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Crockpot Beef Barley Soup

This delicious slow cooker soup is perfect for a cold winter day. Cubed beef pieces are placed in a slow cooker. Then onions, celery, carrots and potatoes are added. Next tomato paste, beef base, Worcestershire sauce, barley, broth, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves are added. Everything is stirred together and cooked for several hours. Pear barley is added the last hour before serving.
Course Entree
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs beef chuck roast trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 ½ to 2 lbs potatoes peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces (russet or Yukon gold)
  • 3 carrots peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1 ½ medium onion peeled and diced
  • 3 ribs celery sliced in half lengthwise, then cut into ½ to 1 inch pieces
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp better than bouillon beef base
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 8 cups beef broth or stock
  • 1 cup pearl barley

Instructions

  1. If desired, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add beef cubes and brown for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
  2. Add beef and all remaining ingredients to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

  3. Remove bay leaves and thyme stems and serve. Goes perfectly with crusty bread.

Stove Top

  1. Place 1 tbsp oil in bottom of the pot. Work in batches to brown the beef. Place on a plate once browned.
  2. Add 1 tbsp butter to pot and sauté the onions and celery over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the beef back to the pot with the carrots, tomato paste, beef base, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, barley, broth, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 60 to 90 minutes or until the beef is tender.
  4. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

Recipe Notes

If barley is too soft you can add halfway through the cooking time or the last 30 minutes of cooking (on stovetop).