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February 20, 2018

Slow Cooker Chicken and Barley Soup

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For a healthy but filling meal try out this Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup with some crusty bread. It simmers all day for lots of flavor. This is a forgiving soup that allows you to use cooked chicken or turkey or raw chicken breasts or thighs. 
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Recipe for Slow Cooker Healthy Chicken and Barley Soup #crockpot #easydinner

Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup

This is one of those soups that fills you up but doesn’t give you the guilt factor. No creams or flours or butters are used in this recipe (not that there’s anything wrong with that…but sometimes I just want to eat a little lighter). This is one of my favorite soups and it held nicely on warm for a few hours until everybody in my house had cycled through and eaten their dinner. If you’re in a snowstorm like me right try this Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup out for dinner tonight!

Some notes about the ingredients:

Tomatoes–I used a can of petite diced tomatoes for this soup. However if you want it to have more of a tomato-y base instead of chicken broth base then you can use a can of crushed tomatoes. You can see the difference from this version of the soup versus the crushed tomatoes version here.

Barley–I buy pearl barley (or pot barley) in the bulk section of the grocery store. Don’t use the quick cooking kind (par-boiled) for this particular recipe or the barley will be overcooked and mushy.

Chicken/Turkey–we made a turkey on Sunday and had leftovers so that’s what I used this time around. In the past I’ve used this seasoned shredded chicken and I’ve also used raw chicken breasts or thighs. It doesn’t really matter too much.

More Healthy Soup Recipes

  • Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
  • Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
  • Slow Cooker Turkey Minestrone Soup
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Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup


  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4-6 hours on low
  • Total Time: 45 minute
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Description

 For a healthy but filling meal try out this Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup with some crusty bread. It simmers all day for lots of flavor. This is a forgiving soup that allows you to use cooked chicken or turkey or raw chicken breasts or thighs.  

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 cup celery, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup pearl barley (not the quick-cooking kind)
  • 1–2 cups shredded chicken (pre-made) OR 1 1/2 pounds uncooked chicken breasts or thighs
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water and 3 1/2 tsp better than bouillon* chicken base)
  • 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a microwave-safe bowl combine the onion, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, celery and carrots.  Microwave for about 4-5 minutes, stirring every minute.  Transfer to the slow cooker.
  2. Add in the barley, chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, salt, bay leaf and pepper into the slow cooker.  Stir a bit and cover.
  3. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, until barley is cooked through.
  4. Remove the chicken (if it was uncooked) and shred or cut into bite size pieces. Stir the chicken back into the pot.
  5. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Notes

For this recipe I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* I love this slow cooker (you can see me talking about it in a video here). It cooks low and evenly. I love the medium heat choice because most slow cookers that I’ve seen only have the option of cooking on low or high. If you’re going to buy just one slow cooker, this is the one that I recommend.

(Get the INSTANT POT version of this recipe here)

  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Slow Cooker

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cup serving
  • Calories: 141
  • Sugar: 2 grams
  • Sodium: 657 mg
  • Fat: 5 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 17 grams
  • Protein: 9 grams

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 *Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
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14 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Chicken, Healthy, Soups, Slow Cooker Tagged With: All Posts, 4-6 hours, barley, crock pot recipes, recipes crock pot, slow cooker recipes, shredded chicken

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Kaye M. says

    August 7, 2019 at 3:50 am

    Can I halve this to do in a 2.5 qt. Crockpot?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 7, 2019 at 8:54 am

      yes

      Reply
  2. Meghan says

    February 3, 2018 at 10:59 am

    Can we cook the chicken in the slow cooker, shedding halfway through?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 3, 2018 at 8:52 pm

      sure!

      Reply
  3. Ashley says

    November 25, 2017 at 10:29 am

    Can you freeze this?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 25, 2017 at 7:47 pm

      Yes, I think this would freeze nicely!

      Reply
      • Kathy B says

        June 21, 2018 at 11:46 am

        I have frozen it and it works perfectly!!!

        Reply
  4. Dorothy Collins says

    December 21, 2016 at 5:48 pm

    Cooking quicker version on stovetop. Alas, 3 1/2 c. broth didn’t begin to cover the ingredients. I hate to think what would happen if I had added the barley! Are you sure it is 3 1/2 c. broth?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 23, 2016 at 9:28 pm

      yep! But if you want it more brothy you can always add more!

      Reply
  5. Unknown says

    December 26, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    Whenever I search for a slow cooker recipe, I always end up back on you blog. I have leftover Christmas turkey and look forward to making this tonight.

    Reply
    • karenbellessapetersen@gmail.com says

      December 30, 2015 at 8:29 pm

      I hope you liked it! I love this one and make it often 🙂

      Reply
      • Dan says

        November 25, 2016 at 11:07 am

        Tonight. Fingers crossed. Thanks so much!

        Reply
  6. Audrey says

    December 13, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    Barley soup is one of my favourite dishes ever! Especially in the wintertime. It's such a warm hearty meal! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Bec says

    December 5, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    Do I also see carrots in there? (I'm totally making this tonight… yum!) Thanks!

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Karen

I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.
 

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Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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