Scotch Broth Soup Recipe

This tasty Scotch broth soup recipe is loaded with vegetables, fall off the bone slow cooked lamb shanks, and tender-cooked barley. You will be blown away by the delicious flavors in this traditional Scottish soup recipe.

I’ve long said that soup is my first love because I adore making it and eating it. If you are similar, you must try my Cream of Mushroom or Ribolita.

Scotch Broth

Scotch broth is a Scottish soup made with lamb or mutton, along with barley and vegetables. It is also known as barley soup or the pot-au-feu of Scotland. Scotch broth is considered the national soup of Scotland because of its deep, over 200-year history.

This is a simple-to-prepare soup, and the flavors are outstanding, especially if you are a fan of lamb. There are a few ingredients you can add or swap out to make it to your liking if you see the ingredients and chef notes below.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Lamb – I prefer lamb shanks because they become the most tender and have a good amount of fat for flavor.
• Vegetables – I use a combination of onions, leeks, celery, carrots, potatoes, turnips, and garlic.
• Herbs – Fresh chopped parsley is commonly used in this soup.
• Stock – A good vegetable, chicken, lamb, or beef stock will work for this.
• Barley – Any good barley will be good to use in this Scotch broth.
• Peas – You can use fresh peas or split peas; I prefer the latter.

How to Make Scotch Broth

Season the lamb shanks well on all sides with salt and pepper.

Next, add oil to a large pot or rondeau over high heat until it begins to smoke.

Place in the lamb shanks and sear them until golden brown on all sides.

Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and braise over medium-low heat for 3 hours or until the lamb becomes tender and falls off the bone.

In the meantime, prepare the barley and set it aside.

Next, prepare the split peas and set them aside as well.

Add some oil to a separate large pot over medium heat and cook the leeks and onions until browned, which takes about 20 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, which usually takes about 1 minute.

Add the vegetables and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes over low and medium heat.

Remove the lamb shanks and chop them into small pieces. This should be very easy since it will be so tender.

Add the lamb along with the braising liquid to the pot of vegetables. You may need to add a little more stock or water.

Cook over low to medium heat until the vegetables are tender, which takes about 25 minutes.

Season the soup with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parsley.

Serve the soup by adding it to a serving bowl and spooning in the desired amount of barley and split peas.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 1 day before; follow the reheating instructions below.

How to Store: You can store this Scotch Broth covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. This will also freeze covered for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating and serving. 

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a medium-sized saucepot and cook over low heat until hot. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.

Chef Notes + Tips

• You can use other cuts of lamb such as leg, ground, or loin.
• If you do not have cabbage, you can use kale.
• Other things you can add to the soup are parsnips or rutabaga.

More Soup Recipes

• Ultimate Chili
• Picadillo
• Lentil Soup
• Straciatella
• Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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Scotch Broth Soup Recipe

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5 from 5 votes

This tasty Scotch broth soup recipe is loaded with vegetables, fall off the bone slow cooked lamb shanks, and tender-cooked barley.

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours 1 minute minute

Total Time: 3 hours hours 26 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 4 tablespoons lard
• 2 1 ½ pound lamb shanks
• 128 ounces beef stock
• 1 sliced large leek
• 1 peeled and small diced yellow onion
• 5 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 1 peeled and large diced turnip
• 4 peeled and large diced carrots
• 4 ribs of large diced celery
• 2 peeled and large diced russet potatoes
• ¼ green cabbage cut into 1” inch pieces
• 1 recipe for cooked barley
• 1 recipe for cooked split peas
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• This tasty Scotch broth soup recipe is loaded with vegetables, fall off the bone slow cooked lamb shanks, and tender cooked barley.
• Season the lamb shanks well on all sides with salt and pepper.
• Next, add some oil to a large pot or rondeau over high heat until it begins to smoke.
• Place in the lamb shanks and sear them until golden brown on all sides.
• Pour in 96 ouncers of stock, season with salt and pepper, and braise over medium-low heat for 3 hours or until the lamb becomes very tender and falls off the bone.
• In the meantime, prepare the barley and set it aside.
• Next, prepare the split peas and set them aside as well.
• Add some oil to a separate large pot over medium heat and cook the leeks and onions until browned, which takes about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, which usually takes about 1 minute.
• Add in the vegetables and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes over low heat to medium heat.
• Remove the lamb shanks and chop into small pieces. This should be very easy since it will be so tender.
• Add the lamb along with the braising liquid to the pot of vegetables. You may need to add the remaining 32 ounces of stock.
• Cook over low to medium heat until the vegetables are tender, which takes about 25 minutes.
• Season the soup with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parsley.
• Serve the soup by adding it to a serving bowl and spoon in the desired amount of barley and split peas.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can make this picadillo up to 1 day ahead of time; just follow the reheating instructions below.

How to Store: You can store this Scotch Broth covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. This will also freeze covered for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating and serving. 

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a medium-sized saucepot and cook over low heat until hot. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.

You can use other cuts of lamb such as leg, ground, or loin.

If you do not have cabbage, you can use kale.

Other things you can add to the soup are parsnips or rutabaga.

Nutrition

Calories: 161kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 19gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 672mgPotassium: 1006mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 3899IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 3mg

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Main, side

Cuisine: American

Author: Chef Billy Parisi