This easy beef and barley soup recipe 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.
Beef and Barley Soup
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
Instructions
- Brown ground beef over medium heat and drain fat
- Put all ingredients into a large pot and simmer for 2 hours.
Nutrition
More Delicious Homemade Soups:
- Best Homemade Tomato Soup
- Easy Lentil Soup with Potatoes, Bacon and Vegetables
- Zuppa Toscana – An Olive Garden Soup Knock Off
- Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Soup
- Butternut Squash and Potato Soup
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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.
Amy Gaudette
Anyone try this with a ground beef substitute? Just wondered if you’d get the samish flavored…
Noelle Snow
Made this for our Super Bowl dinner – it’s DELICIOUS!!!! Did the stove top version; simmering for one hour was just right.
Hannah
Wow! I am not usually a fan of beef barley soup but this was amazing. It took on a creamy texture somehow. And I didn’t have pearl barley so used pulled barley which was still so good.
lisa
This hearty beef and barley soup is totally amazing. I really want to print the recipe but can’t find an option to do so could you please help me?
Kim
This looks delicious! I have one question though, do I add the juice that comes with the tomatoes or strain it out?
happyhooligans
The whole can. Juice and all, Kim. 🙂
Kelly
Does the beef barley freeze well?
happyhooligans
It does!
Ruth
Yes, it freezes very well.
happyhooligans
Thanks, Ruth!
Kerin
I have made this a few times. So good! However, I prefer less ground beef. I made it tonight with just .7 pounds and it was perfect. I used very lean ground beef (93%) and browned the beef right in the stew pot, then added the carrots, onion, and celery right to that (I dice these). Added spices, deglazed with the red wine, then added the liquids and barely, boiled, then simmered for about 45 minutes.
happyhooligans
Interesting! I haven’t had that complaint before. I’m glad you’ve modified the recipe to your liking, Kerin, and that you enjoyed the soup!
Laura Shipley La Borde
Hi, This recipe looks so good, especially today while its cold and raining here on the beautiful coast of Washington. Can you please tell me if the amount of the barley to add is correct, 8 tbsp? Doesn’t seem like enough.
Thank you!
Laura Shipley-La Borde
happyhooligans
Yes, it’s 8tbsp Laura, which is about 1/4 cup. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it really increases in size as it absorbs the liquid. I think if you added much more, you’d run into the problem of it soaking up too much of the liquid, and your soup wouldn’t be as soup-y as it should be.
Maggie
Looks delicious. Can you tell me please if you’re using fresh thyme/basil or dried thyme/basil?
Thank you!
happyhooligans
I use dried herbs in this recipe, Maggie, because I always make it in winter, but if I were to make it in summer, when my herb garden is in its glory, I would absolutely chop a bunch of fresh thyme and basil in! I LOVE cooking with fresh herbs!
Andi
I made this tonight and it is awesome! I actually used 2 lbs of beef (my hubby likes lots of meat) and also added 8 oz of fresh slice mushrooms. YUMMY! This is definitely a keeper! Thanks so much for the recipe!
happyhooligans
You are welcome! I might have to make a batch tomorrow. It’s a favourite here, and the weather is perfect “soup weather”.
JKlatt
I cannot wait to make this soup!
We’ve been in a bit of a deep freeze here in MN, so this soup will be perfect to warm us up!
happyhooligans
I hope you love it as much as we do, Jonna!
Klatt
We LOVED this soup! I also added some fresh green beans to mix and it was delicious. Thanks again for posting this amazing recipe!
Danielle
This looks great. I just have one question, how much beef broth is needed, in oz. (I have homemade beef broth and am not sure how much to add)
happyhooligans
I just fill the can that the diced tomatoes came in, Danielle. It’s 28 oz. I fill it with water, and then add the correct amount of bouillon for that amount of water. If you’re using homemade broth, I’d go with 28 oz of the liquid broth. You can always add more broth or more water to adjust the taste if necessary.