This wholesome and nutritious Beef Barley Soup is packed with FLAVOR! Easy to make and great for leftovers, it’s sure to become a part of your regular meal rotation!
Fork tender beef, plump nutty barley, a vibrant array of vegetables, and a deliciously rich broth come together in this satisfying Beef Barley Soup recipe. As delicious as it is right off the stovetop, it makes for fabulous leftovers after the flavors have had more time to develop!
I love a good beef barley soup. Not only is it great cool-weather comfort food, it’s absolutely loaded with healthy ingredients. Barley has a wonderful and unique flavor and coupled with umami-laden beef, it gives this soup has an incredible depth of flavor. This Beef Barley Soup packs in a variety of vegetables but you are more than welcome to add or substitute any other veggies of your choice.
Can You Freeze Beef Barley Soup?
Yes you can! Freeze the whole batch or in individual portions in ziplock bags and you’ll have a ready meal in the time it simply takes to reheat it. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Let’s get started!
Choose a cut with generous marbling as that will produce the best flavor. Cut the beef into 3/4 inch chunks, pat dry with a paper towel, and season with salt.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the beef on all sides, working in batches so as not to overcrowd.
Browning the beef is absolutely essential to achieving the best flavor so do not skip this step! Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef and set aside.
This is what the Dutch oven is going to look like by the time you’re done searing the beef. Don’t even think about cleaning it out. That is another secret to achieving ultimate flavor. When we add the veggies and liquid we’re going to “deglaze” the bottom of this pan…helloooo flavah!
Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and saute the onion, carrots and celery for 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, spinach, garlic and herbs and cook for another minute.
Return the beef to the pot.
Add the wine, beef stock, bay leaf, salt and tomato paste. Stir to combine. You can now either: Cover and place the Dutch oven on the lower rack of the oven preheated at 450 degrees F and cook for 40 minutes, OR bring to a boil on the stove top, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
While the stew is cooking, add the barley to 2 cups water in a medium pot. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Strain the excess liquid. Add the barley to the stew and continue to cook for at least 10 more minutes, preferably up to an hour. The longer it cooks, the more tender the beef and the more flavor the stew will have. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve garnished with fresh parsley.
Enjoy!
PIN ME!
Be sure to also try our Chicken Barley Soup!
Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds beef sirloin tip (I used Certified Angus Beef) cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 1 pound cremini or button mushrooms cleaned and quartered
- 2 cups fresh spinach chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 cup pinot noir
- 3 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup quick cooking barley
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Pat the beef cubes dry with a paper towel and season with salt.
- Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the beef cubes on all sides, working in batches so as to not overcrowd. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef and set aside.
- Heat the remaining tablespoons of olive oil and add the onion, carrot and celery to the Dutch oven. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, spinach, garlic and herbs and cook for another minute. Return the beef to the pot and add the wine, beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, salt and stir to combine.
- Two cooking methods: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cover the Dutch oven and cook on the lowest rack for 40 minutes OR bring to a boil on the stove top, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for an hour.
- While the stew is cooking, add the barley to the water in a medium pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.
- Add the barley to the stew and continue to cook for at least 10 more minutes, preferably up to an hour. The longer the stew cooks the more tender the beef and flavorful the stew will be. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the stew garnished with fresh parsley.
Nutrition
Adapted from Vikki Krinsky’s Beef Stew With Barley
Anonymous says
Kimberly, I’ve made many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. For this recipe, you listed only 2 cooking methods, but this recipe is highly suited for the slow cooker. Sear the meat. Sautee the veggies. Bloom the spices. Throw everything into a crock pot for 4 hours on high. It’s wonderfully delicious! Thank you!
Karen Artiaco says
Didn’t have spinach, but otherwise followed the recipe. I like a soup with more broth, so I added three Cups water. Next time I’ll cut the beef into a little larger cubes, use less thyme, and only 2C of beef broth plus 5C water. If I finds it needs more beef flavor I’ll add some beef flavor Better Than Bouillon. I prefer that flavor to any beef broth I’ve tasted. Also a tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
Malee says
The best but add like 5 carrots and 4 celery. Otherwise it’s too meaty and no veggies!
Antonio says
This is my go to recipe for this dish- amazing. I’ve used it about 8-10 tims. Simple, doable and delicious. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Antonio, I’m so glad this has become a favorite in your home!
Grace says
I notice the recipe is called soup but in the recipe you refer to it as stew. Do you
consider it more a stew than soup. Thank you.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
It’s a fine line between the two – it would technically be considered a soup but because of thickness of the consistency one could make the argument for both. I include both terms from a searchability standpoint in case readers are using one or the other to search for the recipe.
Jan says
So excited to try this recipe tomorrow but have a couple of questions as I am not following the recipe exactly. I will be using a crock pot but as per the other writers I will cook the meat and sauté the veggies in a pan before transferring to the crockpot. Question…I could not find quick barley so picked up pearl barley. If it is going to be in the crockpot for 6 hours do I need to do any prep to the barley? Or can I put directly from the package Into the crockpot? Also, Do you find cooking the stew on low for longer makes the stew meat more tender than cooking on high for a shorter time?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jan, yes, you can just put the package of barley directly into the crockpot. The length of slow-cooking time: It depends on the cut of meat but generally yes, the longer the cooking time the more tender the meat.
Debi Mitchell says
Well this recipe sounds delish & I’m working the recipe now. I used a untrimmed tri
tip roast so I’m hoping it works well. I’ll keep u posted. Happy eating
Donna Como says
Is 450 degrees a mistake?? I knew when I put it in the oven that seemed too hot, so I put it at 425, with the uncooked barley in it. The barley stuck to the bottom of the pan! Not because of lack of liquid, but because it was too hot! : >(
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Donna, no it’s not a mistake. A lot of recipes from Fine Cooking to Martha Stewart call for the same temp.
Jessica Ford says
This recipe sounded so delicious, I printed it out to compare to my favorite beef and barley stew that I’ve been making for years. Lo and behold, it’s the same recipe! I love this stew so much! It tastes like something you’d get at a fancy restaurant. My whole family loves it. Thank you so much for sharing this, Kimberly!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Jessica! As noted at the bottom of the recipe box, this recipe is from Chef Vikki Krinsky. All of the recipes on my site are ones that I developed myself with maybe 3 or 4 exceptions – and this is one of them. It’s a great stew!