Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 c. cooked flank steak or chuck steak – cut into 1” pieces
2 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
6 c. reduced-sodium beef broth
1 can petite diced tomatoes 14-15 oz, undrained
⅔ c. pearl barley
½ green pepper, diced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 package beef gravy mix
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried
salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons red wine (optional, but makes the broth exceptional)
How to make Best Ever Beef And Barley Soup
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. To the hot oil, add the steak and cook until all sides are browned. Then, add the onions and garlic. Continue to cook until tender.
Step 2: To the pot, add the rest of the ingredients. Bring everything to a boil, then decrease the heat. Put the lid on and let the mixture simmer for approximately 40 to 50 minutes or until the barley is cooked through.
Step 3: Take the bay leaf out and discard it. Serve the soup immediately. Enjoy!
Notes:
Add broth if the sauce has thickened too much until you reached your preferred consistency.
For this recipe, you can use ground beef in place of ground steak. Just make sure to drain the grease after browning the meat.
Serve the soup with a crusty baguette, buttered biscuits, or dinner roll.
If desired, you can add veggies to the soup such as peas and green beans.
To make the soup in a crockpot, transfer the seared steak with onions to the crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients.
Set to cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
For a different twist, you can substitute barley with couscous.
You can freeze the soup for up to 6 months.
For this recipe, I used pearl barley which takes about 25 to 30 minutes to cook. If using hulled barley, cook it for about 40 to 50 minutes