This easybeef and barley souprecipe can be made on the stove or in the slow-cooker. Made with ground beef, pearl barley and a variety of healthy vegetables, it’s hearty and delicious soup, perfect for lunch or dinner on a cold, winter day.
We ALL love homemade soup at our house and this beef and barley soup is one of my absolute favourites. It’s so easy to make, and it’s hearty and delicious and chock full of flavour.
I can always count on it to satisfy the whole family.
My husband works outdoors in winter, and my boys are usually outside, playing pick-up hockey on our backyard rink, so when they all come home for dinner, they’re hungry and they’re cold.
A steaming bowl of homemade soup always goes over well. Served with my homemade Oatmeal Bread or a batch of homemade dinner rolls, this hearty soup fills the belly and warms the soul.
We have several soups that we love best as a family, and this beef and barley recipe is up there at the top of our list.
I make this soup on the stovetop, but it’s also a soup that you can make in the slow-cooker as well.
Beef and Barley Soup Recipe:
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground beef (cooked and drained)
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups water
3 cans beef broth (I usually just fill up my 28 oz can from the tomatoes and use the appropriate amount of bouillon)
1 large (or 2 smallish) onions
3-4 cloves garlic
3 celery stalks
4 med carrots (I used baby carrots when writing this post because I was out of large ones)
8 tbsp pearl barley
1/2 tsp thyme (you can substitute with basil if you’d rather)
(1/4 cup red wine – optional)
salt and pepper to taste.
1 bay leaf (I never have one, so don’t sweat it if you don’t either)
To make your Beef and Barley Soup:
Brown ground beef in a pan over medium heat and drain fat when it’s finished cooking.
While your beef is cooking, chop your vegetables into bite-sized chunks.
Put the cooked ground beef and the rest of the ingredients into a large pot, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 2 hours.
To reduce cooking time, you can saute your vegetables first:
I often saute my vegetables first and deglaze with a bit of red wine before combining all of the ingredients in the pot. It’s not necessary. It’s just something I like to do to reduce the overall cooking time sometimes. If you’re sautéing first, you’ll only need to simmer your soup for about an hour total.
I’ve actually never really timed it to know if it’s an hour, but you’ll know when it’s done when your barley has puffed up and your vegetables are tender.
How to make beef and barley soup in a slow-cooker:
If you’re making it in the slow cooker, just cook and drain your beef, and throw all of the ingredients except the barley into your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours, adding the barley in the last hour of cooking.
Doesn’t that look just delicious?
Serve this soup with homemade rolls, a crusty loaf or a slice of hearty, homemade bread, and it makes a perfect lunch or dinner for a fall or winter day.
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Beef and Barley Soup
This hearty homemade soup is full of flavour and perfect for lunch or dinner on a fall or winter day.
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.
Store leftover beef barley soup in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat either in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, or on the stovetop over medium heat. You can also store your leftovers in the freezer up to 6 months.
Pearl barley does not need to be soaked prior to cooking because it cooks quickly. Hulled barley benefits from soaking in water for a few hours before cooking. However, you should still budget more time for the hulled grain to cook (about 35 to 40 minutes).
Stovetop. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a pot with salt. Add barley, return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high and boil uncovered until soft, 25–30 minutes.
It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.
Barley is high in fiber, especially beta-glucan, which may reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It may also aid weight loss and improve digestion. Whole-grain, hulled barley is more nutritious than refined, pearled barley. It can be substituted for any whole grain and easily added to your diet.
As barley is a starch the best you can do is dilute it, or thin it out a bit. You may need to add a fair bit of broth and more of your vegetal ingredients. Possibly to the point of doubling your recipe. It will depend on when you find the taste and texture to have gotten back to acceptable levels.
If the grains are sticky, slimy, or have a chewy texture when dry, they have likely absorbed moisture, leading to spoilage. Barley that is past its prime may not only taste off but might also have an undesirable texture when cooked.
There is no need to rinse barley before using it. To enhance the flavor of barley, heat the kernels in a skillet for a few minutes or cook it in broth instead of water. You can save time by cooking extra barley and freezing it. Add it to soups or salads as you need it.
Many of the bigger/tougher ones — barley, rice, farro and the like — will start to ferment and/or sprout long before they are tender enough to eat raw, so those require cooking. As it happens, there's plenty of evidence that pre-soaking improves the digestibility and cooking of whole grains.
Hulled barley, considered a whole grain, has had just the indigestible outer husk removed. It's darker in color and has a little bit of a sheen. Pearled barley, also called pearl barley, is not a whole grain and isn't as nutritious.It has lost its outer husk and its bran layer, and it has been polished.
Transfer the barley to a medium-size pot along with water, or stock, and salt. Bring the barley to a boil over high heat. Add on a lid and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or just until tender and chewy.
Overcooked barley will become mushy, while undercooked may have a thicker and chewier texture. You can make barley as a side dish, but you can also cook it into your food. Feel free to cook our pearled barley in your favorite soup or stew, but be mindful that it will absorb a lot of liquid.
About this method: One of the most common ways to thicken sauces and soups is with a starch-based slurry, and cornstarch is a popular choice. Cornstarch is flavorless, easy to mix up, and versatile, which makes it a go-to pantry ingredient.
The flour helps to thicken a stew as it cooks. Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil.
Ok, this may be a little obvious, but just adding water is going to make your soup go a little further. If you stick to a 50/50 ratio between water and whatever flavoured liquid you're using in your soup (be it tomatoes, a stock type, or a cream), you're unlikely to dilute it to the point of making it unpalatable.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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