Persian cream of barley soup is a delicious warm bowl of comfort. So easy, nutritious, bursting in taste and flavor, light in carbs and vegetarian.
Soup Jo (Barley Soup)
This creamy barley soup is just one of the many amazing classic Persian soups and it is also known as Soup-e Jo. And "Jo" means "barley". It is so perfectly balanced in taste and nutrition. No wonder that it is so popular.
Another classic barley soup is Ash-e Jow. But meanwhile you can check this hit Persian soup, more commonly served in restaurants, Ash-e Reshteh (Persian noodle soup).
Cook's Tips
I have used pearl barley for this recipe. But if you have access to hulled barley and would like to use it, just make sure to cook the soup longer until the barley is well done.
When I make this soup, I use leeks, mushrooms, or both, as in this Asian noodle soup. Remember that when using only mushrooms, the soup will have a darker color due to the mushrooms. But the flavor is still awesome. You could also cook the soup with the leeks and add some sauteed mushrooms at the end of the cooking process.
Health Benefits
I just love barley. I think that it does not get as much attention as it should. It is a super nutritious grain. Barley can also be used to create interesting textures and consistencies in recipes.
It is excellent for adding creaminess and body to soups, stews, puddings, gravies, desserts, alongside enriching it; unlike refined flour or corn starch that only add to the consistency of a recipe but are nutritionally inferior.
Just like oats, it is a great source of beta glucans - the fiber that is well known for its cholesterol lowering effect. But the barley grain has overall more fiber than oats.
And the interesting thing is that, unlike many other grains, the fiber is present throughout the grain and not just in the bran/outer layer. I have written a lot more about barley in this post on Barley Porridge with Blueberries.
This soup uses other ingredients that enrich it further with both flavor and nutrition - leeks, carrots, celery etc. Leeks are another favorite of mine - so tasty and healthy! Yet another super yummy recipe using leeks - Creamy leek avocado cilantro soup.
This tasty and healthy Persian Creamy Barley Soup is a keeper for the comfort and nourishment of your loved ones!!
More Soup Recipes
- Yogurt Soup with Barley and Chickpeas
- Creamy Spinach Mustard Greens Soup
- Roasted Sweet Potato Coconut Soup
- Harira (Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup)
★ DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE COMMENT AND GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW!
Persian Creamy Barley Soup (Soup-e Jo)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion large, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- ½ cup barley
- 2 cups leeks and/or mushrooms, chopped
- ½ cup carrot grated
- ¼ cup celery chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon Advieh Persian spice mix or any mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 quarts vegetable broth or chicken broth, low sodium
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or more
- ½ cup sour cream low fat
- 3 tablespoons cilantro chopped
Equipment
- Hand Blender
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large cooking pot. Sauté the onions. Add garlic and stir. Sauté till the onions turn light golden brown.
- Add barley, leeks/mushrooms, grated carrot, celery, bay leaves, spices, salt, pepper and stir. Sauté a few minutes.
- Add the chicken broth. Bring it all to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about an hour or more until the barley has cooked to a very soft texture.
- Using a hand blender or a table top blender process half of the soup ingredients to a smooth consistency. Mix it back with the remaining soup.
- Adjust the consistency of the soup with more broth if needed. Adjust the salt and seasoning. Add lemon juice as per taste.
- Scoop out some soup into a bowl and mix with sour cream and return it back to the soup pot and stir it.
- Stir one tablespoon of cilantro into the soup. Garnish the Persian Creamy Barely Soup with the remaining cilantro.
Notes
- I prefer to process only half the soup to a creamy consistency and mix it with the rest. If you want to process more or less, you may do that as per your taste.
- Persian spice mix (Advieh) recipe is on the blog. Ready made advieh is available at Persian or middle eastern grocery stores or online.
- May use a middle eastern or Mediterranean mixed spice as a substitute.
Lynn says
I love love love barley and this soup looks wonderful, but do you have directions for the Instant Pot yet? I have made vegetable barley soup in my Instant Pot, so I know it is an ingredient that works. Based on the fact that this recipe calls for the barley to be cooked longer to a softer consistency, I don't know how long to set it for. Sorry, I love my Instant Pot and do not want to have to watch the pot on the stove for an hour! Thank-you in advance for your time.
Roxana Begum says
I will update the post with instant pot instructions after testing it. But it should definitely work very well, as you did with your other soup.
Anonymous says
Hi can this be frozen ?
Roxana Begum says
I would freeze without adding the sour cream. Add rest of the ingredients before serving.
Raphne says
Fantastic. My 91 year old father in law said
"This is vegetarian? I could convert!"
This is going to be a regular in our dinner rotation
Roxana Begum says
That is the best feedback :) Thanks for sharing.
Julie Monroe says
This soup was absolutely delicious! Very flavorful and I will gladly make it again. It was even better the next day. One of my students is from Iran and I showed her the recipe before I made it to ask her how to pronounce it and she said it looked good. Now I am interested in making more of your dishes. Your web site is very professional and easy to navigate. Thank you for all the hard work you do to share your recipes and hints.
Roxana Begum says
Thanks Julie for your lovely and encouraging feedback.
Renee says
Can you supply this same wonderful recipe using an Instant Pot please?
Roxana Begum says
So happy that you like it :) will try to do the instant pot one.
amanda says
I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly, however I added a bit more barley and used cracked barley instead of whole. I made the 'advieh ash' spice mix and it was really simple and the soup is delicious! Will definitely be a staple in our home from now on.
Roxana Begum says
So glad you liked it Amanda :) Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Reza says
Hello, I'm Iranian,and I was so happy after visited your site. l thins this site very thrust and strong. نه
Roxana Begum says
Hi Reza, thank you for visiting and your lovely feedback. Appreciate it very much!
Laura says
I am not a natural when it comes to cooking, so I follow recipes exactly, and hope for the best. I thought this recipe was very good. I've looked around the internet at several recipes for this soup, some using tomato paste and some used bechamel sauce for thickening. However none of the recipes had the spices or suggested leeks or mushrooms - I used leeks - very flavorful. I made my own Advieh, but couldn't find the lime powder or rose petals so I left them out. Also I'm a big fan of barley. Next time I would like to double the barley! Anything I should do different if I were to increase the barley?
Roxana Begum says
Thank you so much Laura. If you dont have lime powder you can substitute with lemon or lime juice for the tartness according to your taste. If you double the barley the soup will be thicker in consistency. What I would do is to also increase the flavor enhancing and seasoning ingredients accordingly, such as spices, salt, lemon juice/powder, herbs etc.
Julie says
What a delicious and healthy looking soup. It's winter here so I will be trying this one out very soon. I am another advocate of barley, it's so under rated as a grain! I don't understand why it's not used more!
Thanks for sharing
Julie
ThermoKitchen
Roxana says
Thanks Julie. So glad to find another barley advocate :) Seriously it can add so much taste and nutrition to recipes. One could be so creative with it too.
Bintu says
That bowl of soup looks tasty and pretty the way you have presented it too
Roxana says
Thanks Bintu :)
Tracy says
I've never made barley soup before, but this looks so good! I love those swirls of sour cream in the soup. Yum!
Roxana says
Thanks Tracy.
Dahn says
I love barley and this soup looks amazing. I am going to have to try it. I don't have the Persian spice mix, I am sure I can substitute but I think I want to try the Persian spice blend so I am going to order some.
Roxana says
Thanks Dahn. The Persian spice blend (advieh) is ground from cumin, coriander, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, lime powder, dried rose petals etc... with an overall savory flavor note that is subtle and not as intense like Indian spice blends. A possible (but not exact) substitute would be a 'mild' middle eastern or eastern/southern Mediterranean mixed spice blend. It would be easy to make at home. But I have a lot of store bought version given to me. It's available online.
Lisa says
Such a lovely bowl of soup. Those swirls make it look so inviting!
Roxana says
Thanks Lisa. So glad you like it :).