Description
A steaming bowl of hearty beef barley soup filled with tender beef chunks, colorful vegetables, and pearl barley in a rich brown broth, garnished with fresh parsley.
Ingredients
For the Soup Base:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped (any onion works, I use whatever’s not sprouting)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, sliced (baby carrots work fine, just chop them up)
- 1 rib celery, sliced
- 2 cups cooked beef (leftover roast is perfect)
- 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
For Extra Flavor:
- 1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, with juices
- ½ green bell pepper, diced (red works too, green’s just cheaper)
- ⅔ cup pearl barley
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 packet beef gravy mix (this is the secret, don’t skip it)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons red wine (whatever you’ve got open)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (dried is fine)
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
Heat your olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Toss in the onion and garlic. Cook them until they smell good and look soft – maybe 3-4 minutes. Don’t stress about perfect browning or anything fancy.
My onions always end up slightly burnt on the edges because I get distracted by kids asking for snacks. Still tastes great.
Here’s where it gets easy. Dump in the carrots, celery, beef, broth, tomatoes (don’t drain them), bell pepper, barley, Worcestershire, thyme, that gravy mix, bay leaf, and wine if you’re using it. Stir it all around.
I usually forget something and have to fish the bay leaf out of the pantry while everything’s already cooking. It happens.
Bring it to a boil – it’ll bubble up pretty good. Then turn the heat down low, cover it, and let it simmer for 40-50 minutes. The barley needs time to get tender.
I set a timer because I will forget and remember an hour later when I smell something weird. The soup’s fine, just thicker.
Fish out that bay leaf before someone bites into it and thinks you’re trying to poison them. Taste it and add salt and pepper. Then stir in the parsley.
The parsley is mostly for color because this soup is pretty brown without it. Fresh is prettier but dried works just fine.
Ladle it into bowls. Put some crackers on the table. Watch everyone actually finish their dinner for once.
Notes
Want it richer? Brown some extra beef before you add the onions. I do this when I’m feeling ambitious, which is about once a month.
If your vegetables are mushy (like mine usually are), add the carrots and celery about 10 minutes after everything else. I never remember to do this but I should.
Don’t let it boil hard once the barley’s in there. It’ll turn into mush. Ask me how I know.
Chicken works instead of beef. So does turkey. I’ve even used leftover pork roast. It’s soup, not rocket science.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American