Welcome back! This super easy, healthy, vegan, and flavorful Carrot Mushroom Barley Soup is a fall favorite of mine. This is my first food post since moving to Oregon from Beijing and it feels amazing to be posting about food again! Pictures? Well, terrible. I didn’t anticipate on shooting this recipe and made a quick last minute decision to do so… sorry for the horror! I have been beyond crazy busy since returning to the US. Not enough minutes in the day to accomplish everything I’d like to be doing. I’ll be trying to hone in on my amateur food photography shots over the next few months with more planned recipes – especially soup since this is most definitely soup season. Anything soul warming is a must! *Side note: Been overindulging in hot apple cider (from the farm of course – this is Oregon!) with spiced rum. So warm everything for the fall for sure. Took two weeks to figure out why I was so bloated! 😉 Was worth it, however, currently back on the less caloric concoctions. As usual, I digress. I had been craving barley and a different style soup. In this particular Carrot Mushroom Barley pot, I did not add small white beans, though this is my recommendation. Takes it to a new level! Sometimes, I cut the carrot portion in half and sub in sweet potato for a slightly different, and yes, sweeter flavor. Remember, any recipe can be used as just a base recipe for you. Feel free to substitute, add, adjust etc to your taste buds or simply to use whatever is left in your fridge. Waste nothing! Slurp, spill, slobber, and sip yourself into autumn… Enjoy!
- 9 small to medium carrots- diced loosely
- 3/4 package sliced (medium in thickness) mushrooms - I prefer white or cremini
- 10.5 ounces cooked barley
- 32 ounces veggie broth (I usually add a couple teaspoons of Better than Bouillon as well)
- 1 medium yellow onion - diced loosely
- 3 cloves garlic - diced loosely
- Olive to coat pan
- Salt & pepper to taste (be mindful of your salt usage pending upon how much sodium your veggie broth has)
- Oregano to taste (I enjoy quite a bit)
- Optional (but extremely recommended): 1 can of small white beans
- Place olive oil in pot on low-medium heat. Add onion and a dash of salt. Cook for about 3 minutes
- Add garlic. Cook for about 1 more minute
- Add mushrooms and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes more
- Add carrots, oregano, and veggie broth (bouillon as well if using). Cook until carrots are soft. Approximately 10 minutes
- Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender
- Return pot to low-medium heat and add barley and small white bean (if using). Stir occasionally and add any remaining oregano, broth, salt/pepper you'd like
- Let cook on low for approximately 10-15 minutes
- Enjoy!
- Substitute half the portion of carrots for sweet potato!
- You can also add 1/4 dry white wine for a different flavor.
- Pinot Noir