How to Make Scotch Broth: A Traditional Scottish Recipe

Ask a Scot about Scotch broth and you will usually get a story before you get a recipe. A granny’s kitchen with the windows steamed up. A big pot that never seemed to leave the stove from October to March. A bowl so thick the spoon could almost stand up in it. This is not a dainty starter. It is a meal in a bowl, built from lamb, barley, peas and roots, and it has been feeding Scotland through long winters for generations.

Here is everything you need: a bit of history, what really goes in it, where to taste a good one in Scotland, and a full step-by-step recipe so you can make a proper pot at home.

A Bit of Broth History

The idea behind Scotch broth is far older than its name. Barley, dried peas, root vegetables and a bone simmered low and slow until thick and nourishing — this kind of pottage kept ordinary Scots going through hard winters, lean harvests and hungry years long before anyone wrote it down. It made something rich and sustaining out of whatever was cheap and to hand.

Here is a lovely piece of broth trivia. Dr Samuel Johnson was famous for his jibes about the Scots. When he toured Scotland with James Boswell in 1773, Boswell recorded that at dinner in Aberdeen Johnson ate several platefuls of Scotch broth “with barley and peas in it.” Boswell pointed out that he had never eaten it before, and Johnson replied: “No, sir; but I don’t care how soon I eat it again.” Even Scotland’s sharpest critic was won over by a bowl of broth.

In many older Scottish households the meat was lifted out of the pot and served separately as a second course, while the broth itself came first. Swap the lamb for an old boiling hen and you have hen broth, another family favourite.

What Goes in Scotch Broth?

The core ingredients barely change from kitchen to kitchen:

• Meat: lamb neck or shoulder on the bone, mutton, or beef shin. Cheap, bony cuts give the best flavour.
• Barley: pearl barley thickens the broth and gives it that satisfying chew.
• Pulses: dried split peas, and sometimes red lentils. Scottish supermarkets sell ready-made “broth mix”, which is barley, split peas and lentils in one bag.
• Neeps: in Scotland, “neeps” means swede, the big yellow-fleshed one called rutabaga in the US, not a small white turnip.
• The rest: carrots, leeks, onion, celery, sometimes cabbage or kale, and plenty of fresh parsley to finish.

Traditional Scotch Broth Recipe

Serves: 6 generous bowls | Prep: 20 minutes, plus overnight soaking | Cook: about 2½ hours

Ingredients

• 600g (1¼ lb) lamb neck or shoulder on the bone, or beef shin
• 2.5 litres (10½ cups) cold water
• 100g (½ cup) pearl barley
• 75g (⅓ cup) dried green or yellow split peas, or use 175g (1 cup) Scottish broth mix instead of the barley and peas
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 leeks, sliced, white and green parts kept separate
• 2 medium carrots, diced small
• ¼ swede (about 250g / ½ lb), diced small
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• ¼ small Savoy cabbage or 2 handfuls of kale, finely shredded (optional)
• 1 bay leaf and a few sprigs of thyme (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A large handful of fresh flat-leaf or curly parsley, chopped

Method

1. Soak the pulses. The night before, rinse the split peas and barley (or broth mix), cover with plenty of cold water and leave to soak. Split peas will soften without soaking, but soaking shortens the cooking time and gives a smoother broth.
2. Start the stock. Put the lamb in a large, heavy pot with the cold water, bay leaf and thyme. Bring slowly to the boil, then skim off the grey foam that rises to the top. Turn down to a gentle simmer, part-cover and cook for 1 hour.
3. Add the barley and peas. Drain and rinse the soaked pulses and stir them into the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom.
4. Add the vegetables. Add the onion, carrots, swede, celery and the white part of the leeks. Simmer for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the barley and peas are soft and the lamb is falling off the bone.
5. Sort the meat. Lift the lamb out onto a board. Pull the meat from the bones, discard the bones and any fatty bits, chop the meat into small pieces and return it to the pot.
6. Finish. Add the leek greens and the cabbage or kale and simmer for 10 minutes more. Season well with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaf and thyme stalks, and stir through most of the parsley.
7. Serve. Ladle into warm bowls, scatter over the rest of the parsley and serve with crusty bread or oatcakes and butter.

Tips for the Best Broth

• Make it the day before. Broth is always better the next day. Once it is cold, you can lift off any fat that has set on the surface.
• It will thicken. Barley keeps drinking up liquid, so add a splash of water or stock when reheating.
• Beef version: use 600g beef shin and follow the same method.
• Vegetarian version: use a good vegetable stock instead of meat and water, and add an extra handful of red lentils for body.
• Slow cooker: no browning needed. Put everything except the leek greens, cabbage and parsley in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Add the greens for the last 20 minutes.
• Freezing: it freezes well for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat until piping hot.

[QUOTE BOX] “Scotch broth isn’t so much a recipe as an inheritance — passed from pot to pot, kitchen to kitchen, one winter at a time.” — Love Scotland

Where to Taste Scotch Broth in Scotland

You don’t need a fancy restaurant to find a good bowl. Scotch broth turns up as the soup of the day in tearooms, village cafés, country pubs and hotel bars all over Scotland, especially from autumn through spring. Castle and visitor-centre cafés often serve it too, usually with a chunk of bread for a warming lunch after a cold morning out. If it isn’t on the menu, just ask what the soup of the day is. You will often be in luck.

Want to take a taste home? A bag of broth mix from any Scottish supermarket is light and cheap to pack. Do check your home country’s rules on bringing in dried food before you fly.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Scotch broth?
  Scotch broth is a thick, hearty Scottish soup made with lamb, mutton or beef, pearl barley, dried peas and root vegetables such as carrot, swede and leek. It is filling enough to be a meal on its own.
• What meat is best for Scotch broth?
  Lamb neck or shoulder on the bone is the classic choice. Mutton gives a deeper flavour, and beef shin works well too. Tough, bony cuts become tender during the long simmer and give the broth its richness.
• Are neeps turnip or swede?
  In Scotland, neeps are swede: the large, yellow-fleshed root called rutabaga in North America. That is what you want in Scotch broth.
• Can I make Scotch broth ahead of time?
  Yes, and you should. It tastes even better the next day once the flavours have settled. Add a little water when reheating, as the barley thickens it overnight.
• What’s the difference between Scotch broth and cock-a-leekie?
  Scotch broth is a thick lamb, barley and vegetable soup. Cock-a-leekie is a lighter chicken and leek soup, traditionally made with prunes.

Over to You

Every family seems to make broth a little differently. Lamb or beef? Cabbage or no cabbage? Does yours have to sit overnight before anyone’s allowed a bowl? Tell us how your gran made hers in the comments. And if you make this recipe, share a photo with us. We would love to see your pot.