German Barley Soup Recipe – Oma's Graupensuppe

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

Published: February 23, 2011, Updated: May 21, 2025

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Chicken Barley Soup - comfort food, Oma-style! Such a hearty meal!

This easy German Barley Soup recipe, aka Graupensuppe, is so easy to make and so tasty. It's great for those cool autumn days and especially warming on cold winter days.

Why?

This soup is a "stick-to-your-ribs" satisfying comfort food! This grain is high in fiber and protein. It has a chewy texture and nutty taste, similar to brown rice.

Use this soup recipe to learn how to cook barley. It really is easy.

For the soup pictured above, I added about one pound of cubed raw chicken breast to the bacon. Then I cooked it together for about 5 minutes.

After that, I continued with the recipe. I used chicken bouillon cubes and even added a bit of curry powder. This addition turned a normal barley recipe into something WUNDERBAR !

Use the quantities of vegetables as a rough guide. Add extra if you wish. Add other vegetables that are lurking in your fridge -- cauliflower, potatoes, and even green beans are great additions.

For the broth, use bouillon cubes; vegetable is traditional. Using a chicken or beef broth works great as well. Be creative! It's fun making your very own easy soup recipes. Use this one as a base.

Ready to make this barley soup?

Print Recipe

German Barley Soup Recipe – Oma's Graupensuppe

This easy German Barley Soup recipe, aka Graupensuppe, is great for those cool autumn days and especially warming on cold winter days. Why? Because it's a "stick-to-your-ribs" satisfying comfort food!

Barley is high in fiber and protein. It has a chewy texture and nutty taste, similar to brown rice.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings:

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 - 2 tablespoons oil
• 8 ounces lean bacon, diced
• 8 ounces pearl barley
• 2½ quarts (10 cups) broth
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 leek, sliced
• pinch ground caraway seeds (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add bacon and continue cooking for about 1 minute.
2. Add pearl barley and broth. Stir and bring to boil.
3. Add carrots and celery. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes.
4. Add garlic and leeks. Simmer another 20 minutes until everything is tender. (The barley should still have a bit of "bite".)
5. Season with caraway (optional) and salt and pepper.

Notes/Hints:

• Add some cubed meat, such as raw chicken breast, or perhaps some pork or beef, to the bacon as you're cooking it. Brown it a bit for about 5 minutes and continue with the recipe.
• Season with a bit of curry powder if you've added chicken.
  

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Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.