Creamy Leek and Barley Soup

Low Syn Creamy Leek and Barley Soup - perfect for lunch or dinner

What do you make when you have a whole bunch of leeks and a bag of pearl barley? This Creamy Leek and Barley soup, that's what.

My dad was pretty pleased when I made this. He loves a bowl of good soup. I love a good bowl of soup. Who doesn't love soup?

Soup is one of those easy kind of dishes too, don't you think? You just get all the ingredients going in a pot and it pretty much does it's own thing. The pearl barley does something amazing to soup too, making it hearty and filling.

Pearl barley takes about 30 minutes to cook, which is just about perfect timing for the flavours to develop in this Creamy Leek and Barley Soup.

For the creamy part of the soup, I add a little light cream at the end of cooking, it gives an amazing silky creaminess and when divided up, isn't much syns at all.

Occasionally we can be scared to use synned ingredients in recipes, but you really shouldn't be, that's exactly what your syns are for. There is no need to compromise on flavour just to save a few syns.

Remember this journey is for life, you can just one day get to your goal and go back to eating how you did before, it's not going to work.

So enjoy the occasional indulgences here and there, they won't break your syn bank if you plan wisely.

By all means swap the cream and use quark or similar to keep this syn free, but you are not going to get that creamy taste if you do.

This soup is perfect for an instant pot too and takes far less time to cook. Perfect for a busy day, when you need a meal quick.

Wondering what an Instant Pot is?

It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautés, has a setting for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).

This is one of the best things I have bought and I use it almost daily in one way or another. Hey I even cook my boiled eggs in this – you should see how effortlessly they peel.

Check out my other: Instant Pot Recipes

Click here to read more about the instant pot on Amazon

But don't worry, you don't need an instant pot to make this, it is perfectly fine made on the stove top too.

Then all that's left is to dig in and enjoy this delicious hearty soup. How will you eat yours? Just as it is, or topped with some yummy protein, like shredded chicken season with a little paprika, salt and black pepper and fried in some spray oil till cook through - yum!!

Continue to Content

Creamy Leek and Pearl Barley Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This recipe is dairy free, vegetarian, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendlyExtra Easy - 2 syns per servingGreen/Vegetarian - 2 syns per servingWW Smart Points - 7Dairy Free - use coconut milk 

Print

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 large leeks, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• pinch of thyme
• 5 cups of stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 1 cup (240ml) of uncooked pearl barley
• spray oil
• salt and black pepper
• ½ cup (120ml) of half and half cream (light cream) or light coconut milk (for dairy free version) - 8 syns

Instructions

Stove Top

1. Spray a deep pot over a medium heat with some spray oil, add the onions, garlic and leeks and saute for approx 5 mins to soften
2. Add the pearl barley, stock, and season with a pinch of thyme and some salt and black pepper.
3. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes
4. Stir in the light cream and coconut milk and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes
5. Serve and enjoy!!

Instant Pot

1. Set to saute mode
2. Spray with spray oil, add the onions, garlic and leeks and saute for approx 5-8 mins to soften
3. Add the pearl barley, stock, and season with a pinch of thyme and some salt and black pepper.
4. Add lid, close valve and set to high pressure (manual) for 10 minutes
5. Allow a natural pressure release for about 5 minutes
6. Open valve, remove lid and set to saute mode
7. Add the light cream or coconut milk and simmer for approx 5 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy

Notes

Variation: Top with some protein of choice 

Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only.

Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate nutritional information. Also double check syn values of synned ingredients as different brands can vary. 

All images and content on Slimming Eats are copyright protected.

If you wish to share this recipe, then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post recipe or content in full

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 284Total Fat 4.3gSaturated Fat 2.4gCholesterol 12.1mgSodium 139mgCarbohydrates 53.6gFiber 9.6gSugar 4.2gProtein 9.2g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram