74 Reviews of Italian Lentil and Barley Soup

From: sugarpea

On Feb 28, 2004

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.

From: moxie

On Mar 27, 2004

This was a great, filling soup! I have (gasp!) never used lentils before, but I'm not afraid now. I made it on high, and it took about 4 hours. We will add some sausage to the leftovers for a change of pace, I think.

From: Roosie

On Jul 25, 2004

I can't count the number of times BF said to me while we were eating, "This is good soup!" Well, it is. I converted this to a stovetop recipe because I don't have a crockpot and it took about an hour+. I did sautee the veggies in some olive oil before adding the broth/lentils/etc and doubled the amount of barley (we love barley!). I also used about 1/3 cup red lentils (had some to use up) and 2/3 cup brown lentils. I didn't add any extra water/broth despite the extra barley because we like our soups nice and thick. Acutally- I used all homemade vegetable broth rather than any water. I did not add the parsley, but did add the cider vinegar, which was nice. This was a good, simple, filling vegetarian soup! I served Missy Wombat's Downunder Cheese Puffs (#49172) on the side. Delicious dinner! Thanks for posting, Shaye!

From: PaulaG

On Apr 12, 2004

This is similar to a soup that I have made many times before except for the pearl barley. Nice touch. It cooked in 5 hours. When cooking beans or grains in the crockpot I boil the water and add it to the other ingredients. This helps to cut the cooking time.

From: mianbao

On Dec 25, 2005

I made this with brown lentils on the stovetop, sauteeing the vegetables first, as per Roosie. Added about twice as much barley, and was slightly heavy-handed with the herbs. It's fantastic. Thank you very much for sharing this recipe.

From: Molly53

On Sep 18, 2006

Didn't have any barley, so subbed brown rice. Used granulated garlic, some Italian seasoning blend for the herbs and chicken stock for the broth. Like Gertie, we made a double batch of soup and took some to work for sharing. I LOVE it when someone asks for a recipe (which I happily shared).

From: Steph_40135

On Sep 28, 2006

Soup was easy to prepare. I used yellow lentils & 2/3 cup barley. Didn't have celery. Rather than the tomatoes listed, I added 14oz tomato sauce + 1 can diced tomatoes. Did not use the parsley, but I used the cider vinegar. Really simple, healthy meal for the whole family. Husband could not eat enough of this soup. Thanks for a great new recipe!!

From: American lost in Belgium

On Feb 15, 2007

This is the absolute BEST! I have a mini crockpot so I always halve the recipe, but when my mother was over for a visit, we had to make a FULL batch else we wouldn't have had enough for the two of us! And it was great as lunch the next day! She went home with MY copy of the recipe! Good thing it is still available here!

From: Susan Lee

On Feb 4, 2004

Wonderful way to warm up on a snowy night! However, my soup was done after 6 hours on LOW, in my Rival crockpot. (it is new, maybe it is wacky?!!!) I doubled the recipe, then had to remove a cup and a half of water because my crockpot was full. I'm glad I did! I like very very thick soups, and it turned out just perfect. I abhor celery, so I did leave that out, and used basalmic vinegar. This is almost the same soup I used to make twenty plus years ago, when my 3 children were babies. It was a delightful and yummy deja-vu for me. Thank you!

From: Jennier

On Mar 15, 2004

This recipe was simple and effortless. I added some extra tomato and pearl barley plus some louisiana hot sauce for an extra kick. Warms up great as leftovers for luch the next day!