Why make this plant based soup?
This vegan barley soup recipe is PACKED full of vegetables. When you chooses meals that have a wide variety of vegetables in them you are achieving a couple different things. First, and honestly most importantly, you are getting in all your essential nutrients (well, not necessarily all, but most!). This is probably pretty obvious, because we’re adults here, we know we gotta eat our vegetables!
Second, you are eating more for less! What do I mean by this? When you eat recipes that are loaded with vegetables like this vegan soup recipe, you are eating foods that are less calories dense. I learned all about calorie density this past summer, and it has really changed the way I eat. I am a volume eater, so I am always looking for ways to eat more, and this is what has worked best for me!
Lastly, eating meals that are loaded with vegetables helps build a diverse gut microbiome. I am no scientist, doctor, nutritionist etc. but I do love eating healthy. Gut health is all the rage these days, so I figure any way to eat better foods for my gut (like this recipe) I’m in!
Plant based soup:
It’s no secret that I love a good soup recipe. I love making soups, because they’re so EASY and they are delicious! I mean, do I also make them because I absolutely hate the cold, and will instantly love anything that warms me up in the winter, yes. That’s not the point though, the point is I have tons of delicious vegan soup recipes on my blog, here are some of my favorites:
- Vegan Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Taco Soup
- White Bean Kale Soup
- Plant Based Broccoli Cheddar Soup
and more!
Ingredients for this Vegan Barley Soup
- Pearl barley (not quick barley!)
- Celery
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Garlic
- Onions
- Kale
- Italian seasoning
- Peas
- Mushrooms
- Tomato puree
- Vegetable broth
- Chickpeas
- Nutritional yeast
Italian Barley Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker optional
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dried barley
- 1 15.4oz can chickpeas
- 3 carrots
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 red onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 golden potatoes
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup peas
- 2 cups kale
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Begin by thinly slicing your celery and dicing your onions. Add to a pot with a little vegetable broth and sauté. Add the minced garlic.
- Slice your carrots and roughly chop your potatoes, add to the pot. Once potatoes have softened, de-stem and add the kale.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
- If you are using a pressure cooker, you can simply add all ingredients at once and cook for 20 minutes on high.
