This soup is lovingly simmered on the stove or in the crock pot to produce the richest Beef Barley Soup recipe I’ve ever tasted. Shredded carrots and potatoes give it a fabulous, thick texture. Originally published October 2, 2014.
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I still remember the first time I walked into Eric’s parent’s house. I mean, of course I remember it, Eric and I were practically engaged before I met his family, so you know, no pressure. Hi, I’m going to be here FOREVER, hope you don’t hate me. (We were married 5 months later.)
The reason I remember walking through the door so vividly is because of the delicious smell. Soup. The soup to end all soups.
You’ll love this recipe for Beef Barley Soup
My mother-in-law Kris is one of the best cooks I know. I’m addicted to recipes (part of the reason I started this blog–it’s a catalog my friends, plain and simple) but she is a true cook, adding ingredients by gut instinct rather than what some imposing recipe says. (I do that sometimes…and sometimes I have to throw dinner in the trash.)
Her Beef Barley Soup is literally the definition of comfort food for me. It reminds me of being in her cozy kitchen in Montana, with snow fluttering outside that somehow makes you feel warmer, and this aromatic soup simmering on the stove, with the cats nosing around to see what the smell is.
Beef Barley Soup Recipe ingredients
This recipe for beef barley soup is loaded with hearty, good-for-you ingredients! See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.
- Beef stew meat (nicely marbled beef chunks)
- Salt and pepper
- Oil
- Water
- Beef base
- Celery
- Onions
- Garlic
- Potato
- Carrots
- Pearl barley
How to make Beef Barley Soup
You should have heard me try to finagle this recipe out of Kris. She sent me an email with the basic beef barley soup recipe but I still had to text her 7 times and call her twice. It worked, because the soup tastes exactly like hers. Which is to say, it tastes just like home.
The shredded carrots and potatoes are part of the reason this soup is so fabulous. It gives it great texture, on top of the barley. This was my first time buying barley. I had to ask where it was after checking by the oats and then the flour. (It was by the dry rice and beans. Here’s the kind of barley you’re looking for.) (Update! I tried this with quick pearl barley in December 2016. It worked awesome and was done in half the time.)
I call this a lazy-day soup. Make it on a rainy day at home when your most exciting task is laundry. It will make you feel all warm and nostalgic, I promise. Or, if you want to eat this on a weekday, throw it in the crock pot and add the barley when you get home.
I love Better than Bouillon. It adds the BEST flavor to soup.
I’m telling you guys. Shredded potatoes/carrots is where it’s at. Use a food processor if you have one, but if not a normal cheese grater will do.
Well guys, if all goes according to plan, this is the last time I will hit publish with this blog design. I’m so excited to show you! I feel like I just got a new wardrobe. Soon I will make you all sit in the living room while I model my new outfits.
Beef Barley Soup Crock Pot tips
- Brown the beef. Giving the beef chunks a nice sear before putting together your soup creates the best texture and flavor. Don’t skip this step!
- Brown in batches. I recommend splitting the beef up into 3 batches when browning. If there’s too much in the pan at once, you’ll end up steaming it rather than searing it.
- Is your soup too thick? Depending on how long you simmer, sometimes the soup can get much too thick. If you like a soupier soup, just add more water and beef base to thin it back out.
- Slow cooker or stovetop! This recipe is great in the slow cooker or on the stove, so I’ve included instructions for both. Pick whatever fits your time frame the best!
How to serve this recipe for Beef Barley Soup
I love making this crusty One Hour French Bread to go with this Beef Barley soup. It would also be amazing with The Best Garlic Bread of Your Life, Homemade Crescent Rolls, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, or Garlic Knots!
If you are serving a lot of people and need another side, make this Apple Gorgonzola Salad, or this Raspberry Avocado Salad with Poppyseed Dressing.
Beef and Barley Soup storage
One of my favorite things about soup is just how easy it is to make a giant batch to store and eat the whole week!
To store your soup, let it cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container. It will stay fresh for up to 5 days. It can also be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer.
To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, then warm on low on the stove until everything is heated through.
Crockpot Beef Barley Soup FAQs
No, not when you’re making it in the slow cooker. If you cook it first, it will absolutely turn into mush over a long, all-day crockpot simmer.. The barley goes into the soup uncooked, then simmers in the broth until it’s perfect. All you need to do first is rinse it.
Beef and barley soup will naturally thicken as it sits and simmers. However, if you’re looking to thicken it a little more quickly, you can whip up a simple slurry. To do so, whisk together 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water. Add small amounts of that into the soup until it’s thickened to your liking.
In this Beef Barley Soup I use pre-packaged stew meat, which is usually made of chuck steak. It’s cheap and it’s super tender after simmering in this soup all day. You could also use beef sold as chuck roast or round roast, or even beef short ribs,, but anything well-marbled will work great.
It is possible to overcook barley if you soak it before putting it in the slow cooker. Start with uncooked barley, rinse it, and let it cook directly in the soup, and you’ll be just fine.
When you’re using pearl barley, you don’t need to soak it – just give it a quick rinse. Hulled barley needs soaking for several hours; we aren’t using that (no way dude, I am trying to make this dinner easy).
There’s hulled barley, there’s pearl barley, and there’s quick barley. Hulled barley is like the whole wheat bread of barley–it’s been processed very minimally, and it’s a whole grain. Don’t try to use it in this soup! Either pearl barley or quick barley are great in this recipe. Quick barley is more processed but also cuts down on the amount of cook time, so buy what works for you.
This barley soup is healthy, at least by my definition of healthy. It’s got protein rich beef and veggies like onions, carrots, and potatoes. Barley is a nutritious food too. Plus eating something so warm and comforting is always good for your soul!
Pearl barley has more fiber and calcium than rice, and it’s somewhat less caloric. Full disclosure, I’m not using it in this soup for health, I’m using it for nostalgia and texture.
Barley can be anti-inflammatory because it contains antioxidants. Antioxidants help your cells stay healthy and repair themselves.
Other soups you will love:
Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup with Italian Sausage and Pesto << classic minestrone with some super delicious extras.
Cheeseburger Soup << Warm. Filling. Actually tastes like a cheeseburger!
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili << another great dinner to throw in the slow cooker!
Easy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup << dreamy, creamy, and cheesy, this soup uses an entire head of cauliflower.
Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup from Weary Chef
Easy Chicken and Dumpling Soup from Melanie Makes
Tortellini Cheddar Cheese Soup from Simply Gloria
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Beef and Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stew meat, nicely marbled beef chunks
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 10 cups water
- 3 tablespoons beef base, mounded tablespoons good quality*
- 2 cups celery, chopped
- 2 onions, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large potato, peeled and shredded, about 2 cups
- 3-4 large carrots, peeled and shredded, about 2 cups
- 1 cup pearl barley, *** rinsed
Instructions
- Generously salt and pepper the beef. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- When it is very hot, add about 1/3 of the meat. Brown for about 1-2 minutes, then turn to brown the other side. Remove to a plate when it is browned on all sides.
- Repeat with remaining meat in 2 more batches. (If you add it all at once it will steam the meat instead of browning it–not what you want.)
- When all the meat is browned, add all the meat back to the pot with 10 cups of water. Add 3 healthy tablespoons beef stock concentrate.
- Add the chopped celery, onions, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 2 hours with the lid on.
- When the meat is tender and you can break it apart easily with a wooden spoon, add the shredded potato and carrots. Bring to a boil, then continue to simmer on low for another 30-45 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
- Add 1 cup of barley. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low. Cook for another half hour, or until barley is tender and the soup tastes…like home.
Slow cooker instructions:
- In a large pan, brown the meat according to the instructions. Remove the browned meat to a large crockpot.
- Add 2 cups of the water to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir up all the browned bits. Add this and the remaining 8 cups of water to the crock pot.
- Add the beef base, celery, onions, and garlic to the slow cooker and stir.
- Cook on low for about 6 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots and cook for another hour.
- Add the barley and simmer for another hour or so, until it is tender.
I love this soup so much, I can’t even tell you! I’m planning to make it for dinner tomorrow, and had a thought about making some ahead for the holidays, when we’ll have family in town, and freezing it. I saw in a few comments about that you say it freezes beautifully, but I wanted to see if there’s anything specific that needs to be done when preparing it to be frozen. Do you make it with the barley, then freeze, or freeze before that step and cook with the barley after you thaw it? I’d love any feedback you can give – thanks so much!
Hey Stephanie, I’m so glad you love the soup! No, I don’t do anything special to freeze. I just throw it in a zip lock bag and toss it in. Then when thawing, I leave it in the sink for several hours, or you could let it thaw in the fridge over a few days. I hope it works out well for you! Let me know!
Love this soup!!! I made it last night for my husband and me and it was sooo good. I’m making more today for our neighborhood Soup Swap next month. We each bring 5 quarts of soup frozen in quart freezer bags and then go home with 5 soups of our choice and the recipes for all the soups brought. Its a fun evening and this is our 4th year to have it! They will love this recipe.
Soup Swap! How fun! I would love to host something like that. Great idea Sandy, thanks for sharing and I’m glad you liked the soup :)
This was the first soup for us this fall and it will be made a lot more times. Great soup and a great leftover.
Thanks Brenda! I agree, the leftovers are the BEST! Thanks for the review!
This soup is everything you’d hope for! I’ve made this soup multiple times and it never dissapointes. The perfect cold day comfort food! And your home will smell amazing!
Pairs great with some fresh yeast rolls! Num!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/444660163193699779/
It is totally perfect cold day food, I agree Malinda! Thanks so much for the feedback, and for the link to the amazing looking rolls!!
Made this faster version of this soup (not slow cooker) and it was fabulous not to mention the great smell in the house. This recipe is definitely a keeper in my house. Five stars!
The smell really is amazing, right? I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!
YES. I love this hearty soup. I made it in August and we live in Florida. Barley is highly under-rated and because of the beef my boys loved it also. i used Beef Stock and added worcestershire and sour cream when serving. My parents asked for the recipe. Thank you!
Ooh I like the sour cream idea Lisa! I never would have thought of that. I will have to try it out! Thanks so much for the review!
I saw this on pinterest and bought the barley to make it and just never got to it. Today I found some tenderized chuck steak on sale at the grocery store and was trying to think of what to do with it and found this recipe again. Oh my goodness, this is delicious!!!! Perfect for a cool rainy night and we’ll definitely be adding it to our fall/winter meal plan rotation! :)
I love that you found the same recipe twice! That’s so funny. And perfect! Love it when that chuck steak goes on sale :) Thanks for the review!!
One of the best soups I ever made
Agree, Michele! Thanks for your review!
I’m loving it! I did use homemade chicken broth in place of the water for extra flavor with the beef bouillon
That sounds delicious!
This is my go-to Beef Barley Soup. Instead of a crock pot I brown my beef in my pressure cooker then deglaze with the beef stock and pressure cook (just the beef) for 15 minutes. I release the pressure, add the rest of the ingredients, and cook normally (no lid) for an hour. Fork-tender beef and it’s ready in just over an hour :)
Pressure cookerrrrrr!! I have one and never use it because I’m scared. You’ve inspired me! Now I have to try it!
I used my Instant Pot and it was delicious! Wonderful soup – thanks!
Your recipe made a beautiful soup but way too salty. I used the beef base you recommended and put in less than the 3 Tablespoons called for but it is salty. Should it be 3 tsps? Thank you for the recipe.
That’s such a bummer Jackie! It really does call for 3 tablespoons though. Did you over salt the meat perhaps? Or use less water? Did you omit the potato? I’m sorry it didn’t work out.
Love the grated potato idea. Thank You
It totally makes it right! Thanks Dib!
This soup is one of the best soups I have ever tasted. My daughter who always complains when I make soup also loved it. Thanks for sharing the great recipe.
So happy to hear that Nora! I agree, it really is one of my favorite soups. So glad we made a soup convert out of your daughter!!
Excellent! Only change I made was to increase the water.
Glad you liked it Rose!
Hi,
I have a question about cooking this in the slow cooker. You mention that the barley should be added later. How long would it need to cook in the slow cooker?
Thank you.
Hi Rosmarie! Right at the end of the recipe (step 12) it says you should cook the barley for about an hour. I hope you love it!