This is the best healthy mushroom soup and it will be your go-to recipe during cold and flu season! This soup is brimming with immune system boosting ingredients, like mushrooms, bok choy, garlic, and ginger + you can get it on the dinner table in 45 minutes!
If you're trying to naturally boost your immune system with food, you're going to love this healthy mushroom soup recipe! This creamless mushroom soup is so nutritious and it's packed with immune system boosting ingredients like mushrooms, bok choy, miso, garlic, ginger, lemon, and cilantro!
However, this recipe is not just for when you're feeling sick. This hearty mushroom soup is very satisfying and it will fill you up, so it's a great choice for a whole food plant-based dinner any night of the week!
Is Mushroom Soup Healthy?
All of the healthy ingredients in this vegan mushroom soup will help to give your immune system a massive boost! This soup is jam-packed with vitamins and nutrients to help your body feel better. Let's go over each ingredient and you'll see why this soup is so beneficial to your health.
- Barley - Barley contains beta-glucan which is a type of fiber that has antimicrobial and antioxidant components that are more potent than echinacea.
- Onions - Onions are a great source of vitamin C, zinc, and phytochemicals that are very beneficial to your immune system.
- Mushrooms - Mushrooms are selenium, beta-glucan, and antioxidant-rich.
- Garlic - Garlic is believed to fight infection and bacteria in your body.
- Bok Choy - Bok choy is one of the best anti-inflammatory foods you can eat! It's a cruciferous vegetable that's loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin A.
- Miso - Miso is antiviral and loaded with gut-loving probiotics.
- Ginger - Ginger is believed to be antiviral and antibacterial.
- Lemon - Lemons are naturally rich in flavonoids, vitamin C, and antioxidants.
- Cilantro - Cilantro is packed with antioxidants and can help to remove heavy metals from your body.
- Green Onions - Green onions are naturally high in vitamins C, K, and A.
Now that you know why this soup is so good for you, let's go over how to make it. It's very simple!
How to Make Mushroom Barley Soup
Step #1 - Begin by cooking the barley in a medium-sized pot, according to package directions. I prefer to cook the barley separately so it doesn't soak up all the soup broth while it cooks. When the barley is done cooking, drain any excess water and set it aside for later.
Step #2 - While the barley is cooking, saute the diced onions in a few tablespoons of water in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat, until the onions are translucent. Then add the sliced mushrooms and minced garlic and let it cook until the mushrooms start to brown.
Step #3 - Add the chopped bok choy, ginger, mushroom broth, and water to the pot. Bring the soup to a low simmer and then quickly reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook (about 5-8 minutes) until the bok choy has softened a little but try not to overcook it. The bok choy should still be bright green and it will be tender and easy to chew.
Step #4 - Take the soup pot off the heat. Carefully, use a measuring cup or ladle to remove one cup of the broth from the soup pot and put it into a small bowl. Let the liquid cool down for a few minutes and then stir in the miso paste.
Note - If you add the miso to boiling hot liquid it will kill all the good gut-loving probiotics.
Step #5 - Let the soup in the pot cool down a little bit (for about 5 minutes) and then stir in the miso paste broth that you just made, lemon juice, and roughly chopped fresh cilantro.
Step #6 - To serve the soup, put a ½ cup of cooked barley in each soup bowl and then serve the mushroom barley soup on top of it. The warm broth will help to break up the cooked barley and give it a stir to combine. Garnish with sliced green onions.
Slow Cooker Instructions
Put all of the soup ingredients except for the miso paste, cilantro, green onions, and lemon juice into a large 6-quart slow cooker. Add an extra 2 ½ cups of water or mushroom broth for the barley to absorb while it cooks. Set it to cook for 3-4 hours on high.
Check it at 3 hours and carefully remove 1 cup of the broth from the pot. Put the reserved broth into a small bowl and let it cool down. Once cooled, add the miso paste and stir until it has dissolved into the liquid.
If you're happy with the consistency and texture of the barely after 3 hours, add the cilantro, lemon juice, and miso paste mixture. Stir it in, garnish with green onions, and serve immediately.
What Type of Bok Choy Should You Use?
I prefer to use baby bok choy for this low-fat mushroom soup recipe because of its sweet flavor and tender texture. Baby bok choy tastes like a sweet cabbage and it tastes absolutely delicious in this soup.
This is what you should look for when you're picking out heads of baby bok choy:
- Look for the small to medium heads, don't pick the biggest ones in the bunch.
- Pick the baby bok choy that has the most dark green leaves on top.
- Check the outer layers of the bok choy for brown or wet spots, that's a sign that it's starting to go bad.
- If you see a variety of bok choy with a green stem and purple leaves, get it! They're very delicious and anything naturally purple (like these vegan broccoli and cheese stuffed purple sweet potatoes) is antioxidant-rich.
Should I Cook the Barley Before Adding it to the Soup?
Yes, you need to cook the barley before adding it to the soup. I recommend that you cook the barley separately and then add it to the soup right before serving so it doesn't absorb all of the broth.
Serving Suggestions
Take this healthy mushroom soup to the next level by serving one of these easy side dishes to go with it!
- Roasted Lemon Garlic Asparagus
- Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
- Lemon Tahini Courgette Salad
- Pesto Veggie Bake
Can I Freeze Leftovers?
Yes, you can freeze leftover soup in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months. I would store the leftover cooked barley separately from the barley soup so the barely doesn't absorb all of the broth, but you can freeze the soup and barley together if you prefer.
When you reheat the broth-based mushroom soup, you will need to add more broth or water because the barley will have absorbed a lot of it. It will have more of a stew-like consistency until you add more liquid.
Notes & Substitutions
- Gluten-Free: This healthy mushroom soup recipe is not gluten-free because it contains barley. To make it gluten-free, you can substitute quinoa or brown rice for the barley.
- Barley Substitutions: You can use wheat berries, brown rice, quinoa, or orzo instead of barley.
- Bok Choy Substitutions: Sliced napa cabbage, green cabbage, beet greens, spinach, dandelion greens, or kale would be good substitutes.
- Mushroom Substitutions: I used cremini mushrooms in this soup, but you could also use button mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, or shiitake mushrooms. Frozen or dehydrated mushrooms are fine too.
- Add Salt to Taste: Miso paste tastes salty because it's made of soybeans that have been fermented with salt. For this reason, I didn't add any extra salt to the soup except for a pinch to season the onions while sauteing. I recommend that you wait to season the soup with more salt until after you add the miso paste.
- Pearl or Hulled Barely? I recommend that you use pearl barley for this soup to save time. Pearl barley takes about 25 minutes to cook. If you use hulled barley, it will take about 40 minutes to cook.
- Extra Protein: If you want to add extra plant-based protein to the soup, great northern beans or chickpeas would be a delicious addition.
Success Tips
- Cook the barley separately from the soup so it won't absorb all of the soup broth.
- Don't add the miso paste to the boiling soup, it will kill the probiotics in the miso. Add it at the end once you've taken the soup off the heat.
- Use small heads of baby bok choy instead of the large heads of mature bok choy, because baby bok choy has a sweeter and more delicate flavor.
- Use fresh garlic and ginger, the dried seasonings don't give the same amount of flavor and health benefits to this soup.
- Store the leftover barley separately from the soup so it won't absorb all of the broth and get mushy.
- Leftover soup with last for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Want More Vegan Soup Recipes?
Vegan Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup
30-Minute Garden Vegetable Barley Soup
Slow Cooker Jackfruit & Wild Rice Soup
Hearty Lemon Artichoke Orzo Soup
Easy Spinach Lentil Chickpea Soup
Vegan Bok Choy Mushroom Barley Soup
Equipment
- 6-Quart Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ lb cremini mushrooms sliced
- 4 medium garlic cloves minced
- 4 small heads baby bok choy sliced
- 4 cups mushroom broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 inches fresh ginger peeled and grated (about 1 ½ tbsp)
- 2 tbsp white miso
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 2 cups cilantro roughly chopped
- 4 green onions sliced
- ½ tsp black pepper
- Himalayan Pink Sea Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the barley in a medium sized pot, according to package directions. It should take about 25 minutes. I prefer to cook the barley separately so it doesn’t soak up all the soup broth while it cooks. When the barley is done cooking, drain any excess water and set it aside for later.
- While the barley is cooking, saute the diced onions in a few tablespoons of water or broth in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat, until the onions are translucent. While the onions are cooking, add a pinch of salt. Then add the sliced mushrooms and minced garlic and let it cook until the mushrooms start to brown.
- Add the sliced bok choy, ginger, mushroom broth, and water to the pot. Bring the soup to a low simmer and then quickly reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook (about 5-8 minutes) until the bok choy has softened a little but try not to overcook it. The bok choy should still be bright green and it will be tender and easy to chew.
- Take the soup pot off the heat. Carefully, use a measuring cup or ladle to remove one cup of the broth from the soup pot and put it into a small bowl. Let the liquid cool down for a few minutes and then stir in the miso paste.
- Let the soup in the pot cool down a little bit (for about 5 minutes) and then stir in the miso paste broth that you just made, lemon juice, and roughly chopped fresh cilantro.
- To serve the soup, put a ½ cup of cooked barley in each soup bowl and then serve the mushroom barley soup on top of it. The warm broth will help to break up the cooked barley and give it a stir to combine. Garnish each bowl with sliced green onions.
Notes
- Cook the barley separately from the soup so it won't absorb all of the soup broth.
- Don't add the miso paste to the boiling soup, it will kill the probiotics in the miso. Add it at the end once you've taken the soup off the heat.
- Use small heads of baby bok choy instead of the large heads of bok choy because baby bok choy has a sweeter and more delicate flavor.
- Use fresh garlic and ginger, the dried seasonings don't give the same amount of flavor and health benefits to this soup.
- Store the leftover barley separately from the soup so it won't absorb all of the broth and get mushy.
- Leftover soup with last for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally shared on 1/25/18, but I updated it with better recipe instructions on 5/14/20.
You should start printing cook books!!! I am so grateful for your recipes and all the extra information you provide! You are the vegan Martha Stewart! Please publish cook books. 🙂
Thank you so much, Teresa! That is so sweet! I secretly tell my friends/family that I want to be the vegan Martha Stewart, so you literally just made my day!!! =) I'm so happy that you enjoy the recipes!!
Could we replace the barley with quinoa. I'm not that keen on barley.
Hi, Joanna! Sure, quinoa would be delicious in this soup! Enjoy!