Garden Barley Soup - $4.25 a serving
Every non-staple ingredient matched to a real product on the shelf, priced on 2026-07-19 at Kroger - Kroger On the Rhine (ZIP 45202). 1 pantry staples excluded. Prices change without notice - this is what we paid attention to on that date, not a quote.
| The recipe says | We found | Package | Uses | Costs | Left over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 us fluid ounces tomato juice, low-sodium | V8® Low Sodium Original 100% Vegetable Juice Bottle · 46 fl oz | $3.50 | 1360 ml | $3.50 | $0.00 |
| 1 can beef broth, reduced sodium (14.5 ounces) | Kroger® Fat Free Reduced Sodium Beef Broth · 32 oz | $1.59 | 430 ml | $0.75 | $0.84 |
| 1 cup regular barley | Bob's Red Mill Pearl Barley · 30 oz | $4.19 | 200 g | $0.99 | $3.20 |
| 1/4 cup sugar | Kroger® Pure Cane Granulated Sugar · 4 lb | $3.99 | 50 g | $0.11 | $3.88 |
| 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce | Kroger® Worcestershire Sauce · 10 oz | $1.49 | 15 ml | $0.08 | $1.41 |
| 1 bay leaf | Kroger® Bay Leaves Container · 0.13 oz | $2.49 | 1 | $0.14 | $2.35 |
| 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves (crushed) | Private Selection® Thyme Leaves Shaker · 0.68 oz | $3.49 | 1 g | $0.18 | $3.31 |
| 2 cups zucchini (coarsely chopped) | Zucchini · 1 lb | $1.79 | 300 g | $1.18 | $0.61 |
| 1 medium tomato (chopped) | Fresh Large Red Slicing Tomato · 1 lb | $1.99 | 1 | $0.53 | $1.46 |
| 1/2 cup green pepper (chopped) | Fresh Large Green Bell Pepper · 1 ct | $0.99 | 75 g | $0.00 | $0.99 |
pearl barley drives this basket at $4.19, 16% of the total. The next biggest lines are granulated sugar ($3.99) and low sodium tomato juice ($3.50). $18.06 of the basket - 71% - is package remainder: food you buy because stores sell packages and recipes call for amounts. It does not vanish, it sits in your kitchen for the next meal.
- Kroger® Pure Cane Granulated Sugar · about 1764 g left, $3.88 of value
- Bob's Red Mill Pearl Barley · about 650 g left, $3.20 of value
- Fresh Large Red Slicing Tomato · about 334 g left, $1.46 of value
- Kroger® Worcestershire Sauce · about 268 ml left, $1.41 of value
- Fresh Large Green Bell Pepper · about 45 g left, $0.99 of value
- Kroger® Fat Free Reduced Sodium Beef Broth · about 477 ml left, $0.84 of value
Break out the barley to make a comforting vegetable soup on a cold or rainy day.
- 46 us fluid ounces tomato juice, low-sodium
- 1 can beef broth, reduced sodium (14.5 ounces)
- 1 cup regular barley
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves (crushed)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups zucchini (coarsely chopped)
- 1 medium tomato (chopped)
- 1/2 cup green pepper (chopped)
This recipe is credited to a partner program (Wellness Ways Resource Book University of Illinois Extension Service), so we don't reprint its directions - read them on the archived original.
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