Beef Barley Soup
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The whole family will love this easy homemade Beef Barley Soup. It’s made in one pot, has plenty of seasoning and is ready from start to finish in a little over 1 hour!
Why you’ll love this soup:
- This soup is made in one pot (the BEST kind of recipes are!).
- Flavored using tomato paste, soy sauce, and herbs like thyme and rosemary.
- Loaded with beef (I try to opt for grass-fed) and barley, making it both healthy and hearty.
Table of Contents
Somehow, winter is still here (anyone else already wishing for spring?!), so I say bring on all the soup recipes!
For this beef barley soup, you simply add everything to a dutch oven and let it simmer until the barley is cooked. Easy peasy!
- If you’re looking for more of my personal favorite soup recipes, you must try my sausage potato soup, paleo beef stew and Instant Pot white chicken chili. Seriously, you won’t be disappointed!
Ingredients needed for barley soup
Most of the ingredients in this recipe are fairly straightforward, but I want to provide a little clarification on a few of them. You can find the full ingredient list below in the recipe card.
Beef – I used pre-cubed chuck roast, but you could also use flank steak, or any leftover cooked beef you may have in your refrigerator.
Soy sauce – Can substitute tamari or coconut aminos if you prefer.
Beef broth – No substitutions, but just note that the soup will thicken as it cools, so you may need to add either more beef broth or some water to thin in out.
How to Make Beef Barley Soup
Step 1: Cook the beef. Begin by adding the cubed beef to a dutch oven and searing it over medium-high heat until it’s cooked, then transfer it to a bowl and set it aside.
Step 2: Sauté the vegetables. Next, add the olive oil, carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to the same pot and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the carrots have softened. Add the tomato paste, soy sauce, thyme, rosemary, and salt and sauté for 1 minute.
Step 3: Simmer. Add the beef back into the pot, along with the broth and barley. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the dutch oven and simmer the soup for 45-60 minutes or until the barley is cooked.
Erin’s expert tips
- I like to buy a tube of tomato paste instead of a can; it lasts longer and makes a little more sense when you only need one tablespoon.
- Be sure to add extra broth (or water) when reheating this soup.
- While you can serve this soup on its own, it’s extra delicious when paired with this avocado grilled cheese.
Beef Barley Soup FAQs
I find chuck roast or beef stew meat (pre-cubed) works perfectly, but the beauty of soup is that you can really use ANY kind (seriously!). My number one pick is chuck roast, but a pack of stew meat works great too.
Oddly, I find barley a little tricky find (or that some stores don’t carry many brands of it). At the grocery store, it should be located with the rest of the grains.
Yep! It boasts a fair amount of fiber, and we all know fiber is a good thing. Good Housekeeping wrote an article on the 7 health benefits of barley if you want to check it out.
Store soup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just know that, the longer the soup sits, the more the barley will absorb some of the broth. So, whenever you reheat it, you’ll most likely have to add extra broth or water to thin it out.
More tasty beef recipes:
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb. chuck roast, cubed
- 1 tsp olive oil , or more
- 1 cup carrot, sliced
- 1/2 cup celery, sliced
- 3/4 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 cup barley
Instructions
- Add beef to a large dutch oven, then sear it for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat, or until it's cooked. Transfer beef to a bowl and set aside.
- Add oil to the dutch oven, then add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until they've softened. Then, add the soy sauce, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, and salt and sauté for 1 minute.
- Place the beef back into the pot, then add the bay leaf, broth and barley. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover. reduce heat to a simmer and simmer the soup for 45-60 minutes or until the barley is cooked.
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in November 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in February 2021.
This is going on my weekly menu.
Sounds delicious!
Barley can be difficult to digest, so soaking for 6-8 hours before cooking makes it even yummier…
About how many servings does this make?
Hi Krista! It makes approximately 2 servings.
well I can’t have barely but it still looks fab and love me some beefiness! haha is that a word? I shall use quinoa and make it like yours, ok?
Um beefiness is totally a word and YES I bet it would be delicious with quinoa!
I love beef barley soup!!! I have to make this next week. I’ve been on a soup kick for the last month. You’re right about it being easy to make ahead and just bring along. I hate packing lunch in the am, so if I have soup, all I need to do is put it in a container lol!
YES. Just hope it doesn’t spill out in your car like mine did once…..
Beef barley soup is my all time favorite but I have never tried to make it myself– thanks for sharing! I always prep for meals on Sunday- it makes the work week so much easier!
Yum! I’ve been crazy about hearty soups and chilis for dinner this winter! Definitely adding this one to the mix!
I love soup. Especially this time of year. Most weeks there is a pot of soup or chili made on the weekend to use as lunch for the upcoming week. I haven’t made a beef barley soup yet, but I’ll now add it to the list to try!
I agree–soup and winter just go hand in hand. Let me know if you try it!
It’s so weird – I don’t eat beef but I used to volunteer at a soup kitchen and we served that a lot — and I always thought it looked/smelled amazing! Barley is so underrated.
It is!! We need to start talking about barley more often 😀