Venison vegetable soup with barley is one easiest and most comforting wild game dishes you can make. Packed with delicious root vegetables, tender barley and fall-apart venison, It’s an easy family favorite packed in a bowl!
If you’re looking for more soul-warming dishes for the 2026 deer season, check out my complete collection of venison soup recipes.
What Makes this Soup Different?
Authentic: While I developed this venison soup recipe with the classic beef and barley combo in mind. I elevated things a bit with the addition of mushrooms, bacon and red wine for this venison version.
How to Make Venison Vegetable Soup
Render the Bacon Fat: Cook the bacon gently to render the fat. Theres no need to brown it. We just want the delicious smoky fat. Using bacon and bacon fat in optional but it greatly enhances the flavor of this soup.
Sear the Venison: For extra flavor, we sear the de-boned meat in the bacon fat before it is simmered.
Sweat the Vegetables: After you brown venison, remove and lower the heat. Cook the vegetables (minus the carrots) in the same pot until tender.
Cook the Meat Until Tender: Add all of the ingredients (except the carrots and barley) to the pot. Cover and cook until the meat is tender.
Add the Carrots and Barley: Place the carrots and the barley in the pot. Cover and cook until the carrots are just cooked through. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Variations:
- No Bacon: You can leave out the bacon for this soup. Just use 3 tablespoons of olive oil in place of the bacon fat.
- Using Other Meats: Beef and lamb can be substituted for the venison. You can also use a different game meat like bear or wild turkey.
- Leeks: If you’re not a fan of onions, using leeks is a great way to substitute them.
- Beef Broth: Although I’m not the biggest fan, beef broth can be used.
- Worcestershire Sauce or Vinegar: A different way to add a depth of flavor is to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce or red wine vinegar before serving.
What are the Best Venison Cuts for Soup?
This recipe calls for venison stew meat. This classifies diced venison round steaks, or any cut that has a fair amount of connective tissue. Shanks, shoulders, and necks all fall into this category. Just be sure to de-bone them for easy cooking.
More Venison Recipes
Below are some of my favorite venison recipes to eat once the temps start to drop in the Fall.
- Venison Broth (stock)
- Slow Cooker Venison Stew
- Venison Bourguignon
- Hamburger Stew
- Venison and Dumplings
If you enjoyed this venison soup recipe, leave a comment or tag me on Instagram!
VENISON VEGETABLE SOUP WITH BARLEY
Ingredients
- 3 pounds venison stew meat, 2 to 3 inch pieces (see above for cuts)
- salt and ground black pepper
- 4 slices smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 cups diced carrots, 1/2 inch
- 1 cup diced celery, 1/2 inch
- 2 cups button or cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, (preferably fire roasted)
- 1 quart 4 cups chicken or venison stock
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 cups pearled barley
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside while reserving the fat in the pot.
- Increase the temperature to medium-high heat. Once the bacon fat starts to slightly smoke, add the venison and season with salt and ground black pepper.
- Cook the deer meat on all sides until it is golden brown. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium low. Add the onions, celery, mushrooms and minced garlic to the same pot. If the mixture seems dry, add a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Cook for 6 minutes while stirring occasionally and scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. This will take around 6 minutes.
- Place the meat back to the pot. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the carrots and barley.
- Cover with a lid and bring to a slow simmer. Cook gently for around 2 hours or until the venison is almost fall-apart tender.
- Add the carrot and the barley to the pot and cover with the lid. Simmer until the carrots are fork tender. Add a little more stock or water if needed.
- Remove the bay leaves and the thyme springs from pot. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with crusty bread, sliced green onion and my favorite, fresh c
NOTES
- Brown the venison in batches. Do not crowd the pot or the meat will steam instead of sear. You want real color on the venison before it goes into the long simmer.
- Cook the bacon gently. Render the bacon fat first, but do not brown it hard. That fat is there to build the base for the soup.
- Wait on carrots and barley. Simmer the soup with everything else first for about 2 hours, then add the carrots and pearled barley once the venison is almost fall-apart tender. This keeps the barley from blowing out and the carrots from turning mushy.
- Keep the simmer low. Cover the pot and cook at a slow simmer, not a hard boil, until the meat is tender. Add a little more stock or water later if the barley tightens the soup too much.
- Use the slow cooker if needed. Follow the recipe through the searing and vegetable steps, then transfer everything except the carrots and barley to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Add the carrots and barley and cook about 2 hours more.
- Season at the end. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, then taste and adjust the salt and black pepper before serving.
- Make ahead works well. The soup can be made up to 3 days ahead and reheated gently on the stove. It also freezes for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
1 thought on “Venison Vegetable Soup”
Mighty fine with this cold front rolling in.