Weeknight · Instant Pot · about 35 minutes

“Hurried Herbs” Vegetable Barley Soup

Name: "Hurried Herbs" Vegetable Barley Soup
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1065 ml water; 2 vegetable bouillon cubes; ⅓ cup dried vegetable soup blend; 1 tsp granulated garlic; 2 bay leaves; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1 tsp dried parsley; 1 tsp dried basil; 1 tsp dried sage; 1 tsp dried rosemary; ¼ tsp lemon extract; 15 ml olive or refined coconut oil; 100 g pearled barley; Optional: 1 can (12.5 oz) chunk chicken, and fresh parsley to finish

A herb-packed vegetable and barley soup straight from the pantry — dried vegetables, pearled barley, and a fistful of herbs pressure-cooked into a chewy, comforting bowl. Add canned chicken if you like.

~35 min total 22 min pressure Instant Pot method

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Instant PotVegan

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Everything in at once, then a single pressure cook. This is a true dump-and-go — the dried vegetables and barley rehydrate and cook together in the herbed broth. The fistful of dried herbs (and a touch of lemon) is what makes it taste like it simmered all afternoon.

Easier, if you like

Fresh mirepoix (½ cup each chopped onion, celery, carrot, sautéed first) can stand in for the dried vegetables.
Make it heartier with a can of drained white beans stirred in at the end.

Method

Cook's notes

Vegan as written — the canned chicken is an optional add-in.

Barley gives the chew that makes this soup a meal; it's also what makes it not gluten-free (see the swap below).

The long herb list is all dried pantry stuff, and the touch of lemon keeps it from tasting flat.

It thickens as it sits — loosen leftovers with a little broth or water.

Vegan as written; gluten-free with a grain swap

Gluten-free: swap the pearled barley for an equal amount of long-grain rice or a gluten-free grain — barley itself contains gluten, so there's no like-for-like substitute, but the soup works well with rice.

Vegan: it already is — just leave out the optional canned chicken.