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Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

Beef and Barley Soup is a hearty and satisfying soup-- bursting with beef and tomato flavor. I made this in my slow cooker, but you can easily adapt it to a pressure cooker or on the stove. No matter how you make it, it's guaranteed to warm up your taste buds!
Course main, Soup
Keyword Beef and Barley Soup
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 335kcal
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 2 onions chopped finie
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp. dried
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes Or diced tomatoes (crushed tomatoes can be more concentrated in flavor)
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 carrots peeled and chopped medium
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup pearl barley
  • 2 pounds Chuck-eye Roast or beef blade roast
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, tomato paste, and thyme and cook until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
  • Stir tomatoes, beef broth, chicken broth, carrots, soy sauce, and barley into slow cooker. Season beef with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook* until beef is tender, 9-11 hours on low or 5-7 hours on high.
  • Transfer beef to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-sized pieces. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. NOTE: Because I prefer Chuck-Eye Roast, and I can find it at my local butcher, I didn't shred the beef. If you can find Chuck-Eye Roast (don't confuse with Chuck Roast) it is so tender that bite size pieces worked great.
  • Stir in shredded beef** and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Notes

**I have a removable slow cooker insert, so I covered it and refrigerated it the night before. In the morning, before work, I turned on the slow cooker.
***Since I used chuck-eye roast, and cut it into bite-sized pieces, I did not find this step necessary.
Recipe adapted from: America's Test Kitchen, Slow Cooker Revolution