How to Make Traditional Barley Soup with Chicken Hearts (Ingredients + Tips)
Soups and stews are my go-to comfort food for cozy fall and winter dinners. They’re perfect for batch cooking—I love making a big pot so I only need to cook a couple of times a week. They’re hearty, flavorful, and easy to adapt to whatever meat and vegetables I have on hand. Since I like to include organ meats in my family’s meals, I often adapt our favorite recipes to sneak in a little offal. This recipe is based on a simple, old-fashioned British-style barley soup that I’ve updated with sliced chicken hearts. Simmered with vegetables in a rich broth, the chicken hearts turn tender and delicious. The best part? This hearty barley soup is ready in about an hour with pearl barley, or you can try the slow cooker option for a hands-off, weeknight-friendly dinner.
What Are the Ingredients of Barley Soup?
In this recipe I use sautéed onions, carrots, and garlic to create a flavorful base for the soup. I then add sliced chicken hearts which add richness and a boost of nutrients as well as barley which thickens the soup beautifully. Finally I cook everything in flavorful homemade chicken broth for a soup which is both nutrient dense and deeply comforting on a cold fall or winter day.
Which Barley Is Best for Soup?
Both hulled barley and pearl barley will work fine in this soup. Hulled barley is a whole grain barley which had the outer inedible hull removed. Pearl barley is a type of barley that has been processed to remove both the hull and the bran. Hulled barley is more nutritious but takes a little longer to cook and has a chewier texture. Pearl barley is lighter in color, cooks a little faster, and becomes more tender when cooked than hulled barley.
If you are using hulled barley, I recommend you soak it overnight first so it cooks faster. You can also soak pearl barley but it is not strictly necessary.
How Healthy Is Barley Soup?
This soup is a nutritional powerhouse, great for a healthy lunch, but hearty and filling enough to be served at dinner (with perhaps some crusty buttered sourdough bread or rolls). Organ meats are some of the most nutrient dense parts of an animal and chicken hearts are rich in protein, zinc, iron, copper, Coenzyme Q10, and B vitamins. The veggies and the barley in the soup add minerals and the gelatinous chicken broth is rich in collagen and essential amino acids.
What Do Chicken Hearts Taste Like?
Chicken hearts have a mild flavor that’s very similar to regular chicken meat, which makes them one of the best organ meats for beginners to try. Unlike chicken liver, they don’t have a strong taste, so you don’t need to worry about overpowering the soup. Their texture is slightly chewy, like a good steak if cooked quickly, but when simmered longer they become wonderfully tender. In this healthy barley soup with organ meats, I start by sautéing the chicken hearts in butter to build rich flavor. Then they slowly cook in broth with vegetables and barley until soft, savory, and absolutely delicious—showing just how easy it is to cook chicken hearts in a family-friendly way.
What Are the Spices in Barley Soup?
I kept the seasoning for this barley soup simple, letting the sautéed vegetables, bay leaf, salt, and freshly ground black pepper build a classic, old-fashioned flavor. Just before serving, I like to sprinkle on fresh herbs for brightness and color. If you want to add more spices, thyme, parsley, oregano, or rosemary all pair beautifully with chicken hearts and barley. You can also layer in onion powder or garlic powder to enhance the flavor alongside the fresh onion and garlic already in the recipe.
If you would like to add dry herbs, do it when sautéing the onions and carrots. If using fresh herbs, add them in the last few minutes of cooking time to keep their flavor fresh.
Ingredients
- Both hulled barley (which I used) and pearl barley work fine in this recipe. I soaked the barley overnight before making the soup in order to break down some of the anti-nutrients in the grain and also to make it cook faster, however soaking the barley is not strictly necessary. Skip the soaking step if you need to, especially if using pearl barley.
- Don’t be tempted to add more barley than I use in the recipe. Barley expands a lot as it cooks and absorbs lots of liquid. If you added more barley, you might end up with a soup so thick you could stand the spoon in it!
- I slice the hearts into circles crosswise, but you could slice the hearts lengthwise into halves or even leave them whole. It is entirely up to your preference – I just like the hearts chopped small for soups. If you would like a step by step tutorial on how to prepare hearts for cooking, I have one here.
Step by Step Recipe: Old-Fashioned Barley Soup with Chicken Hearts
In a medium pot, sauté the onions and carrots in 1 tablespoon of butter until softened and fragrant. Season well with salt and pepper.
While the onions and carrots are cooking, melt the rest of the butter in a large frying pan and fry the sliced hearts until cooked. Season well and set aside.
Pour in 5 cups of the stock. Your soup will look thin – don’t worry, it will thicken a lot as the barley cooks.
Bring the soup to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the carrots and the barley are soft. Check on it halfway through cooking, if it is getting too thick, pour in the last cup of stock. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot, garnished with some fresh chopped herbs if you like.
Making This Soup in the Crockpot/Slow Cooker
- Sauté the carrots, onions, garlic and bay leaf. Season well and set aside.
- Fry the sliced hearts, season well and set aside.
- In the slow cooker/crockpot, layer the veggies, hearts, barley, and 5 cups of stock. Add a little more salt.
- Stir briefly to combine.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- After the cooking time is up, check if the barley and carrots are tender and adjust the seasoning. If the soup looks too thick, dilute it quickly with 1 cup of hot stock.
- Serve immediately, garnished with some fresh herbs.
Serving Suggestions + Storage
- You could serve this soup garnished with some chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, rosemary, thyme, dill, or parsley.
- This is a fairly thick and hearty soup, so when reheating it do it slowly and gently so the bottom doesn’t burn.
- This soup also freezes well.
Some Variations You Could Try
- You could replace up to half of the onion with sliced celery.
- Instead of carrots, you could use other root veggies, such as potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga, or turnips. Chop them small so they don’t take too long to cook.
- Other organ meats that would work well in this soup are gizzards, kidneys, or tripe. Gizzards and tripe take long to cook to tenderness – you would need to precook them before adding to this soup.
- I use different types of stock (sometimes called bone broth) pretty interchangeably in cooking. Although I specify chicken stock for this soup recipe (because it has the mildest taste), other types of stock, such as beef, lamb, or turkey, would work fine too.
Final Thoughts
I hope you’ll give this hearty barley soup a try this winter! Barley is such a wonderful grain for cold-weather cooking—it naturally thickens soups and stews, giving them a creamy, satisfying consistency. It makes a great alternative to using flour, cornstarch or cream as a thickener. Adding organ meats like chicken hearts to familiar comfort food recipes is one of my favorite ways to make them a regular part of our family’s diet. This recipe is simple, nourishing, and a delicious way to enjoy the benefits of barley and organ meats in one cozy bowl.
If you love organ meats, I have some other family-friendly offal recipes on the blog:
Nutrient-Rich Chicken Liver Pâté
Simple and Flavorful Tripe Soup
Barley Soup with Chicken Hearts
Ingredients
For the soup
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1½ cups chopped onions
- 1½ cups chopped carrots
- 2 cups raw chicken hearts (or 500 grams), sliced crosswise into a few pieces
- 2 tsp unrefined salt, divided
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ cup hulled barley or pearl barley
- 5-6 cups chicken stock
For the optional garnish
- handful fresh chopped herbs, for example rosemary, dill, thyme, or parsley
Instructions
- If you are using hulled barley, soak it overnight (or for at least 8 hours), rinse well and drain. Skip this step if you are using pearl barley.
- In a medium pot, sauté the onions and carrots in 1 tablespoon of butter until softened and fragrant. Season well with salt and pepper.
- While the onions and carrots are cooking, melt the rest of the butter in a large frying pan and fry the sliced hearts until cooked. Season well and set aside.
- Once the onions and carrots are softened, add the crushed garlic cloves and bay leaf to the pot. Stir around for a couple of minutes.
- Stir in the barley, chicken hearts and a little more salt.
- Pour in 5 cups of the stock. Your soup will look thin – don't worry, it will thicken a lot as the barley cooks.
- Bring the soup to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the carrots and the barley are soft. Check on it halfway through cooking, if it is getting too thick, pour in the last cup of stock.
- Once the veggies are tender, adjust the seasoning and serve the soup hot, garnished with some fresh chopped herbs if you like.
