Great Northern Bean Soup with Barley

Time to welcome soup season with open arms! This Great Northern Bean Soup with Barley is a hearty, high-fiber bean-based soup that’s full of made-from-scratch flavor. With one pot on the stove top, this easy meal can be ready in well under an hour. 

Why You’ll Love This Great Northern Bean Soup Recipe

Let’s be honest: these are the specific reasons I love this soup recipe. But I think they’re compelling enough to convince you, too!

• First, this particular Great Northern Bean Soup recipe is NOT another version of ham & bean soup. Not that there’s anything wrong with ham & beans (in fact, that’s one of my dad’s all-time favorites) but I want to share another way to enjoy white beans!
• This is such a forgiving recipe, requiring no exact measurements. Although it doesn’t take some chopping and slicing, it’s pretty easy prep work and a nice way to use leftover veggies to cut down on food waste. 
• Like many soup recipes, it seems to get better as leftovers! Make an extra large batch to enjoy all week and simplify your meal prep efforts. 

And of course, as a registered dietitian, I have to point out that beans and whole grains are some of the best ways to get a little extra fiber in your diet. Lucky for you, this white bean and barley soup includes both!

Most of us aren’t eating the recommended 25-28 grams of fiber each day. But each bowl will provide about 14 grams of fiber to keep you full and satisfied while supporting heart health, gut health, and more.

Ingredients You’ll Need

When you’re ready to cook, gather these simple ingredients to make this Great Northern Bean Soup with Barley:

• Carrots
• Celery
• White onion or yellow onion
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Pancetta or thick-cut bacon
• Canned great northern beans. Although these are my favorite for this soup, you can also use navy beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans, or any other kind of white beans.
• Low sodium vegetable broth, chicken broth, or homemade turkey stock
• Pearled barley or quick-cooking barley, which adds to the overall fiber content more than lower fiber grains or pastas.
• Fresh thyme
• Bay leaves
• MSG. This is monosodium glutamate, the secret ingredient for cooked-all-day savory flavor! If you prefer to skip it or don’t have it on hand, just swap to salt and adjust according to your taste preferences. You can also use my All-Purpose MSG Seasoning for this recipe.
• Apple cider vinegar

Great Northern beans have a more delicate texture than other white beans. They don’t always hold up the best over long or vigorous cooking. If you go that route, try a hardier bean, such as navy or garbanzo beans. But since this white bean and barley soup is ready in a flash, it’s a great way to try a less common type of bean and add variety to your meals.

Street Smart Nutrition Tip: Note that hulled barley needs to simmer to up to an hour before it’s soft and tender. That’s why I recommend quick-cooking or pearled barley to help you get this soup served up sooner. Even though you miss out on a couple of extra grams of fiber (about 2 grams per serving), you still get about 5 to 6 grams of fiber per cup of cooked pearled or quick-cooking barley.

You can use any variety, but adjust the cooking time accordingly:

• Quick-cooking barley: about 12 minutes (shown in this post)
• Pearled barley: 25-30 minutes
• Hulled barley: 45-60 minutes

Make sure you also have some measuring cups and spoons, can opener, a cutting board and sharpened knife, and a large stockpot or Dutch oven. While you could make this in the slow cooker or crock pot, it’s such a simple cooking process that clocks in at just about 30 minutes. Not too bad when the entire family is waiting for dinner!

Why use canned beans?

For me, it’s simple: convenience! 

Yes, I could start with dried great northerns (or any other kind of bean) but to me, soaking dry beans to cook fully from scratch is a process that takes time. Time is probably the most precious resource for cooking family meals besides money. And it’s always going by faster than I realize! If you prefer to use soaked beans, you may end up with a slightly better texture or different flavor. I don’t think the difference is noticeable once you have all the other ingredients in there.

Street Smart Nutrition Tip: When I cook with canned beans, I look for low sodium or “no sodium added” versions. If those aren’t available, just be sure to drain and rinse under cool running water. This can remove up to 40% more sodium than draining alone. Find more tips like this in my post about How To Make a Low-Sodium Diet Taste Better. 

Canned beans are also a convenient way to add more fiber to your meals. Even when a recipe doesn’t specifically call for them, you can add a can of white beans to bulk up the meal, stretch your budget a little further, and boost the fiber content. I consider that a win-win-win situation!

How to Make Great Northern Bean Soup

As promised, this soup can be made in one pan in about thirty minutes. You can’t beat that on a cold winter day when you want a meal that will warm you from the inside out!

​Follow these step-by-step instructions to learn how to make Great Northern Bean Soup:

1. Begin with the knife work to prep the celery, carrots, and onions into a dice for mirepoix. Mince the garlic if not using the prepared version.
2. Grab a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Turn your stove burner to medium-high heat and once heated, add the pancetta. It should sizzle on contact. Cook the pancetta until it’s crispy and browned, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer it to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess grease. 
3. Leaving the pot on the burner, use the rendered fat from the pancetta to sauté the mirepoix mix (celery, carrots, onion). Drizzle in the olive oil and stir occasionally while cooking for 6-7 minutes. Once the veggies are softened and fragrant, add the garlic and cook for one minute more. 
4. Add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. At this time, add the bay leaves and barley. Increase the heat to bring the soup to a low simmer. Cook the barley according to package directions, or 11-12 minutes until tender. 
5. Stir in the drained beans, fresh thyme, MSG, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Adjust seasonings as needed, then remove the bay leaves. Ladle the Great Northern Bean Soup into soup bowls for serving. Garnish with the crispy pancetta and extra herbs, and serve while hot. Enjoy!

This is a great recipe that tastes like it simmered on the stove all day. In reality, it takes virtually no time at all!

Serving and Storing

Serving soup straight-up in a soup bowl is always an option. But if you’re feeling fancy or want to go the extra mile for your meal, these are my best suggestions. 

• Stir in a handful of fresh baby spinach or kale, letting the residual heat from the stove top wilt it into the soup. 
• Toast some sourdough bread or baguette slices to dip into the flavorful broth. Plus, you’ll need something to sop up anything left in the bottom of your bowl at the end!
• Top with a little bit of shredded cheese. Parmesan works well thanks to its rich, savory flavor, but Swiss, havarti, or mozzarella cheese also work well. 

Oh, and don’t forget to remove the bay leaf before serving! 

For leftovers, simply transfer from the large soup pot to an airtight container with a tight seal. If I’m going true meal prep-style, I’ll portion it out into smaller containers, but if we’re just stashing a batch for the week, we use one big container. 

This soup will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. But if storing for longer than that, transfer it into a freezer bag after it full cools. Label it clearly and use within six months for best results. You can reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, just be sure to allow the soup to thaw in the fridge overnight if you’re reheating from frozen. 

Street Smart Nutrition Tip: The barley will absorb a lot of the remaining liquid, so don’t be surprised if it’s much more of a stew-like consistency the next time you serve it. If you want to keep it more as a soup, just add a small amount of chicken broth or water before reheating.

Swaps and Variations

Like many of my recipes, this Great Northern Bean Soup is easy to modify based on need or preference. Here are a few recommended swaps that will work well in this recipe:

• If you need a gluten-free version, swap the barley for pearled sorghum, green split peas, or other gluten-free grain Sorghum will be most similar in terms of size and texture, but does take longer to cook. Since it may take 35-40 minutes of simmering for sorghum to soften, you may want to cook it separately in broth or water to avoid overcooking the vegetables and beans. 
• If you don’t have barley, you can also try couscous or farro (wheatberries). Note that these options do contain gluten.

• If you have leftovers you want to use, adjust the vegetables to include whatever you have on hand. Broccoli, mushrooms, corn, and even zucchini, butternut squash, and any type of potato could work in this Great Northern Bean Soup.You can also use leftover holiday ham, or bacon instead of pancetta. 
• If you want to use other beans, turn it into a white bean soup by using any variety of white beans (canned or dried). White beans include navy beans, cannellini beans (white kidney beans), garbanzo beans (chickpeas), butter beans (baby lima beans), and pinto beans.

And I really love the savory, salty flavor from the pancetta. But if you’re keeping it fully plant-based, swap for sauteed or roasted mushrooms for a hit of rich umami flavor. Or, you can also use your favorite plant-based meat crumbles.

There’s really no wrong way to enjoy this hearty soup, so get creative and make it your own. Here’s the full recipe for my Great Northern Bean Soup with Barley!

If you’re planning out fiber-focused meals this month (or any time!) be sure to save this recipe. I’d love to know what you think, so leave a rating or comment.

As always, thanks for visiting the Street Smart Nutrition blog. From my family to yours, cheers to more fearlessly nourishing meals!

Disclosure: This post was originally published in September 2023. It has since been updated to improve the overall quality of the information and/or images.