Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew is a hearty, flavorful soup with tender beef and vegetables, plus plump barley. An easy crockpot recipe that’s comfort in a bowl. It’ll make any cold, wintry day feel much cozier! Watch the video!
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I counted it out on the calendar.
Just a little more than 10 weeks until the first day of spring!
Besides that same day being the birthday of both my dad and our first born daughter (I LOVE that they share this day together!), I’m so looking forward to some warmer temps. This subzero cold spell here in the Midwest is getting mighty old!
Soon, my friends.
Soon we will see green grass and blue sunny skies and temps above 30°F.
I canNOT wait!
But in the meantime, to help us through this cold, we have stew.
Warm and comforting, and ladled from the slow cooker that does all of the hardest work for you, it just doesn’t get much better than this Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew. Enjoy this recipe that’s sure to warm you up!
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew
It is so hard to resist chunks of beef roast that have been immersed in the slow cooker‘s magic. Ultra tender and infused with the flavors of their surroundings, the beef bites are my very favorite part of this beautiful slow cooker beef and barley stew.
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I don’t use barley a whole lot in my cooking, but always know how much Blake likes his Mom’s ground beef and barley soup. My recipe, which does away with the cans of creamed soups I found in my MIL’s recipe, is simple in its ingredient list, yet huge on flavor. HUGE!
I always find it amazing how much deliciousness comes out of the combination of beef broth, red wine, tomato paste, and a little Dijon mustard. And the flavors only intensify when set to mingle and slowly cook for the afternoon in the slow cooker.
If you like this stew, you might also want to check out my Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Soup, which incorporates a bit of delicious Southwestern flair!
This recipe for slow cooker beef and barley stew does involve some chopping, but all the fresh veggies are well worth the effort. The onion, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms add hearty goodness and incredible flavor.
And the veggies make the stew look so pretty, don’t you think? It’s always much more enjoyable to eat a dish that looks beautiful!
Once the chopping is done (which really doesn’t take that much time, I promise!), all that is required is patience…which I find ridiculously hard to summon up some days. The aroma of a slow simmering stew is one of the greatest sensory experiences ever. Especially when it’s accompanied by the outdoor’s dreary skies and temperatures in the single digits.
Just trust me.
Make this stew.
It’ll make these cold, wintry days feel much, much cozier.
Like this Beef Barley Soup? Pin it!
Here are a few more barley recipes you might like:
- Barley Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Parsley from Rachel Cooks
- Pear Almond Barley Salad from Wishes & Dishes
- Mushroom Barley from Food Network
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew
Simple ingredients are left to mingle in the slow cooker, resulting in a rich and flavorful stew of tender beef and vegetables with barley. Total comfort!
Ingredients
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 8 oz. mushrooms, cut into thin slices
- 8 large carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into 1/2" pieces
- 6 large cloves garlic, minced
- 4 medium-large yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 6 c. low sodium beef broth
- 1 c. dry red wine
- 1/4 c. tomato paste
- 1 T. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 3/4 c. pearl barley
- 1 bay leaf
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Sprinkle beef fairly generously with kosher salt and pepper. If you own this awesome slow cooker, where you can brown meat right in the slow cooker - add the oil to the slow cooker and then brown the beef right in the slow cooker, searing beef on all sides. Otherwise use a large skillet over medium-high heat to heat the oil and then brown the beef. Drain off fat. If using a skillet, transfer beef to slow cooker.
- Add mushrooms, carrots, garlic, potatoes, onion, beef broth, wine, tomato paste, mustard, and thyme, and stir well to incorporate. Then stir in barley and add the bay leaf. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Then turn heat to low and cook for 2 hours more, or until beef is tender. Serve hot, with fresh parsley sprinkled over the top. A good, crusty bread for dipping is always welcome.
Notes
from a farmgirl's dabbles
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 353Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 498mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 27g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
This post was previously published February 2015. Photographs and some of the text were updated January 2018.
All I can find is quick barley. Any suggestions about what to do?
Hello, I’m going to make this today. Just wondering if you prep the Barley first by soaking or boiling or if it goes in dry and softens over the time it is slow cooked?
Hello Danielle – throw the barley in dry. It’ll cook in the slow cooker. :)
Hi I was wondering if you could use rolled barley in this recipe instead of pearly barley? Would I just cook it in less time? I have a big bag of rolled barley that I’m trying to find recipes for. Thanks
Hi Charlene – You could, but the stew will be quite different in texture. I have never tried it myself, so I can’t say for sure what quantities to use or how to change up the recipe. Please let me know if you give it a try.
About how many cups does this recipe make? i am trying to determine the portion size. Thank you so much.
So good to see a recipe using pearl barley, love using it in slow cooker recipes, it comes out so buttery.
Not sure if the instant pot made this a disaster or not…followed the recipe all the way exactly and put everything in the instant pot for 15 minutes…the meat was extremely tough, potatoes and carrots were mush and the entire dish lacked flavor…I added A LOT of salt and pepper (on top of the salt and pepper added to the beef before browning) to try and salvage but overall disappointing as I love a good beef and barley. Would maybe try again with the slow cooker method only and more changes to the seasonings added to the dish before cooking.
Hello! I haven’t tried this using an Instant Pot – the instructions are for using a slow cooker. But I cook in the slow cooker until the beef is tender. I like the potatoes and carrots softened – but they’ve never turned into mush when I’ve made this. As for the salt and pepper – I would say that these items should always be taste tested anyway, as so much depends on the broth, etc. that is used. Just adjust the seasoning to your liking. I hope you give this another try, as this has been a longtime popular recipe here. Thank you!
Help!! I have put on high pressure for 15mins in my instant pot and would like to know what I do next x
My husband and I LOVED this stew! I love stew in the winter; he’s not a fan but he goes with the flow for me once in awhile. I made it per the recipe; made no changes. He LOVED this and asked for it again! Yay!!
The only change to the recipe I made was subbing sweet potatoes for plain. I also halved the recipe because who wants 10 servings of something they dont care for if they only have to have five?
The broth at the end was very broth-y and not thick like a stew, so I took a cup of the broth out and mixed it into a roux to make it thicker and returned to the crock pot.
Husband liked it. I added a lot of salt. It was not very flavorful. Good starting point I think.
Thanks, Kari – I love the idea of sweet potatoes in this recipe! The amount of salt is going to vary with ingredients used (I tend to highly salt the beef in the beginning) and people’s own preference for salt – so I get that.
I made this last night and it’s so delightful!! I used sweet potatoes instead of carrots because im allergic to them, and used beef bone broth instead of regular broth. I used ground thyme instead of dried and it was soooo thymey in a bad way. So I added in 2 more cups of broth to mellow out the flavor a bit. Will definitely be adding this to my winter crockpot rotation!
Wonderful, I’m so glad you liked this! I’m sure that WAS “thymey” – but I’m glad you’ll make it again (with dried thyme!). :)
What kind or brand of wine, I know nothing about wine.
I used Merlot. Delish!!
Mmmmm…!!!
Hi Vicki – no need to use anything expensive, just something you enjoy drinking on its own. I usually use a cabernet, merlot, or zinfandel.
I use a Cabernet or Pinot noir
I followed the recipe exactly how it was, and it turned out absolutely fantastic!! Can’t wait to make this for my in-laws for Christmas, they’ll be so impressed! Thanks for an amazing, easy-to-follow recipe! I love it!!!
Can I prep this ahead of time as a freezer meal to throw in the crockpot at a later time?
I don’t have any wine…is there any substitutions or just leave out
If you’re not a wine drinker and don’t have any on hand, buy either cooking wine, it comes in small bottles or you can buy tiny 4 pack wine in the liquor section and use it just for cooking.
Hey instant pot friends! This recipe works really well in the instant pot! Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes, just make sure you deglaze the bottom of the pot after searing your meat. I have a 6qt model and was only able to fit about 4 cups of beef broth, but otherwise made it as written.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I substituted very small whole fingerling potatoes and added a bunch of stemmed, chopped kale — both from my garden. I added the kale for the last 2 hours. This is a great recipe.
I like the addition of kale!!!
I was wondering if I could cook in a regular pot and what the times would be?
Wondering the same thing!
I did today!!! Lowest possible setting for several hours until the meat was tender. Delicious!
Yay!!!! :)
It’s just my mom & I at home these days. Do you think halving this recipe would be okay, and would the cooking times need to be adjusted?
This recipe is a winner!!
All the positive reviews are true. This stew is AWESOME!
Wonderful. So happy you agree! Thank you for your comment.