Quick and easy beef barley soup recipe, made with simple ingredients in one pot on stovetop. A weeknight meal loaded with Italian seasoning, vegetables, tender beef.
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This one pot soup comes together quickly but still tastes so rich and flavorful. Even kids approve! It also freezes well and is a great weekly meal plan option. It's just as amazing as my Vegetable Beef Soup (One Pot) This classic, old fashioned, traditional meal is a cross between a stew and a soup and has rich Italian flavors. It's cozy, hearty and the perfect weeknight meal, especially during chilly Winters.
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How to make easy one pot beef barley soup recipe on stovetop?
- Saute meat in butter and oil.
- Add onions, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and saute until fragrant.
- Mix in tomatoes.
- Cover and cook.
- Uncover and add potatoes, celery, carrots, barley.
- Cover and cook again.
- Uncover and add corn and peas.
- Cover and cook.
- Uncover and cook until liquid is reduced soup thickens.
- Garnish with parsley and you are done.
Can you cook barley in soup?
Yes, absolutely. Add it in the final 30-40 minutes of cooking.
What spices go well in beef soup?
Italian seasoning is the classic choice buy other seasoning blends of your choice can be used (Indian, Cajun e.t.c.) for a different flavor profile.
How long does pearl barley take to cook in soup?
It takes about 30-40 minutes for it to become tender, when cooked on medium high heat.
What sides to serve with soup?
- Homemade biscuits
- Dinner rolls
- Breadsticks
- Crackers
- Salad
- Roasted vegetables
- Garlic bread
- Cornbread
- Grilled cheese sandwiches
Tips and variations
- Adjust the amount of seasonings and veggies, based on your preference.
- Use small cubes of meat because it will cook faster and become very tender.
- Use low sodium broth to prevent soup from becoming too salty.
- Instead of barley, you can add small uncooked pasta (e.g. Ditalini or shells or macaroni).
- Add sliced mushrooms in the final 20-30 minutes to make beef barley mushroom soup.
- If you have never worked with barley, it's actually very similar to brown rice, in terms of size and texture. I highly recommend using pearl barley since it works the best in this soup.
- Also, barley has a tendency to absorb a lot of liquid, which can make the soup very thick. To prevent this, you can mix in additional broth at the end OR you can cook barley separately and simply mix that into the soup at the end (in the final 5-10 minutes).
- The best and affordable meat options would be chuck cubes, stew meat or even flank steak. You can also make this soup with ground beef. Just remember to drain fat, after browning. You can also use leftover beef like pot roast or steak or roast beef. Just mix it in the soup in the last 30 minutes. It can be cubed or shredded.
- If you are planning on freezing this soup, don't add potatoes because they taste weird when they thaw.
- To make Slow cooker version, add all in the ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy.
More one pot soup recipes
Recipe
One Pot Beef Barley Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Butter Unsalted
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1.5 pound Stew meat cubes Or chuck roast (Trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 ⅓ cup Onion Finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Garlic Finely minced
- Salt To taste
- Pepper To taste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup Tomato sauce Or crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon Tomato paste
- 8 cups Beef broth Low sodium
- 2-3 medium Potatoes Peeled, Diced, Cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 stalks Celery Diced
- 3 medium Carrots Peeled and diced
- ½ cup Peal barley
- ½ cup Corn Frozen
- ½ cup Peas Frozen
- 1-2 tablespoon Fresh parsley Roughly chopped, For garnish
Instructions
- Heat butter and oil in a large nonstick pot over medium high heat.
- Add meat and cook until golden brown..
- Then, saute onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning until fragrant.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth.
- Cover and cook for 25 minutes.
- Mix in potatoes, celery, carrots, barley.
- Cover and cook for 25 minutes.
- Add corn and peas.
- Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Then, cook uncovered for a few more minutes on high heat to reduce liquid until soup thickens to your desired consistency.
- Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Renee says
When do you add green beans? Frozen or fresh?
Abeer Rizvi says
You can add them near the end when you add corn and peas. They should be frozen.
Ce says
Delicious and easy to make! First time I have ever made a home made soup and it was a success! I didn’t have corn but just added extra peas! Highly recommend
Alice L says
It was very good however the meat should’ve been tenderized before putting it.. Otherwise the broth was delicious and the vegetables are cooked to perfection.
Kate says
Made this soup today and it is delicious! The seasonings are perfect and the broth is rich and tasty!
Kristin says
So if I’m going to cook the soup in a crockpot do I need to cook the beef first or throw it in the crock pot raw
Abeer Rizvi says
I have a slow cooker version of this soup here: https://onepotrecipes.com/slow-cooker-beef-barley-soup-recipe/
Hope that's helpful.
Kristin says
Great, thank you! Can’t wait to try it this soup sounds delicious!
Cynthia Cox says
Just made for dinner tonight. I love a thicker soup more like a stew so I added in more vegetables and barley as well as a little extra meat and kept the broth the same. It was wonderful The flavors really were accented well by the seasoning.
Jamie says
Looks amazing as I’m cooking it. I skimmed some of the grease off the top so I hope it doesn’t take away too much flavor. Wish me luck. It’s almost done.
Shannon says
I made this soup a few weeks ago, it was just delicious. Definitely a keeper.
Jean says
Easy to make and has a great taste. Thanks. I also used my crock pot so I was able to enjoy the aroma while cooking.
Abeer Rizvi says
Mmmm! That aroma is mind-blowing!
Rod says
I have made this a few times... It's fantastic!!! Thank you!!
Cindy latiak says
Absolute best soup I’ve ever made ~ we are big soup lovers & this is the best!!! Thank you so much.
Susan says
Loved it. Made it just as described and it came out great.
Diane Pearse says
I love this recipe. I usually put broccoli and add some thyme.
Carey says
I made this tonight. Superb!
Valerie says
Delicious! This is not a quick meal but so yummy. I added Worcestershire sauce and a slosh of vermouth with the peas and corn.
Hollie says
Loved it. Easy to make and turned out delicious. Thank you for sharing.