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A top down shot of a bowl of beef barley soup.
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4.80 from 10 votes

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup

Get this hearty Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup simmering in your slow cooker and you'll come home to a wholesome and comforting weeknight dinner. It's loaded with chunks of tender beef, vegetables, and wholesome barley.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time6 hours
Total Time6 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 191kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil plus additional as needed
  • 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds cubed beef stew meat boneless beef chuck
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 cup chopped carrots from 2 to 3 peeled carrots
  • ¾ cup diced celery from 2 stalks
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • cup pearl barley
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped cremini mushrooms

Instructions

  • Cut the beef stew meat down into small (½ -inch) bite-size pieces.
  • Heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add half of the beef to the skillet and allow to brown on one side for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste while cooking. Flip pieces over and brown for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned beef to a 6-quart slow cooker. Repeat with the remaining beef, using additional oil, if needed.
  • Return the skillet to MEDIUM heat and add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring, to incorporate with any juices the beef left behind in the skillet. Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and cook, stirring for a minute or two until well combined. Transfer the veggie mixture to your slow cooker with the beef.
  • Add the beef broth, barley, and fresh thyme to the slow cooker. Stir to combine, cover, and set the slow cooker to cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. About 45 to 60 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the mushrooms. Continue to cook, covered, until the beef is fork tender (slow cookers can vary, times are approximate). Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Notes

Timing: If you can’t add the mushrooms during the last hour of the cooking time, they can be added with the broth and barley. Just be aware that they will shrink more and become much softer with the longer cooking time.
Consistency: The soup will seem quite brothy at first, but the barley works as a thickener as it cooks into the soup and will add some body to the broth.
Refrigerate: Transfer the cooled soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Freeze: For longer storage, I like to ladle the soup into freezer-safe gallon size plastic storage bags, press out as much air as possible and seal the bags. They can be laid flat and stacked in the freezer to save space and will stay fresh and tasty for 2 to 3 months. Thaw frozen soup in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat the soup in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave, just until warmed though. Soups with barley have a tendency to thicken when refrigerated or frozen so you may want to add a little additional broth or water to thin it to the desired consistency.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 679mg | Potassium: 1039mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3861IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg