This filling vegetarian stew is great year-round. Serve with a dry Chardonnay and crusty bread.

White Bean, Spinach, and Barley Stew

pearl barley

water

olive oil

onion

garlic,

rosemary

mushrooms

yellow bell pepper

white wine

(15.5 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed

(14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

spinach

red pepper flakes

Bring the barley and water to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until tender.


Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic until tender. Season with rosemary. Mix the mushrooms, yellow bell pepper, and wine into the pot, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked barley, beans, tomatoes, and spinach. Season with red pepper flakes. Continue cooking 10 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.


I'm not exactly sure this recipe should be in the Soup collection; however, I very much like the flavor and textures. It is a very dry, thick stew - I ate it with a fork - but I don't know that I'd want more liquid in it. If you like these ingredients, you will most definitely like this recipe! (Note: I did spice it up a bit with jalapeno slices and Tabasco sauce.)

I thought this was one of the best stews I have made yet this season. I used four cups of vegetable broth instead of water to give it extra flavor. Yum!

This was very tasty, but as others have mentioned it was really almost too thick and needed some seasoning help. I added some vegetable stock to thin it out a bit and added some cajun type seasonings, more garlic and some more spinach to this. I tasted it right after I made it and really wasn't that impressed, but I let it sit in the fridge overnight and then WOW. Really much better!

Not bad, not spectacular.  This recipe is like an empty canvas, just waiting to be painted.  there are so many ways to go.  Italian - add oregano and sausage.  Spanish - more tomatoes and chilies.  Indian - potatoes, peas and curry.  Definately use broth, not water.  Use this beginning to create your own masterpiece!

Pretty good soup. On recommendation of others, I used broth and water. I also used less barley so it wouldn't get as thick. Near the end of cooking, it was still really thick so I added a couple more cups of water. After salt &amp; peppering it up it was pretty good. I've been craving something healthy like this and it hit the spot. While we ate, I left this on the stove on low for another 30 minutes or so and it got better the longer it cooked. So, if you have the time I'd recommend simmering on low for 30-40 minutes instead of 10 min. I will make this again.

I thought this was fantastic...with some modifications.  The barley definitely needs to cook for 45 minutes.  I added extra garlic and wine, oregano, basil, more red pepper and a dash of cajun seasoning.  I also added a lot of chicken broth to make it more soup like.  This was a big hit with the friends I had over.

Following the recipe exactly, it's ridiculously bland.  However, with a couple changes, we inhaled it.  Used chicken broth in place of water to give it some flavor and used waaaay more than three cups.  Just kept dumping it in as needed.  Doubled the beans, and did not drain the beans or tomatoes.  Used a lot of spinach, fresh rosemary, and used my favorite, Beecher's Flagship cheese on top.  Pair with bread and you're in heaven.

Good flavor, I added 1/2 a can of left over vegetable broth to make it a little more soup-like.  Doubled the mushrooms and white wine.  Needed something salty - I added parmesan to my bowl.  Freezes well.

This was easy to make.  Barley needs to cook at least 45 minutes.  Used brandy instead of wine cause that is what I had in the house.  Next time I will make with vegetable stockand use the canned tomatoes without draining.  This is a very colorful dish with wonderful textures.  But, it needs more spice.

This was yummy, but too eaily overcooked for our family chaos. Gets a bit mushy if not stopped at right time - and that makes freezing/reheating a challenge later.

This was delicious! As stated, it is even better the next day so makes for the perfect prepare and take to lunch soup. The most common substitution I make with all soups is to use an herbal tea in place of the broth, a great way to add some nutrients and cut back on sodium.

Very good.  I like broth so I added 3 additional cups of chicken broth.

Very good will make again.  I left off the mushrooms and red pepper flakes since those are not favorites in our house, but other wise a great and tasty soup with lots of flavor!  Yumm.  I would have given it 5 stars if it didn't have the mushrooms and red pepper flakes.

Great vegetarian meal.  I added extra mushrooms &amp; spinach, added some black beans &amp; corn and an extra little bit of spice.  Leftovers taste great.  This is a keeper.

I wasn't too crazy about this dish.  It certainly wasn't a stew.  It was basically a meal. I did cook the barley in some stock to give it flavour and I also cooked it longer, as per another reviewer's suggestion. It might have been better if the dish was served over the barley instead of mixed in. I served it with a nice crusty bread. Though my husband I ate it and was ok, the kids weren't crazy about it (and they usually do like beans and grains and such). I won't be making it again. It's too bad...it seemed promising...

I thought this recipe was bland and just generally lacking.  Friends and boyfriend agree with this assessment. However it is healthy and my vegetarian daughter liked it and ate the entire casserole. Update.  I made some changes, I use a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, add a bit of basil about 2 tsp and oregano, about 1 tsp and 1/2 tsp of thyme.  At the end I add parsley oh and I boil the barley in broth.  Everyone likes these changes.  I still don't love it but I eat it and my daughter is still crazy about it.

Reading the recipe, and a few other barley and vegetable containing recipes, I anticipated that it might be a bit on the bland side, as a number of the reviews stated.  I used 2 cups of vegetable broth and one cup of water to cook the barley, and I also added a bit of garlic powder just before it was done.  I really enjoyed this recipe.  It was very filling.  It was by first barley cooking experience, and despite reading that the recipe served 6, I must stay I was pretty surprised how much food I ended up with!  Hopefully it keeps well, I'll be happy to have leftovers tomorrow!

We honestly didn't care for this stew. It was very bland even after spicing it with herbs, more garlic and stock. I can't imagine the stew with only garlic, rosemary and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
There are just other recipes for soups that I prefer.

This was really good and simple to make.. My boys loved it...

This was okay, not spectacular.  I followed the recipe with the exception of substituting chicken broth for water.

Despite adding various spices after reading the reviews this still came out bland.  Definitely needs some grated or melted cheese.
It is very filling though and worked out well for lunches at work.

This is an excellent recipe - it reheats well and is even better the second day!

I made this recipe with turkey broth I had on hand and my husband and I liked it very much. I like the consistency and serve it as the meal, or as a side dish. I did add additional water only to keep it from burning while keeping it warm in the skillet, used fresh rosemary and added salt and pepper after tasting the finished dish. I did think it needed an additional spice flavor but I wasn't sure what. After reading the reviews I think I will add some oregano or basil next time, or try some cajun seasoning.  I plan to include it in the rotation.

Calling this dish  a stew is correct, really thick . Next time I would rinse the cooked barley before adding to the pot. Also use more chicken broth and add  a can of mixed beans. And some more spices to kick it up a bit. I would make it again.

This recipe was a great start, and then I incorporated other's suggestions:  I used 4 cups vegetable broth with the barley; used 2 tsp. olive oil when softening the onions/garlic (added the garlic a little later that the onions), didn't drain the italin diced tomatoes; used a whole bag (9 oz.) of Redipack baby spinach, added about 1 1/2 tsp. of cajun seasoning.  It was just the perfect thickness after it finished cooking/sitting.  I also made it in the morning and let the flavors meld til dinner.  When serving it, I put in on a large flat plate and shaved parmesan cheese over the top.  Since it was a warm and sl. spicy dish, I gave each person a cup of watermelon chunks on the side to balance the flavor/texture- a sweet and crunchy side).  We also had warm crusty rolls/butter with it. My husband loved it all and had two plates.  A great dish that vegetarians will also appreciate!

I'm only giving this a 3 because my mom loved it! It was very bland and I didn't like the yellow pepper but that's because I don't really care for peppers. Don't think I'll try it again, sorry :  (

We loved this.  I doubled the recipe so one pound of dried Great Northern beans (lovingly cooked at home because we do not like the taste of canned beans) and substituted 1 pound of chopped frozen collard greens added as the beans were added (the calcium in spinach is not bio-available).   

I loved this recipe, and I did take the suggestions from other reviewers.  I cooked the barley in chicken broth, and instead of a "pinch" of red pepper flakes, I used 1 tsp.  Otherwise, I followed the recipe, and my whole family loved it.  We've already made it twice.

Easy to make. We brought it to a potluck and our friends nearly finished off the whole bowl.  I wonder if the people who found it bland might have used plain diced tomatoes rather than Italian style. I found it it have lots of flavor, although it was a bit on the salty side for me. I think next time I'll look for low salt Italian-style tomatoes.

This is a very thick, healthy stew, but it was a bit bland when I made it exactly as written. On the second try, added a vegetable bullion cube, increased the pepper to 1 tsp, and added some salt and pepper. With these additions, it was great.

My husband and I loved this recipe. Like others have mentioned, we needed to season it with some additional salt, pepper, garlic and paprika, but overall a great, filling and healthy meal.

Very good and hearty! I aded more water and some chicken soup mix to make it into a soup.

This was a good filling and healthy meal.  Very easy to prepare.  I would perhaps experiment to spice it up a bit more next time - but overall a great recipe that I will keep on hand.  Thanks.

My teenager who is a novice cook and vegetarian prepared this tonight! We all enjoyed it!. I spiced mine up with a little red hot. It is definitely a STEW not a soup and we appreciated the thick consistancy. i know i'll make this again!

Great ingredients, easy and quick to make.

This was okay.  Looked attractive with the different colours but just tasted bland.

Very mild flavor that is best as leftovers.  Mine turned out very thick and  I ate it with a fork.  I'm not sure I would make it again, but possibly.

I LOVE the combo of white beans with barley.  Like many others, I cooked the barley in broth, and I let it cook for about 45 mins.  I used dried beans instead of canned, I started them about 15 mins before I started the barley.  I omitted the mushrooms and  yellow pepper, but upped the garlic.  I added a tad of garam masala, and plenty of crushed red pepper. I let the mixture of everything except the spinach cook for 20 mins.  Then I added the spinach (more than 2 cups) for the last 10 mins.  We topped with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Delish!!

This stew was wonderful.  Very easy to make and very filling -- it's the kind of stew you want on an afternoon when you're happy to be sitting inside and not be outside shoveling!

This was very good, although I don't know if I'd call it a stew.  there wasn't much liquid to it at all.  I ended up using 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with out draining them.  Taste was very good, but it was more like a side dish for me.

I agree with many of the reviewers and made modifications as a result.  I used chicken broth and canned tomatoes as a base.  I didn't have barley so I used Orzo, didn't have enough liquid but the flavor was great.  I browned up a bit of bacon then simmered it with tomatoes and chicken broth.  Added white beans and orzo at the end and topped it with spinach and grated parm.  It was very tasty.

One word: Mmmmmm.  Only changes were used pinto beans instead of white, and roasted the garlic in the oven instead of frying.  Mmmmm.  Mmmmm.  Mmmmm. I am going to make lots of this and freeze it for my lunches now on Fridays during lent!

This dish is delicious! I made it with  extra garlic, 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water.

This stew was very healthy (I substituted pinto for white beans), but it didn't have much flavor.  After I added several spices it tasted fine, but the ingredients didn't have any flavor on their own.  Also, after being refrigerated for one day, the spinach took on a slimy texture - quite unpleasant.  However, it was very filling and not difficult to make.

very good play around with the spices it was a little bland.

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was bland, like others said. The rosemary smelled wonderful cooking, but the flavor just wasn't there. Very easy to prepare! And it is a MEAL! Very thick and hearty. I left out the wine (who has two tablespoons of wine lying around?) and didn't have any peppers to add. All in all, it was a fine meal, but I probably won't repeat it.

I watch our salt intake so I use no sodium canned tomatoes and added some additional spices such as parsley, A bay leaf , Thyme, Rosemary, black pepper and hot pepper flakes plus extra can of beans &amp; 2 Celery Stalks . we had Roman beans and a pinto bean , I use organic natural broths both 1 veggie and 1 chicken broth and serve with fresh grated Romano on top and some nice garlic bread and green salad! Enjoy

What a disappointment! This recipe looked good on paper, but didn't taste good at all. It was so bad that my husband, who usually eats everything, said he couldn't finish his bowl. I tried to save the soup by adding some tomatoes, but it didn't really help. The soup's taste is just too bland and the texture is just too weird (b/c of the couscous, I guess). I will never make this soup again.

I'm sure the originial is awesome, but I modified the heck out of it -- didn't use any barley, used thyme instead of rosemary, doubled the beans used, added a chicken breast (baked and shredded, like rotisserie-style) and didn't use mushrooms or peppers.  The soup basically had 4 ingredients: beans, tomatoes, chicken and spinach. It's enriched with lots of garlic, onion and a splash of white wine.  Delicious! Healthy and tasty enough that my boyfriend will eat it too.  Top with parmesan!

VERY Good - left out the mushrooms cause ... ummm yuck!  Otherwise followed exactly.  Great for a low cal meal and easy to make.  Thanks!!

My daughter ate this but said it was a bit bland even with the pepper flakes. Not a bad dish by any means just not to her taste. Thanks for letting me try.

We found it a little bland.  We added pepper, salt and even some parmesan cheese while eating.  I will make this again, but I'll add more mushrooms and spinach - or maybe just make half the barley.  Also, I think I read some other reviews saying to make the barley in vegetable broth, which I might try too.

Was shocked by how tasty this is.  I did take the advice of another commenter and cooked the barley in vegetable broth.  Super healthy, filling, and cheap!

I loved the flavors and consistency of this dish. I did not have Italian-style diced tomatoes on hand, so I substituted plain diced tomatoes and added one teaspoon each of garlic powder, dried basil and oregano. I cooked the barley in vegetable broth instead of plain water. After adding the barley, beans, tomatoes, spinach and red pepper flakes, I found I had to constantly stir the mixture to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Next time, I will try adding the liquid from the chopped tomatoes to provide more moisture.

I added extra broth after reading the review...still way too thick. I think the ratio of barley to the rest of the ingredients was too much. Also, and I'm not sure if it was just the barley I used, there was a slight chemical taste to the stew.

Nice choice for my anti-meat child and the flavor was awesome! Personally, I think some smoked sausage would have brought it to a five star standing.

I loved this stew. I did follow some of the other reviewers advice and add more broth to my stew. I did not have wine so I added a tablespoon of red vinegar in its place. I will make this again and plan to have all the ingredients in my pantry.

Good basic flavors - I added more seasonings, plus 2 cups of vegetable broth and I increased the white wine to 1/2 cup.

I thought it lacked taste. I love the texture of barley and beans, but as they are both a bit bland mostly it tasted like canned tomatoes. I added a bit of home made chicken stock since we aren't vegetarian and that helped a bit. I will try it again because I like the concept, but will play with flavours.

Overall it's a good flavor. However I think the rosemary is a bit much and should be reduced to 1/4 tsp and a 1/2 tsp of marjoram added.  Also, as another review notes, it's a bit thick and dry, so I added additional chicken broth to bring it to soup texture.

I added a chicken bouillon cube and wen it was cooked I threw on a cup or so of freshly grated Romano cheese

Easy to make and looks good on the plate. I spiced it up with cumin and cayenne pepper. I placed on a bed of raw spinach and it was a success.

white bean, spinach, and barley stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours

Total: 1 hours, 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Author : SpicyBoston

Ingredients

Instructions

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