Lentil Barley Vegetable Soup: High Fiber, High Protein & Low Saturated Fat
I’ve been making some changes in the way I eat lately, focusing on a high-fiber, high-protein, low-saturated-fat lifestyle. Rather than thinking about it as a restrictive diet, I’ve been experimenting with foods and recipes that naturally give me more of the things I want—especially fiber and protein—while keeping saturated fat low.
And, of course, they still need to taste good!
This Lentil Barley Vegetable Soup was one of my experiments, and it turned out yummy. It’s hearty and filling, loaded with vegetables, and the combination of lentils and barley gives it a wonderful texture.
One of the things I especially like about this soup is just how much nutrition you can pack into a bowl without adding much saturated fat. I also got to use tomatoes, peppers, and herbs from my garden.
Lentil Barley Vegetable Soup
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Pressure Cook Time: 11 minutes
Additional Instant Pot Time: ~25 minutes
Total Time: ~50 minutes
Yield: About 9½ cups
Serving Size: 1½ cups
Servings: About 6
Calories: 220
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1½ stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 Brussels sprouts, shredded
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 1 small jalapeño, diced
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- 1 32-ounce box Kirkland Organic Chicken Bone Broth
- 1 cup dry lentils
- ½ cup dry pearled barley
- Basil, to taste
- Thyme, to taste
- Oregano, to taste
- 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 15-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large soup pot, sauté the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, Brussels sprouts, green pepper and jalapeño in ½ teaspoon olive oil until they begin to soften.
Add the chicken bone broth, lentils, barley, garlic powder, basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary. Stir in the fire-roasted tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and ½ cup water.
Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils and barley are tender and the vegetables are cooked through. Add a little additional water or broth during cooking if you’d like a thinner soup. I added about 1/2 cup extra water and cooked mine in an InstantPot on the pressure setting for 11 minutes.
Remove the rosemary stems before serving and adjust the seasonings to taste.
Nutrition
My finished pot made approximately 9½ cups of soup. Based on the nutrition labels for the Kirkland bone broth and pearled barley, along with standard nutrition values for the remaining ingredients, the approximate nutrition is:
| Entire Recipe | 1½-Cup Serving | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | ~1,400 | ~220 |
| Protein | ~105 g | ~16–17 g |
| Fiber | ~58 g | ~9 g |
| Saturated Fat | ~1.3–1.5 g | ~0.2 g |
Nutrition numbers are estimates and will vary somewhat depending on the exact size and brands of ingredients used.
That’s a pretty impressive bowl of soup for around 220 calories! A 1½-cup serving provides about 9 grams of fiber and 16–17 grams of protein while containing only about 0.2 gram of saturated fat.
My Favorite Addition: Greek Yogurt
I’ve also discovered that ¼ cup of 0% fat Greek yogurt is delicious stirred into or dolloped on top of this soup.
It makes the broth creamy and adds roughly 5–6 additional grams of protein (depending on the brand) without adding saturated fat.
That brings a bowl to approximately 22 grams of protein while still keeping the saturated fat extremely low.
It’s a simple example of what I’m learning as I make this change: eating for more fiber and protein and less saturated fat doesn’t have to mean eating bland “diet food.” I’m finding that with the right ingredients, I can make meals that are nutritious, filling—and something I actually look forward to eating.
This soup is definitely going into the rotation.
Options for Increasing Protein
I stirred some venison bologna we had into my bowl of soup. Two ounces of sautéed and fat-drained venison bologna added only 130 calories, 1.9 grams of saturated fat and 11.5 grams of protein to my 1½-cup serving of soup—along with a real flavor boost!
If you’d rather add meat to the entire pot, one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast would add approximately 140 grams of protein to the recipe, or about 22 additional grams of protein per 1½-cup serving, while adding only about 0.7 gram of saturated fat per serving.
Extra-lean ground beef is another option. A pound of 96% lean ground beef, cooked and drained, would add roughly 16–17 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of saturated fat per 1½-cup serving.
Here’s approximately what it adds to each 1½-cup serving:
| Addition per bowl | Calories | Protein | Saturated fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 93% lean beef | +123 | +16 g | +1.7 g |
| 96% lean beef | +107 | +16.5 g | +0.9 g |
| Chicken breast | +118 | +22 g | +0.7 g |
