Beef Barley Soup is classic comfort food that you can make on the stove or in the crock pot ~ it makes a hearty and delicious one pot meal, and this recipe freezes beautifully, too!
beef barley soup follows in a long line of comforting soups
My Italian White Bean and Sausage Meatball Soup, and Stuffed Pepper Soup are just 2 of the most recent.
Beef barley soup is a classic old world dish, and it’s been simmering away in pots for centuries, probably as long as people have been making soup. It just makes sense ~ the little white pearls of barley add lovely texture, as well as extra nutrition and satisfying bulk, all important things when you’re trying to make dinner out of a pot of soup. Barley’s natural starch thickens the soup as it cooks, too. This one is so satisfying and chunky we should really call it a stew.
the secret ingredient in my beef barley soup
It’s sherry. A drinkable sherry, mind you, none of that cooking wine stuff. A bottle will keep well in your pantry and I promise you’ll use it often to give restaurant quality flavor to lots of recipes.
what is sherry?
- Sherry is an aged fortified white wine from Spain. Fortified just means it has a higher alcoholic content than regular wine.
- Sherry is old school, just like this soup ~ my great-grandmother would always have a nip of Sherry in a tiny glass after dinner, and over time it got the reputation for being a ‘little old lady’s wine’, but it’s trending again!
- I love the flavor, and I keep a couple of different bottles above the stove for cooking.
- Sherry has the reputation for being sweet, but most of it is actually dry, and the flavors can be very complex. Here’s a great guide, if you want to know more.
- You can use any type of dry sherry for cooking, but avoid ‘cooking sherry’ which contains additives.
- A generous pour of sherry gives this broth a rich restaurant quality flavor. Use it in soups, stews, gravies, etc.
One of my warmest food memories is walking home for lunch from elementary school and sitting down at the kitchen table with my mother over a bowl of soup. Canned, of course, with buttered crackers on the side. This soup brings back those memories…
What type of beef is best for beef barley soup?
- I like to use London broil, or chuck roast.
- You can use pre cut stew meat, but be sure to cut it down into smaller pieces.
what goes well with beef barley soup
This hearty soup is a meal in itself, that goes without saying, but in case your family is craving a little something to go with, I recommend my super easy one hour WHOLE GRAIN OAT ROLLS…they’re a favorite around here, and mercifully easy to make, like under an hour, from start to finish!
If you’re yeast-phobic, try my IRISH OATMEAL SODA BREAD.
Is beef barley soup gluten free?
- Barley contains gluten, but you can make this soup gluten free by swapping out rice, or quinoa. Swap out the flour for your favorite gf thickener.
Variations on beef barley soup
- Use lamb in place of beef for a rich version.
- Replace the beef with mushrooms for a vegetarian version.
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Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 1/2 lb London broil, steak, or chuck roast, cut in bite sized pieces (if you use pre-cut stew beef, cut it into smaller pieces)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 leek, thinly sliced, or 2 shallots, chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 or 3 stalks of celery, sliced, leaves and all
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1 32- oz box good quality beef stock, I like Swanson
- 2 bay leaves
- 2/3 cup barley
- 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions, optional
Instructions
- Sprinkle the beef generously with salt and pepper. Toss it in the flour and make sure to coat all sides of the meat.
- Coat the bottom of a heavy bottomed soup pot with about 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat it on medium high until you see it shimmer. Brown the beef on all sides, working in batches so you don’t crowd the pan. Add a little more oil as necessary for the rest of the meat. Remove to a plate.
- In the same pan saute the leek, shallot, onion, celery and carrots for several minutes until the onions start to soften.
- Add the sherry and let it cook for a minute, scraping up the brown bits as you stir. Add the meat back to the pan, along with the beef stock and bay leaves. Bring up to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and let barely simmer for an hour.
- Add the barley and let cook for another 30-40 minutes, until the barley is tender.
- Finish with the Worcestershire sauce, and more salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
- Note: if you use the pearl onions, add them in at the end and just let them heat through.
- If you refrigerate the soup before serving it will thicken as the barley absorbs the liquid, you can thin it down with extra stock or water as you reheat.
- For crock pot ~ cook as above, but after adding the sherry, meat, and stock to the pan, transfer to a crock pot. Add the barley and cook on low for 6 hours. Season with the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper just before serving.
Nutrition
I could have eaten the soup right off the page, it looks that good. I need a few ingredients first.
Haha, I know the feeling, hope you like it Chris 🙂
Hi Sue, wine question. Can I use Merlot or Burgundy? Thanks, looks yummy!
A fan, Carol
Absolutely Carol, that would work perfectly.
oh great ==looks like something Mom and Gram made. The photos are memories, thanks!!
You’re welcome Carol 🙂
Can you please explain to me how exactly you fold the bottoms of the rolls ?
Hi Craig ~ you just pinch the dough together at the bottom of each roll, it rounds out the top, and then you place them seam side down to bake.
I am enjoying your recipe revival, lovely soup, and thanks for making it crock pot friendly. Looks delicious and filling.
OMG, I haven’t made beef barley soup for the longest time! Your recipe looks too good to pass up! I’m pinning this delicious looking bad boy for later!
Thanks Christina, it does seem like a forgotten type of recipe, doesn’t it?
Love barley in soup and especially with hearty beef and vegetables! So hearty and delicious. Perfect for this time of year 🙂
That looks like a super yummy and delicious soup for the cold winter days!
Are there any good alternatives to sherry (or other liqueurs such as Madeira)? My wife does not like the taste of sherry.
Yes, you could use Marsala, Madeira, regular wine, even cognac!
Thanks Sue. I’m sorry for asking the question in a confusing way. What I meant to say is “are there any non-alcoholic alternatives to sherry or things like Madeira that (sort of) duplicate the taste of sherry?”
Oh, I see…funny thing you should ask because I did read that cider, or cider vinegar is a substitute. In the case of the vinegar it would need to be watered down. Obviously not the same, but Sherry has a distinct flavor and is hard to duplicate in a non-alcoholic way. Remember, too, that the actual alcohol in Sherry cooks off pretty completely in a long cooking soup like this.
YUM. This looks so cozy and delicious. Thank you for sharing!
This makes me want to brag my fuzzy slippers and a fleece blanket and pile up on the couch with a bowl of this luscious soup! Still drooling over those dinner rolls 🙂
Dyslexic moment …. grab not brag
haha, it gives me that same feeling too Tricia!
It just started to cool down here in New Orleans and I can’t get enough soup right now! This homemade version with fresh vegetables is just what I like in my soup, yum!
Same here, Los Angeles is slow to cool down, but the minute it does, I’m all over cozy soups!