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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It’s was okay. The recipe was completely natural until it called for the packet of beef grave. Leave that out and maybe use a little corn starch for thickener.
I’m not really replying to Tom, but as usual I can’t figure out how to leave a comment, so here goes. This soup is wonderful! I love the green pepper in it. I wouldn’t have thought of adding that. Like others I did not add the gravy packet to avoid processed ingredients. And I used rice instead of the barley since we are gluten free. Barley is the only food I miss on a gluten free diet, especially when it come to this soup, but rice is a fair alternative. I also added a couple potatoes, a zucchini and tamari since I didn’t have worcestershire sauce. I used homemade bone broth and it really cooked up pretty quickly. This is a winner! Thanks for the recipe, Holly!
Great recipe. Didn’t change a thing. Tons of flavour. Delicious! Thanks for posting this, Holly!
Last night, I made your fried wonton recipe in my AF. DELICIOUS! Tonight, I need to give your beef and barley soup about 20 minutes more cooking, but I have been taste testing along the way. Didn’t change a thing but I was pretty heavy handed with the tomatoes. House smells amazing. Soup is scrumptious. None of your recipes have ever let me down. Thanks for the great recipes!
Thank you so much for your kind words Abby, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes!
Although I didn’t have all of the ingredients I was able to make up my own version. I used a stew meat which i seared and seasoned, added leeks in the pan i cooked the beef in and let it cook down, then i added the garlic. Everything else i followed accept i made my own roux to thicken the soup. It turned out yummy.
Delicious and easy to make, a keeper!
It’s a cold snowy night and I picked up the Christmas tree. Perfect evening for Beef Barley Soup. This recipe came out fantastic!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Elizabeth!
I haven’t tried it yet but I am going to make your Beef & Barley Soup.
I was wondering what you would change to cook in the crockpot?
I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker so I can’t say for sure. If you do try it, I would suggest using raw stewing beef in the slow cooker so it doesn’t overcook. Let us know how it goes!
I made this is the crockpot (about 6 hours on LOW), and it was delicious. (Per the instructions, I did prepare the onions and garlic in oil over medium heat until softened, then put in crockpot and added all of the other ingredients.
Thank you so much for sharing JB!
WHY! Can’t anyone just give you the damn recipe without the endless comments about “what they think”? I DO NOT
CARE AT ALL! ABOUTYOUR OPINIONS _ FYI
You could always use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of each post.
As this is a blog there will be writing above the recipe. Rather than opinions or stories, the writing is filled with information as cooks of all abilities use this site and some reader appreciate a bit of extra info.
I’m an experienced cook who likes to browse for recipes. I am also coaching a VERY inexperienced friend in making foods from scratch since her normal diet is processed and frozen foods. She also doesn’t enjoy browsing the internet to learn how to make dishes herself since she doesn’t like “complicated recipes”. This blog is chock-full of recipes that I’ve enjoyed making and then I share the end product or I teach my friend how to make it herself. Sometimes I take the time to read all the tidbits of wisdom you provide since you obviously have more experience with a recipe from the start. If I only want the recipe, I jump to it. Big deal. It’s not worth throwing a temper tantrum when one isn’t interested in reading the bloggers personal experiences with a recipe. Thanks for what you share, both recipes and wisdom from your personal experience. I, for one, am happy with the way you present your blog.
Thank you so much for your kind words, you’ve made my night. I love that you’ve enjoyed the recipes and that you’re using them to help someone else learn to cook in the kitchen.
I also appreciate looking through the comments because it helps me see what others have experienced in making whatever is presented. Even though I made my 1st solo batch of cookies 48 years ago, I know there are people with far more experience than me, including my now-adult kids who all had the blessing of taking formal chef prep classes in high school . But I also see what problems newbies run into which helps me see what problems my friend might encounter. BTW, I had a huge roast in my freezer with no purpose so I roasted it a couple of days ago. I used half in a double batch of this stew last night. I have a 2nd double batch started because the 1st batch is almost gone. I had hoped to put some stew MREs into the freezer but it doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen. Also, I “crocked” it, using my own technique of my turkey roaster in the oven. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY! If you edit your recipe in the future, you can include that it crocks well. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you loved this recipe. Thank you so much for the Crock Pot info, that’s so helpful!
As with most intermediate/experienced cooks, I literally have hundreds of cookbooks I can use–if I only want a recipe. However, I value the comments made by food bloggers and I find their tips to be quite valuable, not to mention entertaining at a time when we can all use a bit of entertainment. Asking food bloggers to only provide a recipe and not “blog,” doesn’t make sense, and I would miss it if food pages only provided recipes.
Best Beef & Barley soup we’ve ever made, hands down!! Love all the recipes we’ve used so far!
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Made this for lunch put a extra can of diced tomatoes. So so good.
Made the recipe today. My neighbor met me at the mailbox to ask me what on Earth I was cooking? My exhaust fan spread the joy! I simmered it longer so the broth evaporated few times and added twice. Instead of gravy mix I had leftover gravy from a roast I used. Delicious!!! Sharing with Friend and Family:)
Sounds like a perfect soup Len!
I have made this in the slow cooker with homemade beef broth and it was fantastic!!
Question…can it be made in the instant pot and if so how?
I haven’t tried this in the Instant Pot so I can’t say for sure although I do think it would work just fine. Instant Pot suggests 20 minutes for barley so I would set the IP to high pressure for 20min and allow a 10 min natural release. Let us know how it goes!
Excellent and hearty. Followed directions as indicated (except I came up a bit short with left over pot roast and used my leftover gravy instead of the packet of gravy). Used red wine per recipe. DELICIOUS!
Love all the recipes
I love to make soups. They are warm and tasty.
I am interested recipe for soup its that time of year
Hi Sherry, if you go to our homepage and search ‘soup’ in the search bar, all of our delicious soup recipes will pop up!
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LOVE this soup! I tried it out last week and it disappeared quick! Making it again right now!
Best beef gravy I’ve had. Pretty easy to make. I use one whole green pepper cuz I really love green pepper and added 1/2 teaspoon of cracked red pepper. And it was so delicious. My husband liked it too and had a second helping, which is very unusual because he doesn’t like soup normally.
Can’t wait to make this soup.
It looks so delicious