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This Slow Cooker Bean Barley Soup is about as easy as homemade soup gets. Add everything to the slow cooker, turn it on, and several hours later you’ve got a thick, hearty soup filled with beans, barley, potatoes and vegetables.
The recipe comes from Donna-Marie Pye’s 300 Slow Cooker Favorites (affiliate link), a cookbook I’ve turned to often over the years for simple slow cooker inspiration.
What makes this particular soup a little different is the can of baked beans in tomato sauce. Instead of starting with plain beans and adding tomatoes and seasonings separately, the baked beans provide all of that in one easy ingredient.
It’s a good recipe for a busy day because there’s no browning, sautéing or other advance cooking required. You can even assemble everything in the slow cooker crock the night before, refrigerate it, and be ready to get dinner started in the morning.
Why You’ll Love This Bean Barley Soup
- Truly easy prep – Everything goes straight into the slow cooker.
- Made with simple ingredients – Beans, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and barley make up most of the soup.
- Thick and hearty – Pearl barley and potatoes give this soup plenty of body.
- Easy to make vegetarian – Just use vegetarian baked beans and vegetable broth (affiliate link).
- Good for busy days – It can cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Baked beans in tomato sauce – These are the shortcut ingredient that makes this soup so easy, adding beans, tomato flavor and seasoning all at once. Use your favorite canned baked beans. For a vegetarian soup, be sure to choose a vegetarian variety.
Potatoes – Peel and finely chop two medium potatoes. Smaller pieces will cook evenly and help give the finished soup its hearty texture.
Celery – One finely chopped stalk adds savory flavor to the soup.
Onion – You’ll need about 1 cup finely chopped onion. Yellow or white onion will work.
Carrots – Two diced carrots add color and a little natural sweetness.
Beef or vegetable broth (affiliate link) – Either works. Beef broth gives the soup a deeper, more savory flavor; vegetable broth keeps it vegetarian.
Pearl barley – Rinse the barley before adding it to the slow cooker. As it cooks, it becomes tender and helps thicken the soup.
Ground nutmeg – Just a pinch. It may sound unusual in bean soup, but it’s part of the original recipe and adds a subtle background warmth.
Salt and pepper – Add these at the end to taste. The baked beans and broth already contain salt, so it’s best to wait until the soup is finished before adding more.
How to Make Slow Cooker Bean Barley Soup
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
Peel and chop the potatoes, onion and carrots, finely chop the celery, and rinse the pearl barley.
Step 2: Add Everything to the Slow Cooker
In a 4-quart slow cooker (affiliate link), combine the baked beans, potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, broth, barley and nutmeg.
Stir to combine.
Step 3: Slow Cook Until Tender
Cover and cook until the vegetables and barley are tender and the soup is hot and bubbling:
- LOW: 8 to 10 hours
- HIGH: 4 to 6 hours
Step 4: Season and Serve
Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Recipe Notes
For a vegetarian bean barley soup, use vegetarian baked beans in tomato sauce and vegetable broth.
Because both the barley and potatoes absorb liquid as they cook, this becomes a fairly thick, hearty soup. If it’s thicker than you prefer, simply stir in a little additional broth before serving.
The flavor of your baked beans will influence the finished soup, so choose a variety you like. Some baked beans are considerably sweeter or smokier than others.
How Many Calories and WW Points?
According to my calculations, each cup of this low-fat, high-fiber, thick and hearty slow cooker soup has about 154 calories and 3 WW Points.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
4 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Though probably technically NOT, I would also consider this a WW Simply Filling food too, but I’m in maintenance mode. Enjoy!
If you’ve made this low fat Crock Pot Bean and Barley Soup, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Slow Cooker Bean Barley Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) baked beans in tomato sauce
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 6 cups beef or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
- pinch of ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 4-Quart.
- In your slow cooker, combine the beans, potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, broth, barley and nutmeg.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours, until the vegetables are tender and soup is bubbling.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 4 PointsPlus (Old plan) To turn this into a vegetarian bean barley soup, use vegetarian baked beans in tomato sauce and vegetable broth, instead of beef.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: Slightly adapted from 300 Slow Cooker Favorites (affiliate link) by Donna-Marie Pye.
