Classic Beef and Barley Soup

Hearty and delicious classic beef and barley soup, with vegetables, barley and lovely tender beef, thanks to pre-cooking the beef. A great dinner soup!

I love this hearty beef and barley soup for a dinner soup, especially with the cooler weather months. This version takes a little extra time pre-cooking the beef, but delivers wonderfully tender beef pieces in the soup. Well worth the time!

Loaded with vegetables, barley and of course, tender chunks of beef, this is a perfect dinner soup. I love to make mine almost stew-like, but if you want it not quite so thick, it’s super easy to just add more broth. Simply add a nice, crusty bread for dipping and enjoy.

Ingredients and Substitutions

✓ Beef – you can start with stewing beef cubes or simply cut a lower-end steak or beef roast into cubes yourself.

✓ Beef Broth/Stock – I am a big fan of Better Than Bouillon for all my broths. I love that you can just mix up as much or as little as you need for any recipe. It’s especially handy with this soup, as you may need to add a little more broth as the soup cooks. If you only have a carton of broth and don’t want to open another one, you can just add a bit of water to the soup instead of more broth.

✓ Pearl Barley – you will want to use Pearl or Pearled Barley for this soup, for best results. Pearl Barley has the outer husk coating removed, so it is softer and will cook more quickly in the soup.

✓ Red Wine Vinegar (for boiling beef) – red wine vinegar is recommended for best flavour and tenderizing of the beef. Substitutes would be white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar or a mixture of red wine with white distilled vinegar (half and half).

✓ Red Wine (for Soup) – If you don’t have or want to use red wine in the soup, simply omit and skip right to adding the tomato paste with the vegetables.

Step-by-Step Photos

Step 1: This soup start with simmering the beef cubes in water, with a bit of added red wine vinegar and salt. This step both flavours and tenderizes the beef that we’ll use for the soup. The beef will simmer for about 1 hour, so allow for the extra time. You can also do this step ahead and refrigerate the beef, if you like.

Step 2: The soup itself starts with sauteeing onion, celery, carrots and a bit of garlic. Next, we’ll add a bit of red wine and allow it to cook off.

Step 3: Add the tomato paste and cook it for a couple of minutes with the vegetables. (My tomato paste was frozen left-overs from a previous recipe :) Chop the cooked beef cubes to whatever size you’d like and add to the soup. Add 4 cups of the beef broth and stir together.

Step 4: Add the pearl barley and a bay leaf. Stir in and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer the soup, stirring every 15 minutes or so for a total of about 60-75 minutes, or until the barley and carrots are tender. As the soup cooks and the barley starts to absorb the liquid, you may need to add additional broth to the soup.

Step 5: When the soup is ready, remove and discard the bay leaf. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and some fresh, chopped parsley. Be sure to taste your soup and season as needed. Even though the beef broth tends to add plenty of salt to a soup, you may find you need a touch more, especially if you’ve used a low-sodium broth. Some freshly ground pepper is a nice addition, as well.

Recipe Tips

• You will want to check on and stir your soup as it simmers, about every 15 minutes or so. Check on the liquid level and add additional broth, as needed. You don’t want it to get too thick or the barley will settle onto the bottom of the pan and may scorch. That said, it is better to not add too much broth at one time, as you will want to control the thickness of your soup and if you add too much and it doesn’t cook off, your soup may end up thinner than you wanted.
• Be sure to taste test both the barley and the carrots near the end of cooking, to be sure they are tender. If not, cook a bit longer, as needed.
• Left-overs will keep well in the fridge or can be frozen as well. The barley will continue to soak up broth as it sits in the fridge however, so you may need to add additional broth to loosen it up again when re-heating.

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Get the Recipe: Classic Beef and Barley Soup

Hearty and delicious beef and barley soup, with tender beef, barley and lots of vegetables. A great dinner soup!

5 stars from 3 ratings

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Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Pre-cooking beef:: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Yield: 4 servings

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Ingredients

For pre-cooking beef:

• 1 lb. stewing beef cubes
• 4 cups water
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Soup:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, finely diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced or thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup red wine, optional, can omit
• 1/3 cup tomato paste, 1/2 of a small can
• Beef, from above
• 4 cups beef broth, plus more, as needed
• 1/3 cup pearl barley
• 1 bay leaf

To finish soup:

• Dash Worcestershire Sauce
• 3-4 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper, as needed, to taste

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Instructions

 

• Pre-cook the beef: Combine the water, beef, red wine vinegar and salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Drain, discarding liquid and reserving the beef. Allow to cool slightly, then chop into desired size for soup (or make ahead and refrigerate until needed).
• For the soup: In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery and carrots to the pot and cook, stirring, for 6-7 minutes. Add red wine to the pot and allow to cook until mostly evaporated. Add the tomato paste and stir in. Cook the tomato paste with the vegetables for about 1 minute. Add the beef broth, cooked beef pieces, pearl barley and bay leaf. Stir to combine.
• Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and allow soup to simmer gently for 60-75 minutes. Watch the soup as it cooks and stir regularly. As the barley cooks, it will absorb the liquid. You may find that you need to add additional beef broth to the pot as the soup cooks. You don't want the soup to get too dry or the barley will sink to the bottom of the pot and may scorch. Ideally, add a bit of broth more often, rather than adding a lot all at one time, so you don't end up with too much broth in the pot and a thinner soap than you want.
• Taste test the soup to make sure the barley and carrots are tender. If not, cook a little bit longer. If soup is too thick, add a bit more broth at the end of cooking to thin it as desired. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and parsley. Taste soup for seasoning and add additional salt and some freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Notes

Be sure to read the Ingredient Notes above the Recipe Card for some substitution tips. You’ll also find Step-by-Step Photos and Cook’s Notes there, as well.

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Course: Soup

Author: Jennifer Maloney

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 168kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 1124mg, Potassium: 635mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 5967IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 65mg, Iron: 2mg

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