Beef and Barley Soup: hearty, protein-packed, and delicious. Just pop it in your slow cooker in the morning, let it simmer all day, and enjoy it in the evening.
Beef And Barley Soup
Beef Stew has always been one of my favorite comfort foods during the winter. The minute it gets even a little bit cold outside, I whip out the crockpot and make a batch. It’s funny how food can bring you back to places and times in an instant. Beef stew, for me, instantly takes me to when I was a kid, watching my dad make stew in a Dutch oven over coals outside. We’d go out to watch him in the freezing cold and then rush in and snuggle up by the fire while he dished it up for us all.
And this soup does not disappoint; it’s rich, hearty, and packed with good ingredients. It’s really the perfect recipe to make in those cold temperatures — in fact, it might even have you craving cold weather so you can make it again!
How to make Beef and Barley Soup
- Sear the meat. Quickly sear the meat (optional step) and then toss in the slow cooker.
- Sauté the veggies. Sauté the veggies in the same pot and then add to the cooker; we sauté the veggies to add flavor and texture to the soup!
- Add everything to the slow cooker. Load everything else to the pot and give it a good stir!
- Cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
Cooking Tips
- Use a well-marbled chuck roast: The cut of beef you use makes a big difference in the flavor. The more fat marbling the chuck roast has, the more flavor it will have. Leaner cuts like sirloin or round roast will end up tough and dry.
- Get a good sear on the beef: While you can add the beef completely raw to the slow cooker, I highly recommend searing it first. Searing the meat improves the overall flavor, texture, and appearance of your soup.
- Good-quality tomatoes: I recommend using high-quality fire-roasted tomatoes. There is a huge difference in the taste and flavor between a good brand of fire-roasted tomatoes and typical store-brand canned tomatoes. (I love Cento® or Muir Glen®.)
- Use beef stock instead of broth: Beef stock has a richer flavor than beef broth. You can read more about the difference between the two here, but short story: beef stock adds more flavor to this Beef and Barley Soup!
- Cook on low: While you can cook this on high heat, I recommend cooking on low — you’ll end up with a more flavorful soup with exceptionally tender meat.
Popular Soup Recipes
- Chicken Enchilada Chili (reader favorite!)
- Crockpot Chili (Winner of DOZENS of chili cook-offs)
- Crockpot White Chicken Chili (rave reviews!)
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (2o-minute recipe!)
- Cheddar Broccoli Soup (easy stovetop recipe)
Easy Beef and Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
- Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 ribs celery sliced in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 8 1/2 cups beef stock or broth (low sodium) divided (Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 beef bouillon cubes*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or use 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 cup pearl barley
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon EACH: dried basil, dried oregano
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- Optional: fresh chopped parsley, crusty loaf of bread
Instructions
- Cube the beef and then pat dry with paper towels. Generously salt and pepper all the sides.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat and once it's shimmering, add the beef cubes (in one even layer; you can do this in batches to not overcrowd the meat). Sear for about 15-20 seconds per side (about 1 minute total) and then transfer the beef to a large slow cooker.
- Turn heat down to medium-low and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Next, add in the carrots and celery and continue to saute, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to high, add 1 1/2 cups of beef stock (or red wine), and scrape any browned bits up from the pan. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes and then pour the veggie mixture into the crockpot.ย
- While the veggies are simmering, you can add everything else to the crockpot: tomato paste, chopped potatoes, crumbled beef bouillon cubes, Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme, bay leaves, uncooked pearl barley, white sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, undrained fire-roasted tomatoes, and finally the rest of the beef stock.
- Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. It will vary greatly depending on the actual beef stock and bouillon cubes you use, but I generally add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Enjoy with fresh parsley (optional) and a crusty loaf of bread!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lovely! I used red wine…such wonderful flavor!
Delish! I am so thrilled to hear you enjoyed! Thanks! ๐
If I want to substitute the barley for something like orzo or ditalini, at what point should it be added?
This recipe sounds delicious, However, can you make this with white rice instead of barley? My family is NOT a fan of barley.
Sorry white rice will cook differently in the slow cooker (unevenly and quicker)
What size crock pot is considered large? I want to try making this in an instant pot on the slow cooker setting since I don’t have a crock pot and I’m unsure on if it will be big enough. Thanks! This looks delicious!
6 quart! ๐
Just checking: a total of 15.5 cups of stock?
Hmm not sure where you’re seeing that; it’s 7 cups!
Would this soup freeze well?
Barley is very helpful to our body. I salute you! You create a healthy food that fits to all ages. Everyone should try to cook this at home. They will love it. Promise!
Thanks Arthur!
Thanks for the delicious recipes.
I don’t use bouillon cubes. There is far too much sodium chloride in them. I much prefer Better Than Bouillon that comes in a jar and is found in most grocery stores. It is found with salt or low salt. It also comes in a myriad of flavors, i.e. chicken, beef, vegetable, etc. I can control how much I use better than with the cubes.
As one of your ingredients you list “2 beef boullion cubes*” Further down the list there is 7 cups of beef stock. What does the asterisk indicate? Thanks. We always enjoy your recipes and commentary. Regards.
Hey John! Thank you so much for pointing that out; definitely an oversight on my part and I appreciate your help ๐ I’ve updated the recipe to have a link showing the cubes I use and a note about sodium content. Thanks!