Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup
on Oct 23, 2016, Updated Nov 07, 2024
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This creamy slow cooker chicken barley soup is made healthier by replacing rice or noodles with barley. It’s easy, uses whole ingredients and is perfect for your crockpot. It is what pure comfort food is made of!
Soups are a staple in my winter diet, because in my opinion a bowl of soup during sweater weather is like the ultimate cozy day feels. I am not talking about those thin, water-y kinds that never seem to fill you up, but the creamy, chunky kinds that are comforting and insanely filling at the same time. For example, this Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup.
This chicken barley soup is hearty, it’s comforting and so delicious! Plus, making it in the slow cooker means most of the process is hands free. If you don’t have a slow cooker though, don’t you worry, you’re not missing out. Here’s how you can make this chicken barley soup on the stovetop.
Jump to section: Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup
Chicken Barley Soup Ingredients Overview
This chicken calls for quite a few ingredients that you may have to source, but you can easily find all of them both online and offline.
It’s a really simple recipe, dump and go recipe where where we add most of the ingredients like carrots, celery, mushrooms, chicken, garlic, jalapenos, oregano, basil, barley, chicken stock and salt to the crockpot or slow cooker.
Once it’s cooked, we stir in the milk and flour mixture – this adds body to the soup and makes it thick and creamy.
Lastlly, we add in the spinach before turning off the slow cooker and allow the soup to rest for 10 minutes for serving!
Benefits Of A Slow Cooker
I know you must be thinking, now she’s trying to get us to buy another gadget. But it’s honestly a game changer, guys. Plus, here’s the thing about owning a slow cooker for busy people like us:
- It’s a set it and forget it tool, which lets you watch Netflix while your food is cooking without you having to worry about anything burning
- Or dump all the ingredients and leave for work, and come back to cooked food that might need another one or two final ingredients just to finish things up. I’m talking some serious hunger saving tips here
- It also means the most tender, fall apart meat that takes almost zero effort to achieve. And if you are a non cook and want to impress your friends, this my friend, is going to be your best friend!
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! Since we’re making this in the slow cooker, the barely will have enough time to simmer and cook through right inside the slow cooker. So there is no need to soak or pre-cook the barley for this soup.
When you cook things like soups, curries and stews in the slow cooker, everything gets cooked slowly, on low heat for a long time. This allows all the ingredients to really simmer and the flavours to develop beautifully, thereby making the food taste incredibly rich and flavourful.
This soup is a truly hands-off affair and I really wouldn’t recommend stirring while it’s cooking. That’s because taking the lid off in the middle of the cooking process can lead to loss of heat. This can not only extend the cooking process, but also dumb down the flavors sometimes.
You can easily store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2-3 days. Simply reheat on the stove or in the microwave when you are ready to serve. If frozen, this chicken barley soup stays good for up to a month. If freezing, do not add any spinach as that can make the soup bitter. Allow the soup to thaw, add spinach and then reheat.
I know you need time to mull over things a bit. But slow cooker or not, make this creamy, hearty chicken barley soup to welcome winter in. If you don’t have a slow cooker, here’s the alternative recipe for this soup: Homestyle Barley Chicken Fall Soup
Watch Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup Recipe Video
Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced Carrots, thickly sliced
- 1 cup Celery, diced
- 1 cup Mushrooms, quartered
- 2 Chicken Breasts, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
- 1 Jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 cup Pearl Barley, washed and strained
- 5 cups Chicken Stock, low sodium
- 4 tablespoons All Purpose Flour, or Maida
- 3/4 cup Milk
- 1 1/2 cups Spinach
- Salt to taste
- Fried Bacon for topping
Instructions
- In a slow cooker or crockpot, add carrots, celery, mushrooms, chicken, garlic, jalapenos, oregano, basil, barley, chicken stock and salt. Stir well, and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour and milk, and once the soup is cooked, mix in the flour and milk mixture. Cook on high for 20 minutes
- Add spinach to the slow cooker and mix well. Turn off the slow cooker, and let the soup sit for ten minutes. Top with bacon and serve hot!
Notes
- Slow cooker: This is a slow cooker recipe. If you don’t have a slow cooker you can make this soup in a crockpot over the stove.
- Spinach: Spinach does not take long to cook so remember to only add it at the very end.
- Storage: This soup can be frozen for upto a month but if you are planning to do that, do not add the spinach. It would case the dish to become bitter. Add spinach after defrosting and reheating as per the recipe.
Nutrition
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Delicious! Best recipe I’ve used in a while.
Yaaaay! so so glad you liked the recipe, Preston.
This looks absolutely delicious! I need to break out my slow cooker for a while since I’ll be doing some evening training with clients and slow cookers are a life saver on busy days!
Absolutely! I really love using mine, especially during these cold months.
I totally LOVE my slow cooker. Perfect for all the comfort foods….like this delicious soup you have here. Nothing beats soups in the slow cooker….and lots of great leftovers too.
Richa
I own…..8 slow cookers in various sizes! I love my crock pots and use them all the time. Your slow cooker recipe looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
I love creamy soups – even better when they don’t take time. Using a slow cooker for a soup like this is the perfect marriage of convenience and taste. I bought a slow cooker a couple of years ago and I’ve never looked back.
I know what you mean. I just got it recently. It sat around for a while because I wasn’t sure how to use it, but once I started, maaan! I don’t know how I did things without it 😀
That looks so comforting.. I need to buy a slow cooker sometime soon. Have so many recipes I’d like to try. One more added to it. Thanks Richa
I hope you get one! We love it and have been doing so many pulled pork tacos lately 😀
I really want to buy a slow-cooker myself but I currently live in a tiny apartment where there’s absolutely no room for any more kitchen appliances. However, we move to a larger apartment in December, so I think that gives me the perfect excuse to invest in one – and when I do, I need to make this recipe!
Hope you have a lovely Sunday 🙂
http://www.martinyfood.com
I totally get what you mean Emma! We were in a small apartment till a few months ago, and just finding space for everything was such a pain. Best of luck for your move, and I hope you try this one out. It’s perfect for moving time when you want a plain old bowl of comfort food 😛