Creamy Potato Barley Soup

This homemade Creamy Potato Barley Soup is packed full of healthy ingredients and comes together relatively quickly. The creamy base is made with almond milk and olive oil, making this soup both Dairy-Free and Vegan. The addition of Purple Barley, a protein rich grain, full of fiber, iron, calcium, zinc, and potassium takes potato soup to a whole new nutritional level. Give this simple nutritious soup recipe a try. You will be glad you did!

Barley is the #4 grain globally, behind only wheat, rice, and corn, yet very few of us have this staple in our pantry. A 1/4 cup of Purple Barley provides 14 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein making it very nutritious and worth adding to our diet. Barley is available in different colors (white and purple). For this soup recipe I’m using Organic Purple Barley purchased from a local farm in Idaho. Not only are local ingredients more nutritious, they also taste better! Plus, buying local helps support farmers and your local economy. Find more information about the Benefits of Buying & Eating Local Food Here.

On top of 9 grams of protein per 1/4 cup, purple barley also contains more fiber than wheat, more zinc than lentils, and more vitamins than white barley. It has a chewy texture, regardless of how long it cooks, and a nutty flavor which is perfect for making bread, soup, and stew. It cooks in water with a pinch of salt in about 35 minutes, uncovered. Unlike rice, it doesn’t get soft or mushy after cooking but instead maintains its chewy texture.

For this Creamy Potato Barley Soup I coupled the chewy texture of Purple Barley with Organic Yellow Potatoes and Fresh Vegetables to create a more nutritious version of potato soup. It’s perfectly flavored with Organic Spices, Better than Bouillon, and Organic Olive Oil. The creamy part of the soup comes from Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk making this soup Dairy-Free and Vegan as well.

In order to make this soup creamy, the recipe starts by first making a “roux”. A roux is made by whisking Olive Oil with Organic Flour over medium heat, adding liquid (in this case Almond Milk), and stirring continuously to create a smooth base. Starting with a roux makes the soup creamy and thick at the end of cooking. If you’re gluten-free, don’t worry! You can still make this soup. I will provide another option for thickening the soup in the steps below.

Ingredients

• Organic Purple Barley
• Organic Yellow Potatoes
• Organic Carrot, Celery, Onion
• Organic Cremini Mushrooms
• Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Olive Oil
• Organic All-Purpose Flour
• Filtered or Spring Water
• Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base
• Organic Spices: Thyme, Cayenne, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Dry Mustard, and Bay Leaf
• Gluten-Free Option: Arrowroot instead of flour

Kitchen Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Sharp Knife
• Vegetable Peeler
• Whisk
• Wooden Spoon
• Measuring Cups
• Dutch Oven or Large Pot

All the chopped vegetable and potatoes go into this soup raw. I do recommend cooking the purple barley first before making this Creamy Potato Barley Soup. You can boil it while you chop the potatoes, carrot, celery, onions, and mushrooms. Or, cook it the day before and have it in the refrigerator so it’s ready whenever you want to make this soup.

Recipe

Since the base of this nutritious soup is the Organic Purple Barley, start by cooking the barley. Bring 2 cups of filtered or spring water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 1/2 cup Purple Barley and a pinch of salt. Reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer (without a lid) for about 35 minutes. Keep it uncovered while it cooks.

Make sure the pot never runs out of water while the barley simmers, the opposite of cooking rice. It may require an additional cup of water while simmering. After about 35 minutes of cooking, the barley will have a chewy texture and be ready for making soup. Measure 1 cup of cooked Organic Purple Barley and set aside. You may end up with a little extra that can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week and used for another recipe.

Chop 3 small Organic Yellow Potatoes (2 cups), 1 Organic Carrot (1/4 cup), 1 Organic Celery Stalk (1/4 cup), 1 small Organic Onion (1/2 cup), and 6 Organic Cremini Mushrooms (1/2 cup). These vegetables don’t have to be exactly the same size. Just chop them up into the size of what you want to eat in your soup. Once chopped, set aside in a bowl.

Place a Dutch Oven or large pot over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil. Once the Olive Oil is heated, add 2 tablespoons of Organic All-Purpose Flour*, and whisk together. This mixture will clump as its whisked together. *Gluten-Free Option (see below).

Continue whisking while slowly adding 3 cups of Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk to the heated oil and flour mixture. Pour slowly and whisk continuously to avoid clumping. This soup base should be smooth. It’s ok if it remains a little clumpy after whisking but you don’t want any large clumps of flour in the base.

Add 1 teaspoon Organic Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base to 1 cup Water and stir to dissolve. Pour into the soup base and whisk into the creamy roux. This is the only sodium in this soup and provides the perfect flavor.

Add the chopped Potatoes, Vegetables, and 1 cup cooked Purple Barley to the soup base. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Season with the following Organic Spices: 1/4 teaspoon Thyme, 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, 1/4 teaspoon Dry Mustard, and 1 Bay Leaf. Optional: a sprinkle of Organic Cayenne Pepper (this will not make the soup spicy but will enhance the flavors in the soup). Just make sure you only add a single shake.

Stir all the spices into the soup and bring to a boil.

Once soup has boiled for about 5 minutes, stir, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer, uncovered (no lid). The longer this soup simmers, the better but if pressed for time 30-35 minutes should be long enough to thicken the base and thoroughly cook the potatoes and vegetables.

Look what you end up with! This soup is ready to serve when the potatoes are soft and cooked through. The creamy soup base will thicken as it cools. Ladle a spoonful over the top of a Delicious Homemade Biscuit for a quick nutritious meal.

Before serving, sprinkle the top of Creamy Potato Barley Soup with Organic Parsley and a little more Freshly Cracked Black Pepper.

It’s also delicious topped with shredded parmesan cheese (vegan or regular).

*Gluten-Free Option: If you are gluten-free, you can thicken this soup with Arrowroot instead of flour. Simply add the Olive Oil, Almond Milk, Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base, and water into the Dutch Oven over medium heat. Stir to combine. Next, mix 2 tablespoons of water with 2 teaspoons of Arrowroot and pour this into the soup base. Stir well. Add the chopped potatoes, vegetables, and spices and follow the cooking instructions above.

Love homemade soup??? Check out my other soup recipes!

Below you will find my printable recipe for Creamy Potato Barley Soup. As always, I encourage you to use this recipe as inspiration to create your own variation. Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Remember to be creative with your food. It doesn’t have to be complicated and there is inspiration all around you. Try making this Creamy Potato Barley Soup today. It only takes a few ingredients, a little bit of time, and is so worth it!

About the Author