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 is the 5th time I’ve made this recipe. Great soup!
So glad you love it as much as we do!
This recipe was 100% amazing. I bought everything to make it though I decided to make 2x the serving so, I only had 1 packet of brown gravy (because I thought I would make 1x serving) and I added 2 little beef broth cubes from knorr and a bit of onion powder to compensate) All my beef broth was Campbells 0sodium added.
When time came to serve myself I added my salt and pepper as needed.
It was delicious and I will be bringing some for my mom.
Also, I used beef chuck. I bought a kilo & 1/2
Cut it up in cubes, seared it (both sides) and placed it aside. Next were onions and garlic time, they were full of the beef crust and it was then and there flavors started being created. Tu da Lu!
Good recipe. Except they didn’t say a damn thing about mushrooms and ingredients. The photo obviously includes mushrooms! Happened to have some on hand, threw them in. Used my homemade bone broth and fresh parsley. Delicious!
Hey Robin, we don’t use mushrooms in this recipe but I think that sounds like a delicious addition!
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.
I am cracking up- I just came here to see if anyone had posted instant pot timing etc- look it’s me! 🤣
Thanks me!
-Me
I have made this so many times, I don’t have to look at the recipe anymore. I also use ground beef for this. Has anyone tried making this in a slow cooker after browning the meat and veggies? I use my slow cooker a lot and I wonder if I could use this recipe into the slow cooker.
I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker but I’m sure it would work.
I would likely cook on low about 8 hours to make sure the barley is cooked through. I would suggest using raw stewing beef in the slow cooker so it doesn’t overcook as well. Please let us know how it goes!
I use the slow cooker for this soup all the time. I’ll just leave it on all day or overnight.
I really like how it turns out.
Thanks for sharing Dave!
This was hands-down the best soup I have ever made. Following this recipe, I made a few modifications:
– Because I wasn’t using leftover beef, I seared my stew beef instead of cooking it through. I let it finish off in the soup.
– As a former Louisianian, I recognized the “trinity” (onions, celery, and green peppers) and used equal parts, cutting down on the amount of onion. I cooked these three together until they softened before adding the garlic (the “pope!’) and carrots, then I tossed in the rest of the ingredients.
– I added a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste
– I didn’t have dried thyme so I added poultry seasoning
Thanks so much for leaving this comment, I was wondering what to do if my beef wasn’t cooked
This recipe is incredible!
This is the 5th time I’ve made this recipe. Great soup!
FANTASTIC
I have made this soup several times and it always comes out great! I make it as written with no substitutions. thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
I used ground beef and drained the fat before adding back to the soup. ABSOLUTELY delicious, will definitely be making again!
Are the calories measured by cups or grams? Very good soup!!! Thanks
The calories are for ⅛th of the recipe. So glad you loved it!
this recipe looks and sounds delicious, I will definitely make it. What type of gravy mix do you use?
I use a packet of brown gravy.
Fabulous beef barley soup . One of my favorites and I love using left over prime rib in this soup. It’s a 10 out of 10!❤️
Wow, this soup is so delicious and hearty! Perfect for a winter evening meal and for lunch the next day. I cut a small pot roast into 1″ chunks, seared them in batches in a bit of oil, then removed them to a plate while I sauteed the onions and garlic in the same pan. Followed the rest of the recipe as written except that I inadvertently added 1 whole tsp of thyme. It didn’t hurt. Will definitely make again and soon!
This soup was so good, we wanted to lick the bowls. I made it just like recipe except I didn’t have any wine, so left that out. I would definitely recommend this!!
This is delicious! Is there a way to make it in the instant pot? I’d love to set and forget it during work
Al, I haven’t tried this in the Instant Pot, but I believe it should work well. The Instant Pot recommends 20 minutes for barley, so you can set it to high pressure for 20 minutes and let it naturally release for 10 minutes. Please let us know how it goes.
This is a great recipe. My husband wanted beef barley soup and this fit the bill! A few things I did: (1) cooked the Costco beef in the Instant Pot to get it nice and tender; (2) added mushrooms and sauteed them with the onions and garlic; (3) cooked the barley separately and added some to our bowls before adding the soup to the individual bowls. All the other ingredients made for a deliciously flavored soup.
what is costco beef is it the canned Kirkland roast beef i am unsure what beef to use if I need to make a roast ! thanks
This recipe deserves 10 stars!! Made this soup for dinner, it was AMAZING! This is our new fave soup with beef, it has great flavour and texture, the broth is oh so yummy! My hubby has been asking for beef barley soup for a while now, we’re thrilled with the outcome of this recipe! The only exceptions I had were that I had pot barley (not pearl) which took 15 mins longer to cook and I had some fresh thin sliced sirloin steak that we cut up into bite size pieces and sautéed with the onions and garlic. The beef was so tender, it just melted in our mouths! Love all the veggies in this hearty, flavourful soup, perfect for these chilly Canadian winter nights!
Great soup
Followed recipe as written. Excellent flavor. My husband even loved it. Have made it several times over our cold winter.
I made with venison, substituted italian seasoning for herbs. Was very good, meat tender and very tasty!