Beef and Barley Soup

 

This Beef Barley Soup is tasty, quick, and filling on a cold day. With ground beef, hulled barley, and veggies, this healthy one-pot supper is ready in an hour. So tasty!

In our family, beef barley soup is a nice break from the more common turkey meatball soup or chicken noodle soup. Unlike my grandmother and other classic beef and barley soup recipes, I like to make this soup with ground beef. Small bits of cooked hamburger match beautifully with barley and wind up in every mouthful, adding more richness to the soup.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless chuck roast trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups carrots thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups celery thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup onion chopped
• 1 package pre-sliced mushrooms 8-ounce
• 2 tbs beef base (this is different than beef broth it is a base that makes beef broth)
• 8-10 cups water
• 1 large bay leaf

How To Make Beef and Barley Soup:

1. Brown beef in non-stick fry pan until browned, stirring frequently.
2. Remove beef from pan and place in crockpot, Add carrot, celery, onion, and mushrooms, beef base, water, garlic and bay leaf.
3. Cook on high heat for one hour, add pearl barley then turn down to low and cook till vegetables and beef are tender. Stir in salt and pepper.
4. Discard bay leaf.

COOKING TIPS FOR BEEF BARLEY SOUP:

• Use a tough cut of meat – this is a prime example of when to use a tougher cut of meat like a chuck roast or shoulder.  No need to buy expensive sirloin tips or anything.
• Browning the beef adds flavor – but isn’t absolutely essential.  I love to brown my beef pieces, since I love that extra deep flavor it adds… but I’ve made this several times without taking that extra step, and it still tastes delicious.