An old-fashion Vegetable Beef Barley Soup that is healthy, comforting, and really easy to make with a few simple ingredients. It's a family-favourite soup that goes down a treat in the cold season, as it's hearty and filling, and can be cooked in a large batch.
If you are looking for a frugal meal that delivers in terms of quality and quantity, this delicious beef and barley soup is jam-packed with wholesome ingredients to make a simple, but hearty dish that goes down well with the whole family.
There is nothing more soothing on a cold day than a steaming bowl of soup served with delicious homemade bread. My favourite bread recipes are soda bread, which I made every single week, either as a large round bread or as soda bread rolls, and my crusty white bread which is as simple as can be.
Throw in some healthy veggies like potatoes, carrots and celery stalks, chunks of beef and barley, and you know you have the dream team here. It might not be my quickest recipe on the blog, but it surely is simple.
Or, if you really want a quick recipe, you can make this using leftover beef, or chicken, my Chicken and Barley Soup is really tasty.
Jump to:
Ingredients needed to make vegetable beef barley soup
- beef - I used stewing beef which usually comes from a cheaper beef cut, which is ideal for slow cooking
- barley - it makes the soup more filling and healthier too
- potatoes - use any kind of potatoes you have around
- celery stalks - they give a nice crunchy texture
- carrots - they add a nice colour and more goodness
- tomato paste - or tomato puree, used to give a nice colour to the soup, and it also adds a hint of sweetness
- salt & pepper
- paprika - I used sweet paprika, but spicy or smoked paprika also ok if you want a bit of heat or a smoky touch
- bay leaves
- beef stock - use as much as you need in order to cook the meat until it's tender, and the veggies are cooked well
- garlic
- oil - for frying the beef and onion
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- season the beef cubes with salt and pepper
- heat up the oil in a large pot, and sear the beef until brown - the beef won't be cooked at this stage (see photo 2)
- remove the beef from the pan, and add the chopped onion
- cooked the onion until soft - this also helps deglaze the pan (see photo 4)
- 5. return the beef to the pot of onion, add the peeled and chopped garlic and carrots, chopped celery stalks, bay leaves, and give everything a good stir, and pour in half of the beef stock
- 6. place a lid on, and leave everything to cook for 1 hours, until the beef is beginning to become tender
- add the peeled and chopped potatoes, barley and paprika, add more stock as necessary, and continue to cook it until the beef is tender, the barley is cooked and the stock is reduced
- check for seasoning, add the tomato paste and parsley, and remove it from the heat.
Easy swaps
With the cold season comes an abundance of fresh seasonal vegetables that can be used in this vegetable beef barley soup. Root vegetables are particularly good in stews and soups, as they are hearty and nutritious.
Other vegetables that could work here are: parsnips, turnips, swedes, mushrooms, peas, brussels sprouts, green beans, and many more.
If you don't have beef stock, you can just use water, although the stock does add a lot more flavour to the soup.
If you made this soup with leftover beef from your roast beef dinner, simple skip the first steps, and jump straight to cooking the onion, then follow the same steps. You can add the beef towards the end, as it's already cooked. You will also only need half of the amount of stock.
To make this soup in the slow cooker, follow the first 4 steps, then add everything to the crockpot, and leave to cook on heat for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. You will only need half of the amount of stock.
Recipe FAQs
You do not need to cook the barley before hand, simply rinse it and add it to the soup, and allow it to cook until chewy and tender - this can take between 30-35 minutes.
Yes, absolutely! This soup freezes very well, so if you cook a large batch, you can freeze the remaining soup. To defrost, simply add it to a pan set over a medium heat, and heat it up until bubbling hot.
Other hearty beef recipes
If you’ve liked this recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM , YOUTUBE, TIK TOK , FLIPBOARD and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Vegetable Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 450 g stewing beef (chuck steak, 1 lb)
- 3 potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 4 cups beef stock (broth)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper.
- Heat up the oil in a large pot, and sear the beef until brown.
- Remove the beef from the pan, and add the chopped onion cooked the onion until soft.
- Return the beef to the pot of onion, add the peeled and chopped garlic and carrots, chopped celery stalks, bay leaves, and give everything a good stir, and pour in half of the beef stock.
- Place a lid on, and leave everything to cook for 1 hours, until the beef is beginning to become tender.
- Add the peeled and chopped potatoes, barley and paprika, add more stock as necessary, and continue to cook it until the beef is tender, the barley is cooked and the stock is reduced.
- Check for seasoning, add the tomato paste and parsley, and remove it from the heat.
Notes
- Other vegetables that could work here are: parsnips, turnips, swedes, mushrooms, peas, brussels sprouts, green beans, and many more.
- If you don't have beef stock, you can just use water, although the stock does add a lot more flavour to the soup.
- If you made this soup with leftover beef from your roast beef dinner, simple skip the first steps, and jump straight to cooking the onion, then follow the same steps. You can add the beef towards the end, as it's already cooked. You will also only need half of the amount of stock.
- To make this soup in the slow cooker, follow the first 4 steps, then add everything to the crockpot, and leave to cook on heat for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. You will only need half of the amount of stock.
Nutrition
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Leave a Reply