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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Loved this recipe! Used beef that had already been marinated and cooked. Deleted gravy mix, thyme green pepper and carrots. Used homemade beef stock and added 1 tbsp “Beef Better than Bouillon.” Used fresh diced tomato in place of canned tomatoes. extraordinary!!
This recipe is fantastic! Best beef barley soup I’ve ever had. I used 1.67 lb of short ribs. Seasoned and browned them in the pot. Removed and put soup together per recipe. Also use about a tablespoon of tomato paste. Used regular barley. Not pearled. Cooked for about 3 hours on low heat. Meat fell off the bone. Can’t say enough good things. Simply delicious!
I made this soup for my husband who is a bit under the weather. I used fresh stew meat and I seasoned and lightly floured and browned the meat in a touch of olive oil and about a 1/4 stick of butter. I then removed meat and added onions then garlic and rest of veggies. Added back meat after about 5 minutes and continued to cook low and slow. Very good! I would probably add more salt next time, that is on me not the recipe. Try this it’s really a good one.
Would you use beef tenderloin or Arm chuck? Or both are fine? Thank you!
Either would work. If the chuck is cooked tender (like leftover roast) that would work best. If using cooked tenderloin, you’ll just want to heat it through as it’s lean and can overcook and become tough easily.
Pearl barley or instant?? Thanks
Hi Kathleen, for this recipe, we use pearl barley.
Made the beef barley soup multiple times , absolutely my favorite-just finished a big bowl when it’s-10 below. I’m happy & warm !
What is beef gravy mix?
Hi Geraldine, you can purchase gravy packets from the grocery store. For this recipe, we use the beef gravy mix packets.
Hi. Love your recipes! I am not a fan of anything prepackaged. Can I omit the gravy or is there a substitute I can use instead?
Hi Coreen, we have only made this recipe as listed but if you wanted to try making a homemade gravy mix and substituting it with that, I am sure it would be delicious!
I have some leftover rice & some leftover beef to use up. Can I use the rice instead of the barley in this soup? Thank you! Can’t wait to try this soup!!
That sounds delicious, Janet! Since the rice is already cooked I would add it in towards the end since it just needs to be heated through not fully cooked.
Where is the amount of pearl barley?
It is listed in the recipe, near the middle of the ingredients list. You’ll need ⅔ cup barley.
To increase volume, obviously increase ingredients, but can you add water as well without diluting it too much? How much water would you add in addition to increasing the beef broth?
Hi Louis, we have only made this recipe as listed but other readers have added an additional cup or two of broth without diluting the flavor too much. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Great recipe and quick prep for a tasty, hearty soup. Thanks! I made a couple of changes that others might consider: omit the green peppers (not wild about them; red peppers might work OK); omit the gravy packet (more soup-like rather than stew-like); add 6 large mushrooms, cubed. Didn’t have cooked beef and so used 1/2 lb of cubed stew beef and sautéd it in the olive oil, then removed it, before sautéing the other ingredients and proceeding with the recipe.
Again, thanks for this. One of my favorite soups, and so glad to be making it for myself again.
I didn’t have any red wine so i added 1TBSP red wine vinegar, and it added a nice zing to the soup.
What beef gravy package do you recommend?
Hi Dick, whichever beef gravy is your personal favorite. We love McCormicks, it has great flavor.
Thank you, Holly, for sharing your recipe. I had leftover pot roast and gravy that I wanted to use in soup (waste not, want not). Lol. I found your soup recipe and it is simmering on the stove as I write this. I used leftover gravy rather than the gravy mix, used fire roasted diced tomatoes, added peas and corn. My first taste told me it will be very tasty. It certainly makes enough to freeze leftovers for another dinner, which is always a plus!
I read the recipe several times. It seems to include everything but….barley?
This recipe includes ⅔ cup of barley.
Thank for for sharing this recipe. It’s been a hit with my family and friends. I have added mushrooms to this and used ground turkey with ground beef. I prefer to use premise broth with full salt because it just has more flavor for my taste. I used to add too much barley but learned that lesson. And you are right it freezes so well so I always make some for my Dad. And after he reheats he can add 1/2 can to 1 can of beef broth to the recipe because it always gets real thick after freezing. This doesn’t impact the flavor (adding broth) and you can now stretch that bowl you froze over 2 meals! I love going to my freezer on a cold winter day and finding my frozen barley soup. Such a quick and easy dinner/lunch. My freezer is hardly ever without this soup in our freezer!
Those additions sound delicious, Melissa! You are so right, adding a little extra broth when reheating can really stretch this soup!
Amazing! This will for sure be a staple in my house. I used cubed steak that I cooked in the air fryer with mushrooms, butter and Worcester sauce. I also broiled some French bread with butter and a little garlic salt. A couple minutes before it was browned I added mozzarella and cooked til light golden. The meal was absolutely delicious!
Fantastic. Best Beef Barley soup I have ever had.
Great recipe ! This is my third time making it . It’s very adaptable. You can add extra veggies or more broth if you like .
Hi! What type of red wine do you recommend? And can I use brown gravy instead of beef gravy?
I usually use cabernet sauvignon because that is what I have on hand, but any wine will work. As will brown gravy! Enjoy the soup Annie!