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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Can you use pot parley instead of pearl barley?
Hi Gale, we haven’t tried making this recipe with pot barley, but it should turn out just fine :) Let us know how it goes!
I would love to try new way of cooking
It’s always fun to try new methods of cooking Jimmy! Enjoy.
WOW! This is an absolutely delicious recipe. Perfect for those chilly fall nights that are soon upon us. Definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing Holly!
They are just around the corner, aren’t they Greg? I am not sure if I am ready to let go of summer yet! So happy you liked this one.
Love this soup
So happy to hear that Roberta!
I made this for a staff professional development day at work and it was a huge hit. A number of people asked me for the recipe. I highly recommend it.
I am so glad that this recipe was well received with your colleagues!
I substituted mushrooms for the peppers…and used 2cups of barley, a 2lbs London broil, and 8 cups of broth…placed everything but the barley in the crockpot for a few hours, shredded the beef when ready, and added the cooked barley…VERY GOOD!
Those sound like tasty additions Jenn!
Fresh or canned mushrooms?
I would like to find inexpensive recipes that can be made in bulk, portioned out and frozen.
Hi Dawn,
Here are a few recipes you might like:
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/?s=freezer+meal
I’m going to make ypur beef barley soup. I’ve made barley soup before. Hope it’s good,spunfs good. I’m gping to use hamberger in it.
Thanks for all the good recipes.
Bonnie
It is delicious Bonnie! Enjoy!
I plan on making this for family gathering next week, how many cups of soup total would this recipe make?
This should yield 8 servings at one cup each. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I have been looking for a good Beef Barley soup recipe
Glad we could make one for your John! Enjoy!
Made this after work tonight and it is delicious. I didn’t add green peppers because I’m not a fan. I added mushrooms and it was fantastic. Thank you for sharing this easy and delicious recipe!
Adding mushrooms sounds like a delicious idea Melissa! I am glad you enjoyed this soup recipe!
Best ever recipe for Beef Barley I’ve ever made! Everyone loved it
Hi Wendy, I am so glad you enjoyed the Beef Barley soup!
I want to make this Sunday, can I make the beef with the onion and garlic together? I am going to use ground beef.
Heather, I have only made them as written, but think it would be fine.
What a rich and filling soup. I made this today with some of my homemade bone broth. I didn’t have a greeen pepper but I did have fresh mushrooms so I sliced and cooked them with the onion. I had second thoughts about the diced tomatoes since my family often gets stomach upsets from tomatoes. So after I added them, I scooped most of them out with a slotted spoon–crazy, right! I used hamburger for the beef component. I just tasted the finished product and it is wonderful! The perfect soup for a day like today–snowing and blowing. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I’ll be making it again!
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Ann! I love this soup on snowy days too. Mushrooms sounds like such a yummy addition I am going to try this myself the next time I prepare this Beef barley soup!
Hi Holly, I made the Homemade Beef and Barely soup today and I must tell you that the soup came out better than I thought. In fact it was very very good. Both my dad and I loved it. Thank you for the recipe. We really enjoyed it.
So happy to hear that you and your dad love this soup! Makes me smile hearing that :)
Hey Holly. Great recipe! How big of a serving size is the nutritional information based off of? Thanks!
This recipe makes 8 servings and Nutritional information is based on ⅛ of the recipe. Enjoy Anthony!
This is the perfect soup for a cold winter evening! It was simple to put together and smelled divine while it was simmering. I didn’t have celery, so I used some zucchini and then added a few mushrooms. YUMMMMMMMY! You end up with a large pot of soup. So, be prepared to serve a crowd or have some tasty leftovers for lunch the next day. This will be on my list of go-to soups for chilly winter days.
Great additions Candy. Thank you for sharing!
OMG! It was so good! I started with beef soup bones and cooked in instant pot for an hour. I got some yummy broth and plenty of meat. I added one or two more carrots and the entire green pepper for extra veggies! Delicious!
So glad you loved it, I bet the homemade broth made it even better!
Outstanding soup! Perfect for a cold winter day. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you loved it Sheri!
I made the beef and barley with hamburger and have to say I like it better than my vegetable soup I make.
Love it giving this recipe to my daughter and my daughter-in-law’s and granddaughters
Great for a family
So glad you loved it Diane! Hopefully they do too!