloria says
Can't wait to try this, I love barley and mushrooms!
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
Hi Gloria!
I would love to hear how it goes once you try it. This recipe is one of my personal favorites!