Chicken Barley Soup

Name: Chicken Barley Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion (chopped); 2 large carrots (peeled and chopped); 2 stalks celery (chopped); 6 cups chicken broth (low sodium); 2 chicken breasts (whole, with skin and/or bone in); ⅔ cup pearl barley (rinsed); 1 cube chicken bouillon; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 2 bay leaves

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This Chicken Barley Soup is the one I make when the weather turns and I want something substantial in a bowl. Chewy pearl barley, tender shredded chicken, and a broth that tastes like it simmered a lot longer than it did. One pot, about an hour, and most of that is the pot doing the work.

Table of Contents

freshly made chicken barley soup in a white bowl with a golden spoon in it.

Easy Chicken Barley Soup Recipe

Barley is the thing that makes this soup worth making instead of another chicken noodle.

Noodles sit in the broth. Barley works with it. It goes plump and chewy, it thickens everything slightly as its starch releases, and it turns a bowl of soup into something that actually holds you until dinner. There’s a reason barley has been going into pots for a few thousand years.

The other half of it is the broth, which tastes far more chickeny than it has any right to for an hour of cooking. That’s the whole chicken breasts poaching right in it, plus a bouillon cube doing some quiet work in the background.

There’s very little to do. Soften your onion, carrot, and celery. Add everything else. Cover it and leave it. Come back in 45 minutes, shred the chicken, stir it back in.

One thing to know before you start: barley keeps absorbing liquid after the soup is finished, so leftovers thicken dramatically overnight. That’s normal and it’s easily handled, and I’ve explained how below.

closeup of a ladle in a dutch oven full of chicken barley soup.

What Is Pearl Barley?

This is the ingredient people are least sure about, so let’s sort it out. Barley is a grain, and it comes two ways.

Pearl barley has had the outer husk and the bran polished off. That’s what makes it cook in 45 minutes to an hour instead of considerably longer, and it’s what this recipe is built around. It’s in the dried goods aisle near the rice and lentils, it’s cheap, and a bag lasts forever.
Hulled barley, sometimes called pot barley, keeps the bran on. More fiber, nuttier flavor, chewier texture, and it takes 60 to 90 minutes. If that’s what you have, it works, just add another 30 minutes and check the liquid partway through since it’ll drink more.

Rinse it first. A quick rinse under cold water gets rid of dust and a bit of surface starch. Not essential, but it gives you a slightly clearer broth.

And it contains gluten. People assume whole grains are safe and barley isn’t. If you’re cooking for someone who can’t have it, use rice or a gluten free grain instead, and start checking earlier because both cook faster than barley.

Ingredients in Chicken Barley Soup

ingredients needed to make chicken barley soup.

Olive oil (2 tablespoons): For softening the vegetables. Any neutral oil works.
Onion (1 large, chopped): The base of everything. Yellow or brown, and whatever’s in the cupboard is fine.
Carrots (2 large, peeled and chopped): Sweetness against all that savory broth, and they’re where the 82% daily value of vitamin A in this soup comes from, which is a nice bonus for a bowl of soup.
Celery (2 ribs, chopped): The third of the trio. Onion, carrot, celery is the foundation of nearly every good soup there is.
Chicken broth (6 cups, low sodium): Low sodium matters here, because this reduces over an hour and there’s a bouillon cube going in on top. Regular broth plus bouillon concentrates into something very salty.
Chicken breasts (2, whole, skin on and bone in or out): Whole, not cut up, and they poach in the broth so they stay tender. The skin adds flavor and a little richness to the broth even though it won’t stay crisp, and you can leave it in or lift it out at the end. Bone in gives you an even better broth. Thighs work beautifully too.
Pearl barley (⅔ cup, rinsed): See above. Pearl specifically, since hulled needs considerably longer.
Chicken bouillon (1 cube): This is the quiet ingredient making the broth taste more chickeny than an hour should allow. A teaspoon of paste or powder does the same job if that’s what you keep.
Salt (1 teaspoon) and black pepper (½ teaspoon): Start here and taste at the end. Between the broth and the bouillon there’s already salt in play, and the soup concentrates as it cooks.
Bay leaves (2): They add a background savory note you’d miss if they weren’t there. Fish them out before serving, because biting into one is nobody’s idea of a good time.

How To Make Chicken Barley Soup

Soften the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high, then add the onion, carrots, and celery. About 5 minutes, until they’ve softened and the onion has gone translucent. Don’t rush this. Five minutes here is where a lot of the flavor in the finished broth comes from, and it’s the difference between a soup that tastes like vegetables in stock and one that tastes like it took all afternoon.

Everything else in. Broth, whole chicken breasts, barley, bouillon cube, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring it up to a boil, then drop the heat to medium low.

Lid on, 45 minutes to an hour. The soup is ready when the barley is tender and chewy and the chicken is cooked through, 165°F on a thermometer. If the barley still has a firm center, keep going. It’s the barley that decides when this is finished, not the clock, and different bags cook at slightly different rates.

Fish out the bay leaves, then lift the chicken breasts out onto a board or plate and shred them with 2 forks. If you left the skin on, pull it off now.

Chicken back in, stirred through, then taste. This is the moment to season, not earlier. An hour of simmering concentrates everything, and how much salt it needs depends entirely on your broth and your bouillon.

Ladle it out and eat it.

Things Worth Knowing

Actually soften the vegetables. Five minutes at the start, properly. It’s the cheapest flavor in the recipe.
Use pearl barley. Hulled barley needs 60 to 90 minutes and more liquid.
Rinse the barley for a slightly clearer broth.
Go by the barley, not the timer. It’s tender and chewy when it’s done, and different bags vary.
Season at the end. The soup reduces over an hour, so salt added early concentrates into something you can’t undo.
Leftovers will thicken. Barley keeps absorbing overnight. Add broth when you reheat and it comes right back.
Fish out the bay leaves before serving.

About The Leftovers

Worth knowing up front, because it surprises people every time.

Barley doesn’t stop absorbing when the soup does. Overnight in the fridge it keeps drinking the broth, and what you put away as soup can come out closer to a very thick stew. Nothing has gone wrong. That’s just what barley does.

The fix is broth. Add a good splash when you reheat, stir it through, and it loosens right back up. Half a cup per 2 servings is a reasonable starting point, and more if you want it soupier.

If you know you’re making it for leftovers, you can cook the barley separately in its own pot of water and add it to each bowl as you serve. Then the broth stays broth and the barley stays where you put it. It’s an extra pot to wash, so I only do it when I’m deliberately cooking for the week.

Freezing: the soup freezes well for up to 3 months, though the barley softens a little on thawing. If that bothers you, freeze the broth and chicken without the barley and cook a fresh batch when you reheat.

Variations

With greens. A few handfuls of spinach or chopped kale stirred in at the end, off the heat. Spinach wilts in about 30 seconds, kale wants a couple of minutes.
With mushrooms. Sliced cremini added with the vegetables at the start. They go earthy and deep and they’re very good with barley.
Creamy. A splash of heavy cream stirred in with the shredded chicken, then 3 minutes to thicken. Turns it into something rounder and richer.
With thighs. About 4 boneless thighs in place of the breasts. Darker meat, a slightly richer broth, and they’re forgiving if you get distracted.
Slow cooker. Soften the vegetables in a skillet first, then everything into the crock on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4. Check the barley before you commit, and expect to add extra broth since slow cookers lose less to evaporation.
Instant Pot. Sauté the vegetables in the pot, add everything else, then high pressure for 20 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.
Gluten free. Swap the barley for rice or a gluten free grain and start checking earlier, since most cook faster.

What To Serve With It

Bread, and plenty of it. This is a soup with a good broth and you’ll want something to get the last of it out of the bowl. No knead bread or crusty rolls, and my air fryer no knead bread is what I make most often.
It’s substantial enough to be dinner on its own with bread. If you want to stretch it into a bigger meal, a sharp green salad on the side does the job, or a sandwich alongside for a proper soup and sandwich lunch.
A squeeze of lemon over the bowl right at the table is worth trying. It lifts the whole thing and it’s not something people expect in a barley soup.

Make Ahead And Storagere

Make ahead: this is genuinely better on day 2, once the flavors have settled together. Just plan for the thickening.

Fridge: 5 days in an airtight container. It’ll thicken considerably, which is normal. Add broth when you reheat.

Freezer: 3 months. The barley softens slightly on thawing and it’s still very good. For the best texture, freeze the broth and chicken without the barley and cook fresh barley when you reheat.

Reheating: low on the stove with a splash of broth or water stirred in, or the microwave at medium power. Add liquid either way, because it will need it.

Other Delicious Soups To Try

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between pearl barley and hulled barley?

Pearl barley has had the husk and bran polished off, so it cooks in 45 minutes to an hour. Hulled barley keeps the bran on, which means more fiber and a chewier, nuttier result, but it needs 60 to 90 minutes and more liquid. This recipe is built for pearl.

Why did my soup get so thick in the fridge?

Barley keeps absorbing liquid after the cooking stops. Nothing’s gone wrong, that’s just what it does. Add a good splash of broth when you reheat and stir it through and it loosens right back up.

Does barley contain gluten?

Yes, it does. People often assume whole grains are safe and this one isn’t. If you need it gluten free, swap the barley for rice or a gluten free grain and start checking it earlier, since most cook faster.

Can I use chicken thighs instead of breasts?

Absolutely. About 4 boneless thighs in place of the 2 breasts. You’ll get darker meat and a slightly richer broth, and thighs are forgiving if you leave them a bit longer.

Do I have to rinse the barley?

Not essential, but a quick rinse under cold water removes surface starch and dust and gives you a slightly clearer broth.

Can I make it in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?

Both. Slow cooker: soften the vegetables in a skillet first, then low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4, and expect to add extra broth. Instant Pot: sauté the vegetables in the pot, then high pressure for 20 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.

Can I freeze it?

Yes, up to 3 months. The barley goes a little softer on thawing but it’s still good. If you want the best texture, freeze it without the barley and cook a fresh batch when you reheat.

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