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close up shot of crock pot beef barley soup

Crock Pot Beef Barley Soup Recipe

Crock pot beef barley soup is made with tender beef stew meat, chewy barley, fresh celery, chopped onions, medium carrots, and other nutritious veggies with seasoning and fresh herbs. This slow cooker recipe is a comforting and hearty soup made with minimal effort - perfect to enjoy during cold weather at dinner time with a side of warm crusty bread.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 45 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6 portions

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound stewing beef meat (chuck roast), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 inch pieces, see notes
  • 1 brown onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2-3 sticks of celery, sliced
  • 1 carrot, about ½ cup diced
  • 1 cup passata or fire roasted tomatoes, or chunky tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup barley, hulled or pearl barley, uncooked
  • ¼ cup parsley
  • 1 cup diced potato
  • 1 ½ cups cremini mushrooms, thick slices
  • 1 pinch sea salt or kosher salt , or to taste
  • 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 2-3 medium bay leaves
  • 1 pinch black pepper, or to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet with some cooking oil, brown the mushrooms until they become golden brown. Set aside. In the same skillet, add more oil and sear the beef chunks over medium-high heat. About 2 minutes per side.
  • Transfer all the ingredients to a crock pot (I used a 4.5-quart slow cooker), and season with salt and black pepper.
  • Cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Discard the bay leaves and serve right away with fresh parsley, crusty bread and sour cream (optional).

Notes

  • Stewing meat - we like to use chuck roast or for other options lamb shanks, pork shoulder, or chicken thighs. Read the blog post for more details.
  • Barley - cooking barley in the slow cooker allows the barley to soak up all the flavors from the broth and ingredients. The starch from the barley helps to thicken the soup. If you are planning to freeze or store the soup for later (2+ days) then I highly recommend cooking the barley separately. Barley will soak up lots of broth while it sits which will alter the taste and make the barley soft and large (your soup will become a thick stew).
  • Don't soak the barley in water before cooking, otherwise, it will be overcooked after slow cooking. If you already have soaked it then add it halfway through the cooking time.
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