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This beef vegetable and barley soup is full of flavour and nutrients, and is hearty enough for a meal all on its own.

A hot steamy bowl of hearty beef vegetable and barley soup is the perfect lunch on a cold day. This soup is one of my sister’s delicious creations. The first time I tried it at her house I just had to get the recipe.

I will be honest that I have never actually made it exactly how she does but mainly because I’m a bit lazy. So, although her version is incredible, this copycat recipe is more simple and still delicious.

Even though this soup is quite hearty, its surprisingly light. It’s packed with protein, Vitamin A, fiber, iron and potassium so it will keep you full for a ling time. Its definitely a very healthy option for lunch or dinner.

Preparing Beef Vegetable and Barley Soup

Ingredients

Stewing beef: I use stewing beef because it’s already partially cut and it tastes great in this soup.

Flour: The flour is just for coating the beef to seal in a bit of the juice. It’s not a necessary ingredient.

Potatoes: I like yellow flesh potatoes but any type will work great in this recipe.

Mirepoix: Onion, celery and carrot, cooked (usually for a longer period) without being browned is called mirepoix. The juices and flavours released by the onion, carrots and celery, add so much flavour to the soup.

Beef stock: The beef stock carries a lot of flavour. Before putting it in the soup have a taste to test out how salty it is. You don’t want to add salt if you don’t need it. If you find the stock salty enough for you, skip the ½ tsp of salt that we call for near the end of the cooking process.

Dried thyme: This is the only herb/spice that goes into this soup so you know it’s important. You can use fresh thyme instead if that’s all you have on hand.

Barley: You can use pot barley and pearl barley interchangeably. The difference between pot barley and pearl barley is that pot barley only has the outermost husk removed. Pearl barley on the other hand is more refined. Pot barley does take longer to cook but this recipe takes that into account.

Passata: Strained tomatoes are only a component of the flavour however they do take the soup away from more of a stew-like flavour.

Frozen Vegetable Medley: This is a mix of frozen peas, carrots, green beans and corn.

How to Make Beef Vegetable and Barley Soup

The only downside to this soup

is that there is quite a bit of chopping involved. I chop all of the ingredients into half-inch pieces so that you can get a variety of ingredients in each bite.

Start by preparing all of the vegetables first. Peel and chop the carrot and onion. Wash and chop celery. You can put all of these vegetables aside in one bowl as they will go into the soup at the same time.

Then wash, peel and dice potatoes. I recommend that you keep them in a bowl with water to keep them fresh.

Lastly, cut up your beef into half-inch cubes and put them into a medium bowl. To the bowl, add flour and ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Toss everything together until the meat is all coated. I like to use my hands for this to make sure all the meat is coated well but you can use tongs or spoons if you prefer not to get your hands dirty.

Now it’s time to cook. Heat up the oil in a large pot on high heat. Add the beef and cook for about 3-4 minutes stirring to brown on all sides.

Next, turn down the heat to medium and add the celery, onion and carrot, and stir. Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally making sure not to brown the vegetables. If you are using a smaller pot, I recommend that you remove the meat before adding the vegetables. This will give you more hot surface to cook down the vegetables. If you do remove the meat from the pot, you may need to add a bit more oil if there isn’t enough liquid left.

After 10 minutes, add the meat back to the pot, if you removed it. Then add the thyme. Stir and cook for another minute. Finally, add the beef stock. Cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes. If you’re finding that it’s not coming to a boil fast enough turn up the heat until you reach boiling point then bring the heat back down to medium.

The potatoes and barley should cook in roughly the same amount of time. Add the potatoes and barley, and remaining salt and pepper. Cook for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes and barley are fully cooked. Make sure to cook the potatoes fully before adding passata as it will significantly slow down the cooking process.

Once the potatoes and barley are cooked, add the passata, frozen vegetable medley and sugar and cook for a final 5 minutes.

Substitutions

Flour: The type of flour makes little difference for this recipe. Any kind of flour you have will work great.

Beef stock: You can use vegetable stock if you don’t have beef. I have also been known to use chicken stock instead. I’m certain this is a kitchen no no but it is what it is. The soup is still delicious but of course less beefy.

If you don’t have any stock you can add water instead and beef bouillon concentrate if you have it. You may need to add more salt and pepper for more flavour, especially if you don’t have the beef bouillon concentrate either. Taste test at the end to be sure.

Passata: Tomatoes are important in this recipe so either passata, tomato paste with a half a cup of water or crushed tomatoes in the same quantity are great. Taste test at the end to see if you need more sugar. I find when I use tomato paste there is a bitterness I like to cut with more sugar.

Serving

The soup has everything you need right in the pot so all you have to do is pour it into a bowl. When serving soup as a main dish, as I do with this soup, estimate roughly a cup and a half per person. You can add a couple of slices of buttered baguette with each bowl because who doesn’t love a fresh buttered baguette?

This recipe yields just over 9 cups so there should be enough soup for 6 people.

Storing Beef Vegetable and Barley Soup

This soup stores well in the fridge. Note that the barley will continue to absorb more liquid so don’t be surprised if the soup seems chunkier on day two. The longer the soup sits the more the flavours marry so I would say it tastes even better on day two. It will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an air-tight container.

If you don’t want leftovers in the fridge, this soup also freezes really well. Freeze in a glass jar or other freezer-safe sealed container for up to 6 months. The barley will absorb more of the liquid so you may need to add a bit of water or stock if you find it too chunky once defrosted.