Beef Barley Vegetable Soup is a delicious hearty soup that’s perfect for lunch or dinner. It’s a great way to use up leftover beef from yesterday’s roast and to stock your fridge with easy, grab and go meals. Cooked on the stove or in the slow cooker, this soup will become a staple in your home.
Guys, have you ever used your slow cooker 2 days in a row? Sounds like I’m being super lazy, right? I call it being super smart. My daughter has swimming lessons after school on Fridays and instead of having to put supper together when we get home, I usually try to have a meal ready in the slow cooker. This also works great because sometimes my son has to leave for work before we get home so he’s able to eat before he leaves.
So for Friday’s dinner I made one of my new favorites, slow cooker Pulled Beef Sandwiches (recipe included in my Meal Planning ebook) then on Saturday, we had this yummy Beef Barley Vegetable Soup.
My daughter and I were at a craft show all day selling our soy candles so I tossed this delicious Beef Barley Vegetable Soup together in the slow cooker before we ran out the door in the morning.
Last year my daughter and I decided to learn how to make candles. As you can tell we love all things food so we decided to make dessert inspired soy candles. Most of our original scents were inspired by some of our favorite desserts, like Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle, Blueberry Cheesecake and Shortbread Cookies.
We love going to the local craft shows together. My daughter loves the social interaction and helps serve the customers. She’ll take their money and give them any change owing back while I package up the candles. She tells them about all the different scents and makes sure they know they are made with 100% soy wax. She’s so cute.
This past weekend we participated in the Sudbury Maker Fest at Science North. What a fantastic event! There were so many wonderful activities for the kids, my daughter rarely stuck around! I did manage to get in some washroom breaks on one of her trips back to the table. She made wooden flower boxes, Harry Potter wands, button magnets, paper air planes… every time she came back to the table she had a new craft in hand.
If you live in the Greater Sudbury area, I highly recommend checking out this event next year. Best part? It’s free! Well, some of the activities were not free but still a fantastic (affordable) way to spend the day with the kiddos.
After a long, fun day at the craft show it was fabulous coming home to hot, steaming bowls of Beef Barley Vegetable Soup and relaxing on the couch for the rest of the night. Leftovers were just as good the next day for lunch.
Tips for Making Beef Barley Vegetable Soup:
- Replace the beef stew meat in this recipe with 3 cups of leftover cooked beef
- I also used the leftover liquid from the slow cooker from the night before when I cooked my pulled beef. I had 2 cups of leftover liquid so I only added 6 cups of beef broth to the slow cooker as per the instructions
- This soup can be frozen into single serving sizes and used for lunches during the week
- The vegetables are interchangeable so switch it up based on what you have available on hand
Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb stewing beef
- 1 cup barley rinsed well
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 carrots small diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 3 stalks celery small diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Season the stewing beef with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the frying pan then add in the beef. Cook until browned. It does not have to be cooked all the way through. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside
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Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chopped onion. When the onion is translucent, transfer the onion to the slow cooker. Add in the beef and add in the remaining ingredients accept the frozen peas, corn and barley. If you are using leftover beef, add it in now.
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Cook on high for 4 hours.
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Add the barley and frozen vegetables during the last hour of cooking time. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Recipe Notes
This can also be made on the stove top. Use a dutch oven to brown the beef and cook the onions. Return everything to the dutch oven and add the remaining ingredients including the barley. Cook until barley chewy, tender – about 20 minutes. Pressure cooker (Instant pot) method: Turn the pressure cooker to the Sear setting. Cook the beef in the pressure cooker. Remove the beef and add in the onion. As you’re chopping the carrots and celery, add it in to the pot. Add in the remaining ingredients as like above, leaving out the frozen peas, corn and 4 cups of beef broth. Turn the pressure cooker to the Pressure Cook setting. Cook for 15 minutes. It took 15 minutes to come to pressure and 15 minutes to steam release, even using the quick release switch. Once the lid releases, stir in the frozen vegetables and remaining beef broth. Close the lid and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
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