Beef Barley Soup is incredibly easy and so delicious!
Loaded with nutritious veggies, tender beef and plump barley, it’s a complete meal in a bowl!
This homemade beef barley soup can be made ahead of time and freezes well making it the perfect family dinner!
All of my favorite soups are fully loaded with goodies including veggies and grains, this Beef Barley Soup definitely fits the bill!
It is a rich and hearty barley soup that leaves you completely satisfied and warms every inch of your body!
It screams comfort food, like mom used to make and is perfect served up with a side of buttermilk biscuits and a side salad!
How to Make Beef Barley Soup
While the list of ingredients may seem long, this Beef and Barley soup is really easy to make.
I start out by cooking garlic and onions just until softened.
All of the remaining ingredients are simply added to the pot and simmered until tender.
I use homemade stock whenever possible for the best flavor.
What is the Best Beef for soup?
This recipe calls for cooked beef. You can use any kind of leftover beef for this beef barley soup including pot roast, leftover steak or roast beef.
If you don’t have cooked beef, you can cook your own. I use either flank steak (sliced against the grain) or cubed chuck.
If you’d prefer, you can most certainly substitute cooked hamburger in this barley soup recipe. If making a ground beef barley soup, you’ll want to brown the beef with the onions and drain any fat.
One of the main components in this recipe is barley. Barley is a grain that is very similar in size and texture of brown rice. There are several different types of barley but the most common is pearl barley which is used in this recipe.
I use it frequently in place of rice and pasta in many soup recipes, perfect in my Chicken Barley Soup!
With its slightly nutty flavor and interesting texture, it will sure to be a hit in your next homemade soup!
Try adding it to my Easy Hamburger Soup or in place of the noodles in my Turkey Noodle Soup! Your family will love the change!
Cooking the same things all of the time can leave any home chef in a bit of a meal-making rut. The addition of vegetables makes this a great and healthy choice and keeps is relatively low in calories.
Incorporating new ideas, flavors and textures helps to keep things interesting in the kitchen!
This Old Fashioned Beef Barley Soup is traditional soup that has not lost it’s lustre! We serve this alongside our favorite biscuits or 30 Minute Dinner Rolls with a fresh garden salad for a perfect meal!
Make a large pot and freeze smaller portions to enjoy later – it freezes amazing and you will love how convenient it is to microwave or reheat on the stove!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 rib celery sliced
- 2 cups cooked beef
- 6 cups reduced sodium beef broth
- 14.5 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- ⅔ cup pearl barley
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 packet beef gravy mix
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons red wine optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook onions and garlic in oil over medium heat until softened.
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered about 40-50 minutes or until barley is cooked.
- Remove bay leaf and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Soup
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This soup is a crowd pleaser. So hearty and full of flavor. Easy to make, easy to freeze. I’ve made it several times. Love it.
I am so happy to hear you loved this recipe Leigh!
I absolutely love this soup. I’ve been making it for years. I am making it right now as a matter of fact. But I do not use low sodium beef broth just because. I find the regular more flavorful. I always use sirloin steak because I find that works the best.I also add a lot of mushrooms, fresh. And lots more carrots and celery because I like it very hearty.
I made this and have to agree it is so delicious and satisfying. I did make a couple of substitutions based on what I had on-hand and followed a couple of reviewer suggestions. Substituted 2 tbsp flour for gravy mix. Added 1 Knorr beef broth cube. Substituted 1 steam-in-the bag veggies (did not have green pepper), increased garlic to 3 cloves. I sauteed onion and garlic in pot, added carrots and celery, sauteed a bit more, added 2 tbsp flour to saute and mixed it all in. Added broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until nice and smooth. After 2-3 times adding and stirring in broth, added remainder broth and stirred til smooth and uniform. Added everything else to pot except bag of veggies and simmered. When soup was done cooking, I steamed bag veggies according to directions and then added it to finished soup. Unbelievably good in this cold and snowy day.
Still coming back to make this recipe! I do not used cooked beef. I sauté everything in my instant pot and let it cook altogether. I also think it in my house it’s criminal to not add mushrooms to this dish :-) so I had 8 ounces of Portobello‘s and green pepper. Seems also like a criminal choice so I use a sweet pepper ;-) I do not use the gravy packet because I don’t really know what’s in those usually there’s all kinds of chemicals so I use what I think would probably go into a gravy packet which is dried herbs that I have on hand a little cornstarch and a little salt. Here is my earlier comment version for the instant pot: LOVE this recipe. I make it in the instant pot. Saute all ingredients in sensible lots deglazing with wine. 25 minutes on high, quick release, stir and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so to thicken.
We are so happy we found this recipe! We make it quite often. It is versatile that you feel comfortable to swap some of the ingredients. We don’t use the gravy mix, we simply use a concentrated beef base like Better Than Beef, a little goes a long way. We just bought a different beef base from our Asian market, going to use it today for this soup and fresh Tai basil for something different. Thank You! We love your recipes.
Absolutely delicious! My husband said it’s a keeper. I used a chuck steak only because it was cheaper than getting stew meat.
Absolutely scrumptious! I used prime rib bones and make my own broth, used the meat for the stew. The red wine (or sub cooking sherry) was a nice enhancement!
This is a nice recipe. I made few minor modifications. I started with cubing 1 pound of chuck stew meet and cooked it with the onion. When cooked I added the garlic and then I added two tablespoons of flour (instead of a packet of gravy mix which can have chemicals in it). Then added all the other ingredients and simmered for an hour. It was plenty thick enough!
LOVE this soup …Have made it multiple times …making it with leftover Prime Rib today …extremely satisfying and always get rave reviews …
I accidentally used a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles instead of regular tomatoes. It added an unexpected but nice heat to the soup.
Used ground beef as I had no steak cubes. It was terrific! I feel like the gravy pack gave it more depth.
Delicious! I added extra beef stock and frozen vegetables towards the end, and cooked it longer than stated. We loved it and will make again.
It’s a keeper. Anytime I want beef barley soup this is what I make. 5 stars
Delicious soup!
Outstanding! I had to make a few modifications because I didn’t have some of the ingredients. No carrots, celery, or green peppers, but I did have some frozen mixed vegetables, which worked quite well. This soup was delicious and so hearty. Served it with some crusty bread. Quite filling and satisfying. Will definitely make again!
Quick, easy and delicious. Instead of cutting up & sautéing an onion, I added a bag of frozen pearl onions half way through cooking. Added around 1/4 cup red wine. Amazing recipe to start, but can easily add other veggies & even beans (more like a beef barley minestrone.). Recipe is a keeper
Made this for a work potluck, and everyone loved it. I had to give multiple coworkers the recipe. Thick and hearty, packed with flavor, vegetables, and protein it is the perfect fall comfort food. It reminds me of my grandma and the wonderful meals we had together.
Oh my gosh. So good.
I had ground beef at home and was so sick of the usual stuff I make, I randomly thought of using it in beef and barley soup. WOW!!!
Cooked the beef in with the onion and garlic. It might be my new favorite recipe. Thank you!!!
Slightly different seasonings and prep (customization is half the fun of cooking) but otherwise I followed the recipe as is. DELICIOUS!
Excellent, just what I was craving in this raw winter weather. I made it with oxtail