Barley, beef and a few choice veggies make this a delicious stew for a cold night. And because it's packed with protein and fiber, it's filling too. Keep this recipe as-is, or make it your own by adding potatoes, corn or even kale; this recipe is versatile enough for experimenting.
Beef Barley Stew
Updated Sep. 05, 2024
When it comes to nourishing your body on a cold night, there’s nothing quite like a bowl of hearty beef barley stew. It’s packed with important macro and micronutrients (key for boosting your immunity during cold season) and it will warm you from the inside out. Bonus: It’s bursting with savory flavor. This recipe calls to make it on the stovetop, but you can throw everything in a slow cooker if you’d like to come home to a ready-made meal.
Ingredients for Beef Barley Stew
- Beef stew meat: Cut stew meat into cubes and brown before tossing in the rest of the ingredients. This cut will slowly tenderize as the stew cooks.
- Onion: You’ll saute the onions until lightly browned and crisp-tender, giving the stew a rich and aromatic base.
- Beef broth: Homemade beef bone broth will add a serious boost of nutrients (and taste!) if you have any on hand.
- Pearl barley: Pearl barley is neutral in flavor, and it adds a decadent, creamy texture to stews.
- Thyme: Thyme adds depth of flavor and pairs especially well with beef.
- Marjoram: If you don’t have marjoram on hand, you can use oregano or even basil.
- Rosemary: Be sure to crush dried rosemary prior to adding it to the stew.
- Pepper: Freshly ground pepper adds just a hint of spice.
- Carrots: The carrots bring a mellow sweetness to this beef barley stew.
- Fresh parsley: Wait until the end to add your parsley by simply chopping it well and sprinkling it over the top of your bowl.
Directions
Step 1: Brown the beef
In batches in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, brown your meat in oil. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: Cook veggies and simmer
In the same pan, saute the onion until just browned and tender. Add back the cooked beef, and then stir in the broth, barley and seasonings. Bring this all to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for one hour.
Step 3: Add carrots
At the one-hour mark, add your carrots and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat again, cover and simmer for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until the meat and carrots are tender. Garnish with fresh parsley just before serving.
Editor’s Tip: Feel free to saute the carrots right after the onions if you’d prefer a softer carrot. The key here is to cut them a bit larger so they don’t become too mushy.
Recipe Variations
- Add sweet potatoes: This beef barley stew recipe is flavorful as written, but if you’d like a bit of a boost, sweet potatoes would be superb with the beef and barley. Regular potatoes would also work well here, too.
- Add garlic: Browned garlic cooked with the beef would be a welcome ingredient.
- Sprinkle on some cheese: Shower some parmesan or shredded cheddar over the top of each serving.
How to Store Beef Barley Stew
If you’d like leftovers for a few nights, you can store your stew with the pot and lid right in the fridge (or an airtight container). Just be sure to consume it within four days. To save your beef barley stew for a rainy day, freeze it in a freezer-safe container and store it for up to four months.
Can you make beef barley stew ahead of time?
It’s totally possible to make this stew ahead of time, especially if you have a slow cooker. Simply add all of the ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for six hours. The stew will stay good in the fridge for up to four days.
Beef Barley Stew Tips
What should I serve with beef barley stew?
Warm, buttery cornbread is almost a given with this recipe. For lunch, a grilled cheese sandwich would be delightful with a small bowl of stew. If you’d prefer something green, try a green salad.
What other vegetables can I add?
Mushrooms, squash or even corn would all work well in beef barley stew. This is a fairly basic recipe with a neutral base, so it’s easy to play around with flavors and make it your own.
Can I make this in an Instant Pot?
Yes, you can make this beef and barley stew in an Instant Pot. For a more tender beef, cook it on the stew setting.
Beef Barley Stew
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
90 min
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) beef broth
- 1 cup medium pearl barley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, brown meat in oil in batches. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, saute onion until crisp-tender. Add the broth, barley, seasonings and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add carrots; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30-40 minutes or until meat and carrots are tender. Add parsley just before serving.
Nutrition Facts
1 cup: 266 calories, 8g fat (0 saturated fat), 40mg cholesterol, 618mg sodium, 24g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 0 fiber), 23g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 starch, 1 vegetable.
I like barley, so I knew I had to try this beef and barley stew recipe when I ran across it in a newspaper some years ago. It's nice to have a tasty, filling dish that's lower in fat. —June Formanek, Belle Plaine, Iowa
Recipe Creator
