Name: Alberta Lentil, Barley & Meatball Soup
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 120 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) dry soup mix (see notes); 3 cups (750 mL) water; 2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil; 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion; 2 cloves garlic, finely minced; 3/4 cup (175 mL) finely chopped celery; 2 cups (500 mL) chopped carrots; 1 cup (250 mL) chopped rutabaga; 1/2 tsp (2 mL) sage; 6 cups (1.5 L) sodium-reduced chicken broth; 1/3 cup (75 mL) tomato paste; 1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) honey; 1 tsp (5 mL) vinegar; 1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper flakes; 1 lb (500 g) ground turkey or beef; 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion; 2 cloves garlic, finely minced; 2 Tbsp (30 mL) slow cooking oats or barley flakes; 1/2 tsp (2 mL) fresh ground pepper; 1/2 tsp (2 mL) sage; plain Greek yogurt; fresh or dried dill

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup (250 mL) Calories: 243 Total Fat: 5 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Carbohydrate: 31 g Fibre: 5 g Sugars: 6 g Protein: 20 g Cholesterol: 48 mg Sodium: 424 mg Potassium: 764 mg Iron: 3 mg

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) dry soup mix (see notes)
3 cups (750 mL) water
2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup (175 mL) finely chopped celery
2 cups (500 mL) chopped carrots
1 cup (250 mL) chopped rutabaga
1/2 tsp (2 mL) sage
6 cups (1.5 L) sodium-reduced chicken broth
1/3 cup (75 mL) tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) honey
1 tsp (5 mL) vinegar
1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper flakes

Mini Meatballs (see notes)

1 lb (500 g) ground turkey or beef
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbsp (30 mL) slow cooking oats or barley flakes
1/2 tsp (2 mL) fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp (2 mL) sage

Garnish

plain Greek yogurt
fresh or dried dill

Directions

In a large soup pot, place soup mix and water. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, turn off heat, cover and let stand for 30-60 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat canola oil and sauté onion for a few minutes, then add garlic, celery, carrots and rutabaga. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add vegetables to soup mix in the soup pot. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Mix together mini-meatball ingredients. Spray a non-stick pan with oil. Scoop 1/2 tsp (2 mL) meatball mixture and form into mini-meatballs. Fry until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. This makes about 95 mini-meatballs.
To the soup-vegetable mix, add cooked turkey meatballs, chicken stock, tomato paste, honey, vinegar, red pepper flakes, pepper and sage. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings and thickness if necessary and simmer for several more minutes.
Garnish each bowl with plain Greek yogurt and fresh dill, if desired.

Notes

Look for dry soup mix with lentils, split pea, rice and/or pot barley.
The dry soup mix can be found in the bulk foods section or soup section of the grocery store.
You can make your own soup mix by combining 1/2 cup (125 mL) of dry red split lentils, 1/2 cup (125 mL) green or yellow split peas, 1/4 cup (60 mL) long grain rice and 1/4 cup (60 mL) pearl or pot barley. If you don't want to use rice and barley, you could use 1/2 cup (125 mL) rice or 1/2 cup (125 mL) barley along with the lentils and split peas.
Don't feel like making mini meatballs? You can use 1 lb (500 g) frozen, precooked meatballs instead! Add the frozen meatballs directly to the soup-vegetable mix where you would be adding the cooked turkey meatballs and continue with the recipe.

Reviews

Healthy! from Rebecca

Deb

January 15, 2018

Healthy! from Rebecca

Kara

January 15, 2018

Sounds delicious

Sally Burch

January 22, 2018

Gosh, this is delicious!
May use the instant pot to cook the lentils/ beans/ barley as it would sped up the process.
Found the recipe as written to be a bit confusing to follow. Would have preferred the meatballs ingredients/instructions to be altogether.

Bev

July 4, 2019

Great recipe

Boyd Folden

October 3, 2022

Good recipe

Faye

October 16, 2024

Alberta Lentil, Barley & Meatball Soup