Best Beef and Barley Soup
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An Easy Beef Barley Soup Recipe everyone will love. Made in one pot, this cozy beef and barley soup is delicious, healthy, and hearty!
If you want a dinner that’s easy to make, hearty and comforting – this Beef Barley Soup is for you.
With nothing but 5 star reviews, this beef barley soup is packed with veggies, protein and whole grains – the best weeknight dinner!
Nothing is better than a warm bowl of hearty soup in the winter. This Beef Barley Soup uses pantry staples that are loaded with nutrients and SO good for your body.
Make this beef barley soup in your crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove top. Any way you make it will be delicious!
liz’s top tips for beef barley soup
- Add your barley raw and uncooked. Your barley will fully cook in the soup. If you pre-soak barley, it can overcook. It can also overcook if you cook it for over an hour. It will just get softer and soggier.
- Add a Parmesan Cheese Rind. This is my secret to delicious soup! You remove it at the end of cooking. It adds a really rich flavor to your broth!
ingredients
Substitutions
Meat: We like using stew meat, but some people also use a beef chuck roast that they cube up; either works! You can use chicken breasts in this recipe. Add them whole regardless of your method of cooking. Once the soup is cooked, shred the chicken + return back to the soup, or you can follow this chicken barley soup recipe.
Oil: You can use avocado oil, butter, or coconut oil in this recipe.
Beef Stock/Broth: You can use chicken stock/broth or veggie broth in this recipe and it will work fine.
Vegan/Vegetarian: You can omit meat and use vegetable broth to make this vegan/vegetarian. I would add double the vegetables.
Fresh Rosemary: If you don’t have fresh rosemary, use 1/2 the dried rosemary, but fresh herbs make a big difference.
Low Carb: You can try omitting barley from this soup and adding raw cauliflower rice before serving. I haven’t tried this, but I think it would work.
Gluten Free: Barley is not gluten-free. If you’d like to make this gluten-free it may work with rice or quinoa. I’d reduce your cooking time by 4-5 minutes. I have not tried this, so I can’t guarantee that it will work.
How to make Beef and Barley Stew
- Brown your meat in a pan per the directions in step one, and add your veggies to sauté.
- Once the veggies are soft, add in your remaining ingredients and bring the soup to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the barley is fully cooked.
How to serve Beef and Barley Soup
This soup is a complete meal in itself, but it’s delicious served with:
- crusty bread – this sourdough is our favorite!
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad
storage
Storing: These leftovers will last in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. These are the best containers for freezing !
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove.
More Cozy Soup Recipes
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy soup cookbook.
Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs beef stew meat cut into ½ inch square pieces
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 1 cup minced celery
- 1 cup minced onion
- 2 quarts low sodium beef broth
- 1 cup pearl barley uncooked
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
Instructions
StoveTop Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the stew meat to the pan and sauté meat until slightly brown, about 10 minutes.
- When the meat is browned, add the carrots, celery and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the low sodium beef broth, barley, tomato paste, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, rosemary, bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Stir to combine.
- Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cook on medium heat for 20-25 minutes until the barley is cooked through.
- Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Enjoy warm.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Turn instant pot on the sauté setting. Heat the olive oil. Add the stew meat to the pot and sauté meat until slightly brown, about 10 minutes.
- When the meat is browned, add the carrots, celery and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the low sodium beef broth, barley, tomato paste, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, rosemary, bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Stir to combine.
- Cover the pot and set the pot to sealing, pressure cook for 10 minutes. Allow the pot to natural release for 15 minutes. After it's done, quick release remaining pressure.
- Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Enjoy warm.
Crockpot Instructions
- Optional, but recommended: In a pot, heat olive oil. Sauté meat until slightly brown, approximately 10 minutes.
- When the meat is browned, add the carrots, celery and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the low sodium beef broth, barley, tomato paste, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, rosemary, bay leaves and Parmesan rind to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
- Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Enjoy warm.
I chose to do this one using the crockpot after browning the meat as recommended and it was great! Even my picky husband enjoyed it, as well as my 3 year old.
I am so happy to have found your site for recipes!
So happy you all liked it, Meg! Thank you so much for trying it!
Such an easy, yet delicious recipe! So full of flavor and will definitely be added into the recipe rotation.
I made this for the family to eat during a football game. Warm and cozy soup. Very filling and very tasty
This is delicious. My whole family loves it. I did it with the parm rine and fresh rosemary from our yard, so it was really flavorful. I diced up the stew meet from the store even smaller (easier for jarring ….. I have to divvy it up to avoid arguments over it – lol)
I really enjoyed this recipe. So easy to make and delicious. I substituted with beef bone broth and it came out great! Such a great, cozy meal for a cold day.
have been looking for a great recipe for this soup.
Easy to make, tastes delicious! I added beef oxtails combination of beef and vegetable broths and was amazing!
Thank you!!
Made this for our “soup of the week” to have on hand for lunches and it was amazing! The recipe is perfect! Hubby was asking for more and we quickly added it to our regular rotation! The Clean Eating Couple is always my first go-to for healthier, delicious soups! Love that you provide instructions for stovetop, crock pot and instapot. Thanks!!
Could quickly rinsing barley, get rid of “slimy”factor? I seem to remember my mother doing that before making beef and barley soup.
I’ve never tried that but I don’t find barley to really be very slimy!