Scotch broth is a Scottish soup combining meat, usually beef or lamb, with barley, onions, leeks, carrots, and other root vegetables.
The soup was traditionally a practical way to turn inexpensive meat, grains, and winter vegetables into a filling meal. Recipes differ considerably, and some versions use mutton, while others are made entirely with vegetables or include pulses such as peas or lentils.
Pearl barley gives Scotch broth its characteristic body and chewy texture. The dish is related to other northern European meat-and-grain soups, but its use of Scottish vegetables and barley gives it a distinct regional identity. It should not be confused with Cullen skink, which is a smoked-haddock soup, or cock-a-leekie, whose defining ingredients are chicken and leeks.