This hearty Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup is infused with incredible flavor from a generous amount of beef and lots of veggies, wine and beef broth. Barley adds extra nutrition as well as thickens the soup during the long, slow cooking process.

Close up view of a bowl of soup and a spoon

Table of Contents

Is Barley a Whole Grain?
How to add barley to soup.
Do you soak barley before cooking it?
No Slow Cooker? No Problem!
What Goes in Beef Barley Soup
How to make this soup
More Soup Recipes
More Recipes You Will Love

You deserve a break today so pull out your slow cooker and let it work for you to create this full-meal, Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup.

Is Barley a Whole Grain?

Barley is an ancient grain, one of the oldest cultivated grains on the planet! It is a nutritious grain and one of the healthiest grain choices available to man. Barley is used in cereals, beer-making, soups, stews and ground into flour. We used barley flour to make our rustic, no-yeast quick barley bread.

Soup in a slow cooker with a ladle of soup

Barley is available as hulled and pearled. Hulled barley has only the outer husk removed leaving the nutritious whole grain intact. It takes longer to cook and is chewier than pearled barley. We used hulled barley in this slow cooker beef barley soup recipe because of the long cook time of the soup. But you can swap out hulled barley for the pearled barley if you cannot locate the hulled variety.

Tip: For the freshest barley, purchase it (and barley flour) in the bulk foods section in the grocery stores.

Pearled barley has the outer bran and germ layers removed during processing. It still has lots of nutrients and fiber but it is not considered a whole grain. The additional processing causes the grain to cook faster than the hulled barley. We used pearled barley in this nutritious roasted chicken and barley salad, a Dublin Coddle and a Beef with Mushrooms and Barley casserole.

This grain, in either it’s hulled or pearled state, is a great nutritious grain to include in your menu planning.

How to add barley to soup.

You can add cooked or uncooked barley to your soup. The barley will act as a thickener and give soup and stew extra body, texture and flavor. Adding uncooked barley to soup will make it thicker than if you add pre-cooked barley.

If you want thicker, more full-bodied soup, add uncooked barley at the beginning of the cooking time.
If you don’t want your soup to get as thick, cook the barley first, then add it to the soup when the soup is finished cooking.

Do you soak barley before cooking it?

You do not need to soak your barley before you cook it. As a matter of fact, we think it has a better texture if you do not soak the grains. However, you should rinse the barley grains before you cook them. Rinsing them will remove dust and debris from the barley.

No Slow Cooker? No Problem!

For those reader that do not own a slow cooker, here’s our recipe for Chunky Beef-Barley Soup in a stove-top version. It is just as delicious as our Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup. Try it, you will like it!

What Goes in Beef Barley Soup:

This is a really easy soup to pull together. It will take a few minutes to chop up the the vegetables but it is sooooo worth it for that rich, savory flavor!

Overhead view of soup ingredients — *The ingredients you need for this recipe.*

Vegetable oil
Beef
Onion, carrots, celery
Garlic
Frozen corn, thawed
Barley, hulled or pearled
Canned tomatoes
Tomato paste
Beef broth
Wine, white or red
Salt/pepper
Bay leaves
Fresh herbs tied with string

Process photos of slow cooker beef barley soup

How to make this soup:

This recipe yields 10 to 12 generous servings. Whether you are feeding a crowd or want to portion it out for take-to-work lunches, this is the perfect go-to dish.

Cooks tip:…..It freezes well and will keep in a frozen state for several months!

Here is a brief look at how easy it is to make this soup. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the recipe card and complete instructions.

In a skillet set on your stove-top, add the vegetable oil and when it is hot, add the beef cubes. Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown the beef.
Transfer the beef to the slow cooker and add the chopped onion, carrots, garlic celery, corn, barley, and canned tomatoes.
In a pitcher, Mason jar or bowl, whisk together the tomato paste with the beef broth until well combined; then pour into the slow cooker.
Stir in the wine, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and string-tied fresh herbs.
Cover the cooker, set the unit temperature to low, and cook for 7-8 hours. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning if needed.

More Soup Recipes

Overhead view of a bowl of beef barley soup

Start this slow cooker beef barley soup early in the morning and you will have an easy meal ready to serve at dinnertime. All you need is a good loaf of crusty sourdough bread to serve with it.

Speaking of bread….if you have an extra two hours you could spend five minutes mixing up a batch of Quick No Knead Dutch Oven Bread, to serve with this rustic, comforting soup. Yum!

More Recipes You Will Love

Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables: Tender, tasty Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables, with lots of fresh thyme and cooked for hours, creating a rich flavor sauce with very little hands on.

Chicken in Mushroom Cream Sauce: An easy weeknight dinner. Meaty chicken thighs in a creamy mushroom sauce. Serve it with rice or mashed potatoes to spoon the rich sauce over.

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad: The sweetness of the juicy watermelon, the creamy-salty feta and minty taste of this salad is so refreshing and light. We gave each serving a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of EV olive oil.

Our beef with mushrooms and barley makes a hearty and filling dinner.

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Check out our soup cookbook. It is filled with wholesome and hearty soups. Each soup recipe is from scratch with real ingredients and filling enough to be enjoyed as a main-course meal.

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 8 20

Servings: Servings

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds chuck roast trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion peeled and chopped
3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves grated or minced
2 celery ribs cut into 1/2-inch pieces
10 oz. pkg. frozen corn thawed
1 cup hulled barley or pearled barley, uncooked
2 cans 14 oz. each diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste 1/2 of a 6 oz. can
6 cups beef broth
2 cups red or white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 bay leaves
Fresh herb sprigs: rosemary thyme parsley tied with string

Instructions

Place a large skillet on your stove top set over medium-high and add the oil. When it is hot, add the beef cubes, season with salt/pepper and brown the beef. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate as they brown; then transfer the beef to the slow cooker container.
Add the chopped onion, carrots, garlic celery, corn, barley, and canned tomatoes.
In a pitcher or large container, add the tomato paste and beef broth. Whisk together to break up the tomato sauce then pour over the vegetables.
Stir in the wine, salt, and pepper. Add the bay leaves and the bundle of fresh herbs.
Put the lid on the slow cooker, set the unit temperature to low, and cook for 7-8 hours.
When ready to serve the soup, taste and adjust seasoning if needed, remove the bay leaves and what is left of the string-tied herbs. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and enjoy!

Notes

When selecting the beef for the soup, choose a well-marbled cut such as a chuck roast or chuck shoulder. The fat in the marbling will add incredible flavor to the soup.
If the soup is thicker than you like it, add additional broth or water.
Leftover soup can be refrigerated for 3-4 days in a covered container.
This is a freezer-friendly soup! Portion cooled leftovers into sealable containers and freeze for up to 3 months.