Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

A slow cooker filled with beef and barley stew, containing chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, and parsley, with a wooden spoon and a bowl of stew nearby.

5 from 2 votes

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

🥕🥔 Potatoes, carrots, chewy barley, and big pieces of juicy beef in every comforting bite and so EASY! Pop everything in your slow cooker and let it work its magic. This soup is filling and will keep you satisfied for hours!

Prep Time10

Cook Time4 30

Course: Dinner, Slow Cooker, Soup

Cuisine: Slow Cooker, Soup

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: crockpot beef and barley soup, slow cooker beef and barley soup

Servings:

Calories: 452cal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil or as desired
1 ½ pounds beef chuck roast diced into 1-inch cubes (top round roast, bottom round roast, or stew meat may be substituted)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
1 medium white onion or yellow onion, diced small
3 carrots peeled and diced small
2 celery ribs diced small
1 cup baby bella mushrooms sliced (sliced white mushrooms may be substituted; or simply omit them if you don't like mushrooms)
1 teaspoon dried thyme 1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme may be substituted
1 teaspoon smoked paprika regular paprika may be substitued
2- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups beef broth (I use regular but reduced sodium may be substituted, noting that you'll likely want to add salt at the end)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup pearl barley
2 cups baby golden or yellow potatoes halved or diced into 1-inch pieces (baby red potatoes or other waxy potatoes may be substituted; Russet potatoes or other starchy potatoes not recommended because they'll disintegrate during the long cooking process)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley optional for garnishing

Instructions

To a large skillet, add the oil, beef, evenly season with salt, pepper, and heat over medium-high heat to sear the beef, flipping and turning it every minute or so until the sides are just seared (not fully cooked through), about 5 minutes. Place the seared beef into the insert of a large slow cooker; set aside momentarily.
Tip - I recommend searing the beef and not skipping this step because the beef will have more flavor and be more tender and juicy.
To the same skillet (don't wipe it out), add the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, evenly sprinkle with the thyme and paprika, add more oil if necessary, and saute for about 5 minutes, or until veggies are becoming soft. Stir and toss frequently.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, stir into the veggies, and cook for about 1 minute.
Transfer the veggie mixture to the slow cooker with the seared beef.
To the slow cooker, add the broth, balsamic, barley, potatoes, bay leaves, stir to combine, cover, and cook on HIGH for about 4-5 hours OR on LOW for about 7-8 hours, or until the potatoes and beef are soft and tender, and the barley is cooked through (it'll be chewy but not hard). Stir a couple times during the slow cooking process.
Cooking Tips - Since all slow cookers vary in their heat output, cooking time will vary. I recommend checking about an hour before the cooking times listed since they're just estimates because slow cookers do vary so much.
If you do cook on low rather than high, you may need to add additional broth or water since liquid will evaporate.
At any time during the cooking process on either high or low heat setting, if you think the soup needs more liquid to avoid it from become more like a stew (and so that it stays more soupy), add additional broth/water as desired. Some barley will absorb more liquid that others will, just add more liquid.
After the soup is done cooking, remove the bay leaves, taste the soup, and as necessary, make any additional flavor adjustments.
Flavor Tips - I can almost guarantee that you're going to need to add salt, at least 1 teaspoon, but it'll depend on how salty the broth you used was, your overall preference for salt, and how much liquid you had to add or not add. If it tastes at all flat or boring, it likely needs salt, so don't be shy. I personally like to add additional black pepper, but it's personal preference.
Because there are multiple acidic ingredients (veggies, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar), you may want to add a pinch of sugar - similar to when you're cooking a tomato sauce and adding a pinch of sugar balances the overall flavor profile.
Optionally garnish withe fresh parsley, ladle into bowls and serve with homemade sourdough, buttery no-knead dinner rolls, potato rolls, or as desired.

Notes

Storage: Extra soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Reheat gently in the microwave as desired. Barley has a tendency to absorb liquid as it sits so if leftover soup looks a little low on broth, it's just been absorbed into the barley grains. You can add additional beef broth, to taste, if desired for a more brothy soup.

Nutrition