Slow Cooker Beef Barley Stew

Ingredients You’ll Need

This stew gathers its rich flavor from a variety of fresh + pantry ingredients. If you enjoy comfort food, this recipe is a real treat. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for exact measurements.

• Olive oil – Used for sautéing.
• Boneless beef chuck roast – This inexpensive, flavorful cut cooks up super tender in a slow cooker!
• Salt & pepper
• Fresh veggies: mushrooms, carrots, garlic, yellow potatoes, and yellow onion
• Beef broth – I always use a low sodium variety, so I can control the salt.
• Dry red wine – The red wine adds depth to the recipe as a whole, when everything is left to slow cook for hours. And I promise, you won’t be able to detect any kind of wine flavor once the stew is finished cooking. You CAN omit it if needed, but I highly recommend including it!
• Tomato paste – I love what a little bit of tomato paste does for this recipe!
• Dijon mustard – Another ingredient that packs a ton of flavor.
• Dried thyme
• Pearl barley – Also called “pearled barley”, usually found by the rice and grains at the grocery store.
• Bay leaf
• Fresh parsley – For a sprinkling of fresh green flavor when serving.

What Kind of Barley to Use for Soup?

For this beef barley soup recipe, look for “pearl barley” or “pearled barley”. It’s similar in size and texture to brown rice. It has a chewy texture and takes about an hour or so to fully cook.

My recipe instructs you to add it after browning the beef, which will give you a very soft barley because it cooks for 6 hours. If you prefer a firmer, chewier bite to the barley, then add the barley to the slow cooker 1 to 2 hours before the stew is done.

If you want to use quick barley, which only takes about 15 minutes to fully cook (because it has been pre-steamed), then add it to the slow cooker 15 to 30 minutes before the stew is done.

How to Make Beef Barley Soup

This is such an easy beef and barley soup recipe. After browning the beef, all you do is stir in the remaining ingredients, put on the cover, and let the slow cooker do the rest of the work! Scroll down to the recipe card for more detailed instructions.

• Brown the beef: Brown the beef in the, either in olive oil on the stovetop or in the slow cooker if you have that option. the stovetop to brown, and then transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker.
• Add remaining ingredients: Then add everything else (except the fresh parsley – that’s for sprinkling over individual bowls when serving) and stir well to incorporate.
• Cook: Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Then turn heat to low and cook for 2 hours more, or until beef is absolutely fork tender.

Tips for the Best Beef Barley Stew

• Use a flavorful cut of beef. An inexpensive cut is best – beef chuck is my preference. It’s full of flavor and the slow cooker will magically transform this otherwise tough cut of meat into irresistible, fork-tender bites of beefy heaven. If you can’t find chuck, top round would be my second choice. Just know that the overall flavor and texture will not be as good as chuck.
• Get a good sear on the beef. This creates enormous flavor. Also be sure to give each piece of beef enough room to get truly browned. If you pile all the beef pieces on top of each other, they’ll just steam instead of brown.
• Cut the veggies somewhat thick. They cook for a long time in the slow cooker. So if you cut them small, they’ll end up mushy. If you prefer smaller pieces of veggies, I would suggest adding them a bit later in the process.
• Don’t skimp on the cook time. The slow cooking process produces a stew with fabulously tender chunks of beef. Don’t cut the cook time short if the beef isn’t absolutely tender.
• But don’t overcook it, either! Yes, it is possible to overcook a beef stew. When it comes to soups and stews, there’s nothing I dislike more than when vegetables are cooked to a mushy mess.

Serving Suggestions

This hearty stew just begs to be sopped up by some warm, crusty bread. Or how about steaming hot popovers? Try my traditional Popovers recipe – or if you have sourdough starter or discard, these heartier Sourdough Popovers are AMAZING!

A fresh side salad would also be good. Dress simple fresh greens with my Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing – our family loves it!

I might also suggest, as my photo depicts, a glass of dry, robust red wine for sipping. So very lovely.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Beef stew recipes always make great leftovers!

• Fridge. This beef and barley soup recipe will keep very well for a few days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Freezer. Beef barley stew freezes perfectly! Use either larger freezer-safe containers or smaller single-serving freezer containers, and then thaw them in the fridge overnight before reheating.
• Reheat. Simply reheat single or multiple servings in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.

More Slow Cooker Soup Recipes

• Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Soup
• Slow Cooker Chili
• Crockpot Italian Beef Stew
• Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash
• Lasagna Soup (with slow cooker instructions)