Slow Cooker Beef Barley Vegetable Soup - 365 Days of Easy Recipes (2024)

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Diana L.

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.

See the recipe now!

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.

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

3 from 3 votes

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

1lbstewing beef
1cupbarleyrinsed well
1bay leaf
2tablespoonsolive oil
3carrotssmall diced (about 1 ½ cups)
3stalks celerysmall diced (about 1 cup)
1onionchopped (about 1 cup)
8cupsbeef broth
1tbspWorcestershire sauce
1tablespoonwhite sugar
1/4teaspoonground black pepper
128 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1cupfrozen peas
1cupfrozen corn
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

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
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.
Cook on high for 4 hours.
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.