Italian Lentil and Barley Soup

Wonderful! I doubled the dried herbs and used 5 cloves of garlic to give it a bit more zing. Finishing with a teaspoon of sea salt and the apple cider vinegar really make this easy soup taste great.

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Nice soup. I won't rate because I made some changes (more tomatoes, less broth, added some frozen spinach near the end) but I wanted to recommend hulled (i.e. hull-less) barley, if you can find it. The crockpot is fantastic for whole grains, and instead of just going squishy, like pearled barley, the hulled barley makes a nice little firm pop when you bite into it. Hulled barley has more vitamins and minerals than pearled because it still has the bran and germ.

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I'm not usually a big fan of lentil soups, but this one was fantastic! I've never heard of adding cider vinegar to a soup, but I think this is a trick I'll be using on a lot of vegetable soups in the future. I did change the procedure a bit-- I cooked the lentils and barley (I also use hulled barley) with just the water and bay leaf until the lentils were just tender. Like many others, I doubled the herbs and garlic. I also added 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed (to "suggest" the flavor of Italian sausage), 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. The herbs and spices were cooked with the vegetables in a little olive oil before going in the crock pot with the other ingredients. So easy and very healthy-- this is something I'll be making frequently!

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One of my favourite soups. I use 28oz cans of tomatoes because that's what they have in the store. I enjoy it with fresh baked buttered bread to scoop it out of the bowl.

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Delicious! We loved this soup, it is very Mediterranean, filling and healthy. Thanks for posting

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Outstanding stoup! I made a few changes only because I had stuff I wanted to use up. I used 3/4 cup barly instead of the 1/3. Also added 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 cup of frozen spinach, 1 cup frozen green beans, and half of a fresh red bell pepper. Oh, and about a pinch of red pepper flakes to give it some sparks :) I did not add the vinegar but rather served with a dollop of plain yogurt for tang. This stoup with divine!! Thank you Shaye :)

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Tasty soup that cooked in 5 hours on high. The vinegar was a great addition. I would increase all the seasonings and garlic next time.

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Not bad...a little bland. And I did add salt and pepper, but added extra vinegar and about 1/4 cup of pickle juice...(my newest favourite soup addition - dill pickle soup anyone?!)Definitely hearty although I have to say I probably won't make it again.

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Easy and delicious. Made as written. Thanks!

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This soup is excellent. I would give it 10 stars if I could. The only change that I made was to cook it on top of the stove, for 60 minutes, because I was in a hurry for dinner. Thanks.

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Very good soup. I followed all directions and also added a little bit of tomato juice I had in the fridge (maybe 6oz). This soup was perfect to make on a rainy day and is very filling. I love that it is so healthy!
Update: I have this soup (with some variations added or subtracted) EVERY day for lunch. Low calorie, very filling and I can make enough to last me awhile!

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This is a good base recipe, but I had to tweak it a little to suit my tastes. I added some destemmed kale to the slowcooker about 45 minutes before it was supposed to be done for some added nutrition. I've tried stirring in pesto, and that flavored it a little. I also tried adding balsamic vinegar, which adds a nice flavor, but is not what I am expecting from a soup. It's missing something, but maybe it'll taste better tomorrow.

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I thought this was fantastic. Made as directed, BUT I didn't make mine vegetarian - I used 6 cups of chicken broth and added a pound of crumbled italian turkey sausage. Also added about a cup of pasta sauce to give it even more of an italian feel. Grate fresh parmesan on top, too! Everyone LOVED it. Thanks!

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I was pleasantly suprised by this soup, since my vegetarian soups usually go over like a lead brick around here. But my boyfriend declared this soup "Yummy!" and we all gobbled it up. I adapted the recipe for stovetop, since I don't have a crockpot. I sauted the veggies and minced garlic in olive oil and the herbs. Important: I more than doubled the garlic, and doubled the herbs, to suit our tastes. I doubled the barley, and cut down on the liquid (I used mostly my homemade rabbit stock, and added some water). I ended up with a nice stew-like texture. Since it's sometimes hard to know how a soup will turn out with barley in the mix, I will add about another cup of liquid next time (and there will be a next time!). I finished it with balsamic vinegar, which really added to the Italian flair, and put the soup to over the top goodness. =) Forgot the parsley, or ran out of energy to chop it, but it would have been a tasty addition. Anyway, this soup is going in my permanent cookbook. I served it with salad and breadsticks. Oh, almost forgot! Don't forget to add some salt! I figure about a teaspoon of sea salt would be perfect (I approximated), or split it between sea salt and garlic salt... yum! The salt should be written into the recipe more clearly, because I'm betting that at least some of the reviews that called this soup bland and tasteless forgot to add salt to taste at the end.

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This was very good and very easy. As many other reviewers did, I doubled the spices and used 5 cloves of garlic. I also added salt and black pepper to taste when it was done cooking. I will definitely make this again. It does have an Italian flavor to it, with the Italian tomatoes and oregano, etc. It was super filling, this was all we had for dinner. Yum!

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Delicious! I doubled the seasonings as others suggested and it turned out just right.

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This wasn't bad, but I really wasn't all that impressed. I didn't use the meat, which I imagine would have made a big difference. I think next time I'd make it with a really strong broth or throw in a little bacon or something for flavor. It was super simple and very filling, though, so worth keeping around to experiment with!

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This was good, but not what I was looking for. I did think it needed more spice or seasoning. When re-heating the leftovers I added salt and cayenne and that seemed to help.

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