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A close-up bowl of healthy ham and barley soup with spinach, carrots, and tender ham pieces, making a comforting and flavorful meal.

Healthy Ham and Barley Soup

A hearty, healthy ham and barley soup that turns leftover holiday ham into a cozy meal: sautéed onion, celery and carrot, chicken broth, quick-cooking barley, diced ham and a whole package of fresh spinach.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Ham bone broth (optional; skip if using leftover ham chunks and canned broth)
  • 1 leftover ham bone
  • chicken broth, vegetable broth or water enough to cover the bone
Soup
  • 1 tablespoon light olive oil
  • 1 cup onion diced
  • 1 cup celery diced, about 2-3 stalks
  • 1 cup carrots diced, about 2-3 carrots
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 32 oz chicken broth 1 carton
  • 1 cup quick-cooking barley must be quick-cooking
  • 8 oz fresh spinach 1 package
  • 1 cup diced cooked ham or more
  • fresh parsley or bacon bits for topping

Method
 

  1. If using a ham bone: put it in a large pot, cover with broth or water and bring to a boil. Simmer about 30 minutes until the meat starts to fall off the bone. Scrape the meat into the liquid, discard the bone and set aside.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion, celery and carrots until tender, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt and pepper and cook 1 minute more.
  3. Add the carton of chicken broth (plus the ham bone broth and any ham in it, if you made it) and bring to a boil.
  4. Stir in the quick-cooking barley, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 8-10 minutes until the barley is tender.
  5. Add the spinach and diced ham and stir until the spinach wilts and the ham is heated through, 1-2 minutes.
  6. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley or bacon bits.

Notes

For a kick, add a tablespoon of Creole or Cajun seasoning while sautéing the vegetables. Regular barley will not cook before the vegetables break down, so use quick-cooking.