Turkey and barley soup is an excellent way to use up that left over holiday turkey! This hearty and flavorful soup is perfect for those cold winter nights, when a warm bowl of soup makes the perfect dinner.
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I love recipes that help me use up leftovers in a new way. This delicious and comforting turkey soup with barley is hearty and flavorful enough for a full meal!
Ingredients
Most of these ingredients are pantry friendly or items I usually have on hand making this convenient and easy.
Olive Oil – Be sure to use a good quality olive oil.
Onion – I always have yellow onions on hand and that’s what works best in this soup.
Carrots – Adding extra veggies makes the leftover turkey stretch and what soup doesn’t have lots of colorful healthy veggies!
Celery – Again a necessity in almost any soup recipe!
Yellow Bell Pepper – While the yellow adds a nice pop of color, feel free to use whatever color bell pepper you’ve got hanging out in the fridge.
Seasonings – This turkey and barley soup has a variety of seasonings including minced garlic, dried oregano, paprika, dried thyme, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Chicken Broth – I love using homemade chicken broth to make my chicken noodle soup but store bought chicken broth is perfectly fine!
Tomato Sauce – This will help make a rich and delicious soup!
Leftover Turkey – Grab some of that leftover holiday turkey and shred it!
Baby Spinach – I love sneaking spinach into soup recipes like in my sausage and lentil soup! It’s a great way to get the kids to eat it!
Pearly Barley – Pearl Barley adds a heartiness to the soup!
Parmesan Cheese – This is for serving and will add just the perfect accent to the turkey and barley soup!
Too Busy to Make this right now? Pin for later to your favorite Pinterest Board!
How to Make Turkey and Barley Soup
This soup takes a bit of time to cook but most of the time is hands off as you let it simmer away filling the house with a warm and comforting aroma.
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, bell, pepper, and garlic to the olive oil once heated and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are slightly soft or around 3-4 minutes.
Once the veggies are slightly softened, add the oregano, paprika, thyme, and Italian seasoning. Continue cooking until the spices are fragrant or about 1-2 minutes.
Pour the chicken broth and the tomato sauce into the pot and increase the heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, add in the pearl barley, and immediately decrease the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Let the soup simmer away until the barley is cooked through or about 45-65 minutes depending on the barley,.
Once the barley is cooked through, uncover and add the turkey, baby spinach, and fresh parsley. Give it all a stir and continue cooking until the turkey is heated through and the parsley is wilted, about 6-8 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve your turkey and barley soup immediately with shaved parmesan on top!
Enjoy! For a complete meal, serve with crusty bread or rolls for dipping!
Turkey and Pearl Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 large Onion diced
- 2 medium Carrots peeled and diced
- 1 yellow Bell Pepper diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Tomato Sauce
- ½ cup Pearl Barley
- 2 ½ cups leftover turkey shredded
- 3 cups Baby Spinach
- ¼ cup fresh Parsley chopped
- 2 oz shaved parmesan cheese for serving
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add in the diced onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies become slightly soft, around 3-4 minutes.
- Add in the oregano, paprika, thyme, and Italian seasoning and continue cooking until the spices become fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken broth and tomato sauce and increase the heat to high.
- Bring the soup to a boil and add the pearl barley.
- Immediately decrease the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Let the soup siimmer until the barley is cooked through, about 45-65 minutes depending on the barley.
- Uncover and add the turkey, baby spinach, and fresh parsley. Stir to combine and continue cooking until the turkey is heated through and the parsley is wilted, about 6-8 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Serve immediately with shaved parmesan on top!
- Enjoy!
Conclusion
I love making a hearty, comforting bowl of soup on those cool evenings and this turkey and barley soup hits the spot! It’s warm, comforting and a great way to use up the leftover holiday turkey!
I love barley soup and what a great idea to make it with turkey! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Love this! Healthy and delicious!