Vegetable barley soup

This hearty, low-calorie vegetable barley soup is dairy free with a vegan option. It's so easy and quick to make when you are a little tired and just want to curl up with a bowl of something warming.

Serves: 6
Time to make: 45 mins

Total cost: $ 16.26 / $ 2.71 per serve

(at time of publication)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large stalk celery, sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
400g can chickpeagarbanzoXsgarbanzosX, drained and rinsed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 cup pearl barley
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups reduced-salt vegetable stock (plus 2 cups water)
1 cup green beans, roughly chopped
1 cup green peas, defrosted if frozen
1 cup corn sweetcornXkernels, defrosted if frozen
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped, plus extra to serve
ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1 In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.

2 Increase heat, add next 6 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat again and simmer until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes. If you notice that the soup needs more liquid, add more water, ½ cup at a time.

3 Mix in beans, peas and corn and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4 Remove bay leaf from the soup, stir in parsley and season.

5 Divide soup among 6 bowls. Scatter over remaining parsley and serve.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Kilojoules 1360kJ

Calories 325cal

Protein 13g

Total fat 6g

–Saturated fat 1g

Carbohydrates 50g

–Sugars 17g

Dietary fibre 17g

Sodium 740mg

Calcium 120mg

Iron 4mg

Note: Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. For a guide to purchasing healthier packaged goods and general grocery items see here.