Homemade Beef & Barley Soup that’s hearty, thick and rich. You’ll want to enjoy this delicious one-dish comforting soup on a cold winter day!

Winter is in full force in Canada and it looks like it’s here to stay for a while. Like it or not, we Canadians need to embrace the winter season.

I’m always looking for ways to stay warm during these bone-chilling cold days. I found a way to do that with this soothing and comforting Beef & Barley Soup. It’s a hearty soup that “eats like a meal”. With so many healthy ingredients in this soup, it’s good for you too!

What’s in this soup

What’s in this thick heart-warming soup that makes it so great? It’s packed with beef, onions, carrots, celery, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes and barley so you can see how it will deliver mouthfuls of robust flavour! It’s the kind of soup that will always satisfy your appetite and make you feel warm, fuzzy and full – just what every family needs in their meal rotation.

How I developed this recipe

Believe it or not, I only developed this soup a couple of years ago. It was my sister who constantly kept telling me about her favourite beef and barley soup; one that she made often in the winter that her family loves. One day I was over at her house and she was making a pot of it and sent me home with two servings packed in a Mason jar and also shared her recipe! I tested and tweaked her recipe and came up with this perfect version that I’m now sharing with you. Funny, it’s usually me giving my sister recipes to try (especially since she’s my #1 recipe tester for all recipes on this blog)!

About barley

Barley has a slightly nutty taste with a chewy texture making it a great whole grain choice. It also has some impressive health benefits: it’s low in fat, high in fiber and full of important vitamins and minerals. For this recipe I specifically use pearl barley but you certainly could use pot barley if that’s what you have on hand.

It takes a bit of time to cook barley so I often cook a full pot and store it in an air-tight container in the fridge (or freezer for a longer time). This way I can use it easily in soups (like this one), stews or to sprinkle on salads at any time. Every half cup of uncooked pearl barley yields about 1½ cups cooked barley. You should always rinse barley before cooking and rinse and drain it again after it’s cooked to eliminate a lot of the starch.

What type of beef to use

For convenience, look for beef sirloin stir-fry strips in the meat department of your grocer as they’re easy to chop into cubes. A sirloin steak that you cube yourself works fine too. For this recipe avoid “stewing beef” cubes or roasts which are more suitable for slow cooking dishes. Those cuts are not tender enough for this soup as it only simmers for about 30 minutes.

Leftover soup keeps well in a thermos for lunch the next day or reheats beautifully in the microwave. Hope you’ll have some leftovers!

Beef & Barley Soup

A heart-warming soup with beef, onions, carrots, celery, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes and barley. It’s the perfect hearty, one-dish soup you’ll want to enjoy on a cold winter day.

Servings 8

Ingredients

½ cup pearl barley, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
450 g beef sirloin steak or beef sirloin stir-fry strips, cut into ½” cubes
¾ cup diced onion
¾ cup diced carrots
¾ cup diced celery
¾ cup ½” sliced green beans
1 ½ cups ½” diced potatoes, about 2 or 3 potatoes, depending on size
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
900 mL tetra pack beef broth
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
parsley, for garnish

Instructions

In a medium saucepan bring about 3 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Rinse barley and add it to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover and cook for 20 - 25 minutes until the barley is tender but still chewy. Drain and rinse barley and set aside. Note: the barley can be cooked ahead and refrigerated.
Meanwhile, in a 5 qt Dutch oven, heat about 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef cubes and brown on all sides; with a slotted spoon remove them to a plate. Add about another 1 teaspoon of oil and repeat process with remaining beef. Set aside.
Add remaining olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, celery, green beans and potatoes and cook over medium-high heat for two minutes, while stirring constantly.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, water, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf, oregano and cooked barley. Return browned beef and any accumulated juices to the Dutch oven. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook uncovered on medium-high heat until soup comes to a light boil, let bubble for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables and barley are completely tender.
Garnish servings with fresh parsley.