Try Forks Meal Planner and get hundreds of whole-food, plant-based recipes at your fingertips.
I created this recipe from basic ingredients (cabbage, potatoes, carrots) and seasonings (parsley, thyme, rosemary) that can be found in the simple, hearty dishes of Irish home cooking. With barley and white beans, too, it’s a healthy, filling meal all on its own. Check out our roundup of vegan St. Patrick’s Day recipe ideas for more inspiration.
From FatFreeVegan.com
By Susan Voisin,
With weekly meal plans, Forks Meal Planner takes the hard work out of making nutritious meals the whole family will enjoy.
Get meal planner
Forks Over Knives’ online cooking course will help you learn new techniques, flavors, and skills to live your very best life.
Join the course
Susan Voisin is a food blogger and photographer who loves sharing her delicious low-fat recipes almost as much as she does eating them. Follow her cooking adventures on her popular blog, FatFree Vegan Kitchen, and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
see more from this author
Get a taste for healthy, fuss-free meal planning with this free five-day meal plan from Forks Meal Planner!
Get free recipes and the latest info on living a happy, healthy plant-based lifestyle.
Comments (48)
Exactly what I wanted for a week of lunches in this chilly early spring.
Need a hearty soup for my cold.
This looks like it will do
I put in mushrooms and greens too its so good
this is amazing! makes a very large amount and its chock full of veggies. I didn’t have thyme, rosemary or caraway seeds but instead put in garlic and onion powder. A winner recipe that I highly recommend!
I posted a question below about the directions and I’ve thought of a possible answer. I was/am confused about “add the remaining ingredients”, when (to me) all ingredients have already been added in the first step. Do we divide the vegetables into 2 categories, those already cooked (canned beans and tomatoes) and those needing cooking? When the recipe refers to “add the remaining ingredients” perhaps it means add the already cooked vegetables (beans and tomatoes)?
Thank you so much. This was very helpful in addition to doubling the spices. It turned out well.
I would say that both methods: crockpot or stovetop are saying to cook the vegetables barley broth and seasonings for the bulk of the time and then add the great northern beans, tomatoes, and parsley towards the end. PERSONALLY, I would say that that’s not absolutely necessary. There’s no reason at all that the tomatoes and parsley can’t cook right along with the rest of the vegetables, IMHO. The only reason I can even think of WHY you would want to hold off on adding the Great Northern beans until towards the end would be this: they’re already cooked, being CANNED, and since they are rather soft on the insides, the recipe creator thought they would tend to loose their pristine shape if they cooked longer, so she held off till towards the end. To ME flavor is where it’s at…and EASE. So I would probably dump everything in at the start and be done with it…ESPECIALLY since I have other things to do besides watching a timer and hovering over pots. Hope that helps.
Hi! The stove top instructions are unclear. The crock pot instruction specifically list the “other ingredients ” I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Linda,
We’ve updated the instructions and the order of the ingredients so it’s easier to follow now. The “remaining ingredients” for the stovetop instructions referred to the beans, tomatoes, parsley, and salt, but we agree that it wasn’t very clear. Hope this helps! Let us know how it turns out.
The stovetop directions call for adding vegetables, seasonings, barley and broth together and cooking. Then the directions call for adding the remaining ingredients… What remaining ingredients? Just the parsley? Maybe I don’t know the difference between “seasonings” and “herbs”. Am I missing something? I, too, would like to know if the spice measurements are for dried. I am a novice cook; any help would be appreciated…
Hi there! Thanks for pointing this out, we’ve updated the instructions and the order of the ingredients so it’s easier to follow. The “remaining ingredients” referred to the beans, tomatoes, parsley, and salt, but we agree that it wasn’t very clear. We’ve also updated whether the spices are dried or fresh, so we hope this helps! Let us know how it turns out.
Can I make this in my Instapot?
Hi Suzanne,
Yes you can use the slow cooker setting on your Instapot and follow the Slow Cooker instructions up above. Let us know how it goes!
Can this soup be frozen in one cup portions? Thanks!
Hi Joyce,
Yes, this soup can be frozen in 1 cup portions in freezer bags or in freezer safe plastic/glass containers that have enough space to allow the soup to expand as it freezes. When you’re ready to eat, place the portion in a pot on the stove to heat it up. Let us know how it goes!
Definitely a keeper. I make it every 3/17.
This was VERY bland as written. I’ve added at least twice the amount of herbs, salt, and pepper and it’s getting there. It’s an awful lot of veggies & product to waste, so I’ll keep doctoring until it’s at least a bit tasty. Definitely won’t be making this again.
We added some spicy salt to it and loved the flavor. So good!!
Delicious! I omitted the garlic (due to an allergy), otherwise I followed the recipe exactly as written. We all thought the stew had an excellent flavor. The recipe made a lot, so we’ll have plenty for at least one more dinner and maybe even a lunch. (2 adults and 2 kiddos), and I’ll definitely be making this again this fall/winter.
Absolutely excellent receipe. The smell throughout the house is amazing! I’ve made this 4 times. Keeping the seasonings the same but add way more carrots and celery. I also chop a whole head of cabbage, double the garlic and use fire roasted tomatoes. I am a big crockpot user but this one I prefer stovetop. Serve with crusty French bread.
I’ve made this recipe several times and shared it with all types of eaters— they loved it!! It’s hearty and flavorful. It’s a go to!!!
Thanks
I know this recipe is fat free however, I recommend sautéing the garlic and onions and carrots prior to putting them in the crockpot. I used a tiny bit of olive oil and of course kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
I use water for sautéing onions, carrots, celery, etc. Use just enough water to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan.
This was delicious! I will definitely make it again.
My whole family loved this stew. It had a perfect balance of seasoning.
My family and I enjoyed the warmth of this stew and I will definitely make it again. We served it with home made whole wheat bread for a hardy meal.
I am not a fan of the caraway seed. I think it is really unappealing.
This was delicious! I cooked this on the stovetop. Added sage, fennel, onion powder, chopped the caraway seeds, and used seet potatoes. Let it simmer for an hour. Then added the barley and tomatoes so the barley could soak up all the good flavors, that took another 30 minutes or so. Only used about 6 cups of broth. Probably used a little more seasonings than the recipe called for.
How many potatoes do you put in this?
This stew very satisfying and the ultimate comfort food. Even my resident carnivore commented about its delicious scent and asked for a helping. That’s big!
Very good!!!
How should the recipe be adjusted if I want to use toasted quinoa instead of barley? Are the ingredients for dry spices? I use those instead of fresh.
This is great food to celebrate st. patty’s day
Are these dried seasonings? The amounts lead me to believe they are.
I’ve concluded it’s fresh parsley and the rest dried!!
Parsley says chopped, is larger amount, and is added toward the end.
I wish I knew! I’m guessing it uses dried, but I’m curious about the parsley, as we bought fresh and want to know if I need to adjust the amount.
Needs a lot more seasoning, kind of bland, I would at least double the seasonings. Will not make again.
I’ve concluded it’s fresh parsley and the rest dried!!
Parsley says chopped, is larger amount, and is added toward the end.
It’s perfect to me! We all have different tastes! Id rather taste the vegetables!
Everyone loved it. I did not add the potatoes or tomatoes and I served it with shell pasta. Whole family loved it. It does make a lot, but you can eat a lot of it.
If you don’t have a crock pot can you cook this over the stove in a pot can you it’s looks real good I would love to try it very soon Mary
Instructions 2 are for stovetop. Large soup pot needed. Read again.
Very good and makes a big batch. Other than the barley I had everything on hand (I used wild rice), which was a bonus; no extra shopping required.
This makes a huge amount of soup. Definitely needs more flavor, tried salsa, but not a great addition. Will try greens next, but won’t make again.
Loved it but too much broth, maybe use 4 cups and add if you think it needs more.
A good basic recipe with lots of room to adjust the seasonings to your own taste. I used the stove top method, sauteing, the onion and celery in a bit of broth first, and I used ground caraway as I did not have caraway seed and it worked out fine. I also added more thyme and may experiment next time with adding a whole large tin of tomatoes (28 ounce is usually the size I have on hand). Definitely will make this again as it is a great recipe for all the wonderful fall veggies that are on sale now.
Delicious warm hug in a bowl! I have made this MANY times and always get requests for the recipe.
So delicious! This has become a go-to recipe for my family and friends- thank you!