a white bowl of beef barley stew, plus crusty bread and a glass of red wine

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Ho-hum Cooker Beef Barley Stew is a hearty, flavorful soup with tender beef and vegetables, plus plump barley. It's an easy crockpot recipe that's comfort in a bowl! Watch the video!

a white bowl of beef barley stew, plus crusty bread and a glass of red wine

A Hearty Beef Barley Soup Recipe Fabricated in a Slow Cooker!

I counted it out on the calendar. Just a little more than than 10 weeks until the commencement day of spring!

Besides that being the birthday of both my dad and our first born daughter (I LOVE that they share this 24-hour interval together!), I'grand so looking forward to springtime's warmer temps. This subzero cold spell here in the Midwest is getting mighty old!

So in the meantime, to assistance united states of america get through the lingering common cold, let'south talk about this comforting stew.

Hearty and flavorful, information technology just doesn't get much amend than this easy Tedious Cooker Beef Barley Stew. Bask this recipe that's sure to accept the chill out of your winter-weary bones!

ingredients to make stew, to include cubes of beef, potatoes, barley, onion, mushrooms, carrots, beef stock, and red wine

Ingredients You'll Need

This stew gathers its rich flavour from a multifariousness of fresh + pantry ingredients. If y'all similar to make (and eat!) comfort food, this recipe is a real treat.

Here'due south what you'll demand:

  • olive oil – Used for sautéing.
  • boneless beef chuck roast – This cheap, flavorful cut cooks up super tender in a slow cooker!
  • salt & pepper
  • fresh veggies: mushrooms, carrots, garlic, yellowish potatoes, and yellowish onion
  • beef broth – I always use a depression sodium diversity, and so I can better control the salt.
  • dry carmine vino – This adds a huge amount of depth to the finished stew.
  • tomato paste – I love what a little tomato paste can do for a recipe!
  • Dijon mustard – Another ingredient that packs a ton of flavour.
  • dried thyme
  • pearl barley – As well chosen "pearled barley", commonly establish by the rice and grains at the grocery store.
  • bay leafage
  • fresh parsley – For a sprinkling of fresh green flavor when serving.
ingredients being cut on a wood cutting board: beef, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, and onion

How to Make Beef Barley Soup

This is such an piece of cake recipe. Later on browning the beef, all you lot practice is stir in the remaining ingredients, put on the embrace, and allow the irksome cooker do the residue of the work!

  1. Brown the beefiness: If yous own a tedious cooker with a browning option (like this slow cooker), brown the seasoned beef in the olive oil, right in the boring cooker. Otherwise employ a large skillet on the stovetop to brown, so transfer the browned beefiness to the dull cooker.
  2. Add remaining ingredients: So add together everything else (except the fresh parsley – that's for sprinkling over individual bowls when serving) and stir well to comprise.
  3. Cook: Comprehend and cook on high for 4 hours. Then turn heat to low and cook for 2 hours more, or until beef is absolutely fork tender.

Here are more slow cooker recipes for you. I'd like to especially point out my Deadening Cooker Hungarian Goulash recipe – information technology's a very popular recipe!

a small clear bowl of uncooked pearled barley

What Kind of Barley to use for Soup?

I don't use barley very much in my cooking, just Blake always liked his Mom's basis beef and barley soup when he was growing up. So this recipe has been all about recreating that familiar combination of flavors.

I oftentimes get questions about what kind of barley to use. For this recipe, look for "pearl barley" or "pearled barley". It's like in size and texture to chocolate-brown rice, and is specially popular in soups and stews.

This is a very common ingredient, ordinarily establish by the rice and grains at the grocery store. Just if you lot don't detect it in that location, be certain to ask a store clerk, because I bet they stock information technology in another surface area!

Pearl barley is chewy and nutritious, and takes nearly an hour or so to fully melt. My recipe instructs y'all to add together information technology after browning the beef, which volition give you a very soft barley because information technology cooks for 6 hours. If you prefer more than of a chewy bite to the barley, and so add together the barley to the slow cooker 1 to 2 hours before the stew is washed.

If y'all want to use quick barley, which simply takes almost xv minutes to fully cook (considering it has been pre-steamed), so add information technology to the slow cooker 15 to thirty minutes earlier the stew is washed.

a glass measuring cup of red wine, plus a wine bottle and corkscrew in the background

Practise I Have to Use Vino?

I get this question A LOT!

And while I tin can't strength anyone to use blood-red wine, I do strongly recommend using it in this recipe. It adds depth to the recipe every bit a whole, when everything is left to slow cook for hours. And I hope, y'all won't be able to detect any kind of vino flavor once the stew is finished cooking.

Beef + tomato (I use tomato paste in this recipe) + cherry wine are such an excellent flavor combination!

If you are assail non using the wine, still, the stew volition still be very good.

a red ladle of beef stew, over a slow cooker full of beef stew

Tips for the All-time Beef Barley Stew

Apply a flavorful cut of beef. An inexpensive cut is best – beef chuck is my preference, and actually the only 1 I will employ. It's total of flavor and the tedious cooker will magically transform this otherwise tough cut of meat into irresistible, fork-tender bites of bulky heaven. If y'all tin't find chuck, top round would be my second choice. Just know that it volition non exist as practiced as chuck!

Become a good sear on the beef. This creates enormous flavor. Also exist sure to requite each piece of beef plenty room to get truly browned. If you pile all the beefiness pieces on tiptop of each other, they'll just steam instead of brownish.

Cut the veggies somewhat thick. They melt for a long time – and if they're cut small, they'll stop up mushy.

Don't skimp on the cook time. The slow cooking process produces a stew with fabulously tender chunks of beef. Don't cut the cook time short if the beefiness isn't admittedly tender.

Merely don't overcook it, either! Yes, itis possible to overcook a beef stew. When it comes to soups and stews, there's nothing I dislike more than when vegetables are cooked to a mushy mess.

beef barley soup in a white bowl, plus crusty bread and glass of red wine

Serving Suggestions

This hearty stew just begs to be sopped up by some warm, crusty bread. Or how almost steaming hot popovers? Endeavour my traditional Popovers recipe – or if you have sourdough starter or discard, these heartier Sourdough Popovers are Amazing!

A fresh side salad would also be proficient. Try my Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing – our family loves it!

I might besides propose, as my photograph depicts, a glass of dry, robust blood-red vino for sipping. So very lovely.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Beef stew recipes ever make great leftovers!

This homemade stew recipe volition keep very well for a few days when stored in an closed container in the fridge. Only reheat single or multiple servings in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.

Can I Freeze Beef Barley Stew?

This recipe freezes perfectly. Utilize either larger freezer-safe containers or smaller unmarried-serving freezer containers, and so thaw them in the fridge overnight before reheating. It'due south so wonderful to take these on manus for quick, delicious homemade meals!

Similar this recipe? Save it to Pinterest!

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If you like this stew, you might as well want to check out my Ho-hum Cooker Beef and Sweet Irish potato Soup, which incorporates a bit of delicious Southwestern flair!

Here are a few more barley recipes you lot might like:

  • Barley Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Parsley from Rachel Cooks
  • Pear Almond Barley Salad from Wishes & Dishes
  • Mushroom Barley from Food Network

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • two pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes
  • kosher table salt
  • freshly basis black pepper
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, cut into sparse slices
  • 8 big carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into i/2" pieces
  • half dozen big cloves garlic, minced
  • four medium-large yellow potatoes, peeled and cutting into one" cubes
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • half-dozen cup low sodium beef broth
  • i cup dry cherry wine
  • one/4 loving cup tomato paste
  • ane tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon stale thyme
  • 3/four cup pearl barley
  • 1 bay leafage
  • chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle beef fairly generously with kosher salt and pepper. If you own this awesome wearisome cooker, where you can chocolate-brown meat right in the slow cooker - add together the oil to the tedious cooker and so chocolate-brown the beef right in the deadening cooker, searing beef on all sides. Otherwise utilize a big skillet over medium-high oestrus to rut the oil and then brownish the beef. Bleed off fat. If using a skillet, transfer beef to deadening cooker. Y'all will demand a large irksome cooker for this recipe, as it makes a big quantity (ours is a seven-qt. size).
  2. Add mushrooms, carrots, garlic, potatoes, onion, beef broth, wine, tomato paste, mustard, and thyme, and stir well to incorporate. And then stir in barley and add together the bay leaf. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. So turn heat to low and melt for ii hours more than, or until beefiness is tender. Serve hot, with fresh parsley sprinkled over the top. A skilful, crusty bread for dipping is always welcome.

Notes

from a farmgirl'due south dabbles

Diet Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: i
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 353 Total Fatty: 16g Saturated Fat: 6g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 9g Cholesterol: 75mg Sodium: 556mg Carbohydrates: 23g Cobweb: 4g Sugar: 4g Protein: 27g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am non a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please summate again with your own favorite estimator.

stew made of beef, barley, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms, in a white bowl

This post was originally published in 2015. Photographs and some of the text were updated in 2018 and 2021.