Recipe // Chicken Barley Soup

We all had the sniffles last week, when I felt like it was time for some comfort food. So today’s Chicken Barley Soup recipe is coming to the rescue.

Grandma was right, after all: Chicken soup is good for the cold, not just the soul.

Stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, fatigue, cough – even the most health-conscious of us can fall prey to these dreaded symptoms during cold and flu season. Practicing good hand washing, avoiding touching your face, eating healthy and exercising can all help keep germs at bay. But if cold germs manage to sneak past your defenses, a good bowl of chicken soup can do wonders to soothe your symptoms – and there are even studies to back it up.

Mothers everywhere have known for years what studies are now showing: Chicken soup (plus or minus the noodles) really does make you feel better when you have a cold.

I grew up with Chicken Soup, it always gave me comfort when I was ill. These days there are plenty of Chicken Soup recipies on the internet, but my version of the Chicken Barley Soup is one of our favorite and we love the texture it has.

Chicken Barley Soup Recipe

You can take a simple Chicken Soup recipe and make it your own by adding your favorite veggies, noodles, rice or wheats. Find my mom’s version of the Chicken Noodle Egg Soup here.

Recipe // Chicken Barley Soup

Recipe Type: Soup

Author: Charlyne Mattox

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, chopped
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
½ cup pearl barley
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, skin-side down, until the skin is golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. (The chicken will not be cooked through yet.) Transfer to a plate; reserve the pot.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the reserved pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the broth, barley, and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through and the barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Transfer the chicken to a plate, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot.
Serve the soup topped with the parsley mixture with the lemon wedges alongside.

And if you like this recipe, I made you an easy to print version that you can add to your recipe box. Simply download the Chicken Barley Soup Recipe PDF file, print and cut-out.