Beef Barley Soup
Posted Sep 18, 2023, Updated Feb 02, 2024
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This slow cooker beef barley soup only takes 10 minutes to prepare and is loaded with tender beef, veggies and barley. Beef and barley soup is a healthy & hearty meal your whole family will love.
If you’re looking for a hearty, healthy soup to warm up with this winter – this beef barley soup recipe is it!
It only takes ten minutes and a handful of simple ingredients to prepare this delicious soup. Then, it cooks all day in the slow cooker.
This beef and barley soup will become a favorite for your whole family!
Beef Barley Soup: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Beef Broth. In a pinch you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth, but beef broth is the best choice.
- Worcestershire sauce. you can omit this if you don’t keep it on hand, although it really does add a great flavor.
- Minced garlic. fresh or jarred both work well. You can substitute 1 tsp garlic powder for the 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic.
- Stew Beef. Buying already cut beef stew meat makes this recipe so easy. You can purchase 2 pounds of chuck, round or sirloin and cube it yourself.
- Onion. white, yellow or red onions all work well in this recipe.
- Bay Leaves. Fresh or dried bay leaves both work well in this recipe.
- Barley. you can use pearl barley or hulled barley – I prefer pearled!
How to Make Beef Barley Soup
This beef and barley soup recipe is so easy to make! Simply toss everything in the slow cooker and let it do the work for you! We’ll walk through the process step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by whisking together the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and barley in the contianer of a slow cooker.
Then, add the stew beef, onion, carrots, celery, and barley and stir to combine.
Gently stir in the bay leaves.
Then, cook the beef barley soup on low for 7-8 hours (preferred) or high for 4 hours. Cook until beef is tender and the barley is fully cooked, checking it towards the end of cook time.
Serve
Once the meat is tender and barley is cooked, remove the two bay leaves. Then, serve the beef and barley soup warm garnished with fresh parsley.
Since this soup is really a meal in itself, we usually just serve it with a side of bread. I suggest making this crusty no knead bread, french bread, homemade biscuits or homemade dinner rolls.
Store/freeze
Store leftover beef barley soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or, freeze it for up to 2 months.
Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stovetop, or in the microwave.
Beef & Barley Soup Recipe FAQs
Do I cook barley before adding to soup?
In this recipe, we put the uncooked barley directly in the slow cooker and it cooks with the rest of the ingredients.
Yes, so be sure to watch the soup towards the end of cooking time and turn off the slow cooker when the meat is tender and the barley is cooked.
No, not for this recipe you do not have to do either.
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Beef Barley Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup barley
- 2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 carrots sliced (1 heaping cup)
- 3 stalks celery sliced (1 heaping cup)
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- In the container of a slow cooker, whisk together beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and barley.
- Add beef, onion, carrots, celery and barley and stir to combine.
- Gently stir in bay leaves.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours (preferred) or high for 4 hours, or until beef is tender and barley is cooked.
- Remove the two bay leaves and serve warm with fresh parsley.
Video
Notes
- Beef Broth. In a pinch you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth, but beef broth is the best choice.
- Worcestershire sauce. you can omit this if you don’t keep it on hand, although it really does add a great flavor.
- Minced garlic. fresh or jarred both work well. You can substitute 1 tsp garlic powder for the 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic.
- Stew Beef. Buying already cut beef stew meat makes this recipe so easy. You can purchase 2 pounds of chuck, round or sirloin and cube it yourself.
- Onion. white, yellow or red onions all work well in this recipe.
- Bay Leaves. Fresh or dried bay leaves both work well in this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was wonderful and so easy! I used sirloin tip steak, and the only thing I changed was the addition of peas, and to whisk in a tablespoon of cornstarch toward the end of cooking time. I will definitely add it to my soup rotation. Thanks for the recipe!
TY so much! I enjoy reading your well appointed recipes with tips. You answered every one of my questions. Do you have a personal homemade organic (clean) taco seasoning as your “go to”?
Yes absolutely – homemade taco seasoning! We never use packets only this recipe!
Can I use my oval Stobe Dutch oven instead of a slow cooker? I threw my slow cookers out years ago as they take up so much room. I have a really nice induction range that has very low temperature ranges (melt, hold, simmer) and wonder if I can use the Stobe for recipes such as the Barley Soup or Beef Stew.