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!
Make this beef barley soup in your crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove top. Any way you make it will be delicious!
ingredients
Here is what you’ll need to make this beef barley soup
- stew meat – some people also use a chuck roast that they cube up, either works!
- olive oil – you can also use butter or avocado oil
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
- fresh rosemary- fresh herbs really make a difference if you have them on hand!
- bay leaves
- beef broth – I like to use homemade or low/no salt.
- pearl barley
- veggies
- tomato paste – this helps give the soup flavor and that rich broth!
- 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!
Substitutions
There are a lot of substitutions for this healthy beef barley soup. Feel free to customize it.
Meat: 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.
Oil: You can use avocado oil or coconut oil in this recipe.
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.
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
Beef Barley Vegetable Soup storage
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator 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.
Beef Barley Stew FAQs
You do put the barley into the soup uncooked, but you won’t be eating raw barley because your barley will cook in the soup.
No, pearl barely does not need to be soaked before cooking. That will cause it to overcook.
Yes, 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.
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
- 2 lbs beef stew meat cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 cups carrots sliced in small circles
- 1 cup celery finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 quarts beef broth low or no salt
- 1 cup pearl barley uncooked
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
Instructions
StoveTop Instructions
- In a pot, heat olive oil. Sauté meat until slightly brown, approximately 10 minutes.
- When meat is browned, add veggies and sauté for an additional 5 minutes
- Add spices, tomato paste, broth, barley and parmesan cheese rind to the pot (all uncooked). Stir to combine.
- Turn the pot on high and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and cook on medium heat for 20-25 minutes until.
- Remove bay leaves + parmesan cheese rind. Stir + enjoy!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Turn instant pot on sauté setting. Heat olive oil. Sauté stew meat until slightly brown, approximately 10 minutes
- When meat is browned, add spices, veggies, tomato paste, broth, barley and parmesan cheese rind to the pot (all uncooked). Stir to combine
- Set 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 bay leaves + parmesan cheese rind. Stir + enjoy!
Crockpot Instructions
- Optional, but recommended: In a pot, heat olive oil. Sauté meat until slightly brown, approximately 10 minutes.
- Add browned meat and all remaining ingredients into the slow cooker. Stir until combined and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours.
- Remove bay leaves + parmesan cheese rind. Stir + enjoy!
Emily H Yungblut says
Such an easy, yet delicious recipe! So full of flavor and will definitely be added into the recipe rotation.
Shaula says
I made this for the family to eat during a football game. Warm and cozy soup. Very filling and very tasty
Amy M says
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)
Kristin says
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.
Kathy H says
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!!
Kelli J says
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!!
Barbara Berman says
Could quickly rinsing barley, get rid of “slimy”factor? I seem to remember my mother doing that before making beef and barley soup.
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’ve never tried that but I don’t find barley to really be very slimy!