Miso Mushroom Barley Soup is hearty and satisfying, full of chunky vegetables in a rich and flavorful broth. This vegan mushroom soup recipe is loaded with rich umami flavors thanks to miso and balsamic vinegar and makes a wonderfully easy and delicious plant-based dinner.
I like to serve this mushroom barley soup with vegan dinner rolls…they’re perfect for sopping up that rich tomatoey broth. Another great option is my jalapeno skillet cornbread. Either way you’ll have yourself a fabulous plant-based meal!
Ingredient Notes
- Mushrooms: I like to use at least two different types of mushrooms to build a deeper, richer flavor profile. My favorite mushrooms to use in the this soup are cremini (baby bellas) and shitake. They also provide different textures, the shitake are meatier and the cremini are chewier.
- Barley: whole grains like pearl barley take a bit longer to cook, but I think that’s just fine, because this soup builds flavor over time. Win-win!
- FLAVOR BOOST: garlic, onion, miso, balsamic vinegar and tomato paste work behind the scenes to let the mushrooms shine, but much of that umami flavor satisfaction that a vegan soup needs is coming from these simple ingredients.
Make it
Start by prepping all the vegetables. Dice the onion, carrot, celery. Thinly slice the mushrooms and mince or finely grate the garlic cloves.
Next we’ll prep the miso and set it aside. Add miso paste to ½ cup water.
Mix with a fork or small whisk until smooth and creamy and no clumps of miso remain.
Saute onion in broth, water or olive oil. When it begins to soften, add carrot, celery, onion, salt and pepper.
Stir occasionally, and cook the veggies for about 5 minutes. If your pan becomes dry, add another tablespoon water or olive oil. Then add in tomato paste and garlic.
Continue to cook over medium-low heat while stirring in the tomato paste as it caramelizes and the garlic becomes fragrant.
When you add the sliced mushrooms, it will seem like there isn’t enough room in the pot. Don’t worry, they will shrink.
Continue to stir as the mushrooms release their liquids, creating a tomato sauce from the paste, and they begin to reduce in size.
Continue to stir occasionally so the vegetables don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. When the vegetable mixture is about ⅓ of its original size, add barley that’s been rinsed and drained.
Stir in water or veggie broth and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down to simmer for about 45 minutes, until mushrooms are tender and barley is chewy.
Turn off heat and then gently stir in the prepared miso/water and balsamic vinegar.
Garnish with fresh herbs and serve warm.
Soup can be served as a starter, main course dinner or for lunch. It’s great for meal prep and will stay good in the fridge for a week.
Reheat gently, stirring, over medium low heat until it comes to a simmer.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Don’t rush the process. The soup will need to cook for about 45 minutes…but during that time, aside from an occasional stir, there’s nothing you need to do!
- If your barley has absorbed much of the broth while in storage, add some water, mix well and taste for seasoning when you reheat. A splash more vinegar or a pinch more salt may be needed.
📖 Recipe
Miso Mushroom Barley Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 lb shitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 lb cremini mushrooms sliced
- ¾ cup pearl barley rinsed and drained
- 6 cups water
- 1 tbsp light miso paste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Prep veggies: dice onion, carrot, celery. Mince garlic. Use a damp paper towel to clean mushrooms and then thinly slice.
- Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Use broth, olive oil or water to saute onion for 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot to pot, along with salt and pepper, and continue to saute, about 5 minutes total.
- Swirl in another tablespoon broth and then add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook, stirring until well incorporated and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Put mushrooms into pot….it will be REALLY full. Gently stir and cook until mushrooms have reduced to ⅓ original size, about 5 minutes. The mushrooms will expel liquid making it easier to cook without needing to add more oil/broth.
- Rinse and drain barley and add to the vegetable mixture along with 6 cups water or broth. If you need to add another cup of liquid, so all the vegetables and barley are submerged, do it now.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat so it's gently simmering. Cook for about 45 minutes, until mushrooms are tender and barley is cooked, with still a bit of bite to it.
- While the soup cooks, dilute the miso paste in ½ cup water by stirring vigorously with a small whisk or a fork so it's totally dissolved.
- Turn off heat. Stir in miso mixture and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle on some fresh parsley to garnish and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
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