How Long to Cook Beef Barley Soup in Crockpot

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup Slow Cooker

It’s super versatile too, you could easily make this with leftover ham too if you wanted to. Perfect for after the holidays for sure when you’re tired of sandwiches. I mean you could leave it out entirely and just make a vegetarian version with vegetable broth and no animal products.

We are all about making easy beef recipes though since we have a lot of it in our freezer. Living in Northern Idaho with farmers all around us makes it super handy when we want lean, organic meats year round.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

Best Ever Beef and Barley Soup

I used a chuck roast this go around because that is what I had on hand at the time. We use this same protein in our beef manhattan which comes out amazing too. Cutting it up into bite size pieces not only cuts down the cooking time but makes it super easy to eat when it’s done too.

• 2 lbs beef stew meat or cubed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 c beef broth
• 1 lb potatoes peeled and cubed 1″ ea.
• 2 carrots peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
• Onion sliced
• 4 tbsp minced garlic
• Tomato paste
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 2 bay leaves

We used quick barley for this one so it can be thrown in at the end for the last 30 minutes. If you used traditional you’d need to add that with everything else to get tender all day long.

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

When you cut your meat up just make sure they are all the same size, large bite size pieces. At this time I trim it up a bit to remove excess fat and any bone that may be in there. If using stew meat you can skip this step. Like I said, I use what I have on hand for this one.

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat.
• Add the beef cubes into the skillet, seasoning with salt and black pepper as desired.
• Brown the beef for 1 to 2 minutes for each side.
• Remove the beef and place in the slow cooker.
• Deglaze the skillet by adding 1 cup of beef broth and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to remove the cooked pieces.
• Add the broth to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the quick pearl barley.
• Cover and cook cook on high for 4 to 5 hours (7 hrs on low) or until the the outcome is tender chunks of beef inside.
• About 30 minutes prior to serving, stir in the quick pearl barley and remove the bay leaves.
• Note: If using regular pearl barley, add the barley with the other ingredients and cook for the entire time.

Now I have made something similar with leftover ham too. Using a pressure cooker cuts down the cut down tremendously, that is how we make our Instant Pot ham and barley soup. You could do the same thing with this pot too. Just adjust the meat chosen and it wouldn’t take as long since the meat is already precooked.

Slow Cooker Stew with Barley

If you have only made slow cooker beef stew with tender beef and vegetables in the past, the old fashioned way, it is always great to change things up. Soup has always been the ultimate comfort food for dinner I say. Especially during the Winter when the weather is icky and cold outside we always crave something hot in our bellies.

Beyond this easy beef barley soup recipe we have many more on our site that we make quite often. Slow cooker soups are something that many times I will throw together with what we need to use up. If you have been following me for any length of time you know how I hate wasting good. This is a great way to make something new out of all of it.

• With leftovers I will almost always make a pot of Crockpot split pea soup with ham after the holidays.
• You can cook dry beans in this thing too without soaking them beforehand. Whether you make our ham and beans as a soup with more broth or less as a side dish it turns out great. I typically use Northern beans but Navy works well too.

And then just think outside of the box beyond that. After Easter or if I find ham hocks on sale at the store I will grab 2-3 of those. Put them into the bottom with sliced carrots, celery, cubed taters, and whatever type of broth I have on hand. Cover the meat so they’re submerged and put it on low all day long.

Tips Regarding Storing Leftovers

Again, I hate to waste. If I have used ingredients that were about to go bad and/or leftover meat I will not save it at all since it has already been reheated and repurposed. Most of the time this isn’t the case so there are a few things you should remember so the flavor and texture is retained for as long as possible.

1. Always allow your food to come to room temperature
2. Store in a sealed container or freezer bags zipped tight with all the air removed
3. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months

How to Reheat Leftovers

First transfer your contents into a microwave safe dish, or into a pot on your stovetop. To nuke heat on high/regular power in 30 second increments stirring in between sessions until hot. You may want/need to put a paper towel over the top to prevent splattering and dirtying the inside of your machine.

If using a pot just heat over medium high heat stirring intermittently until as warm as you’d like. Using a lid will help prevent a potential mess.

Can You Save Leftovers After Reheating

You shouldn’t. Cooling, heating, cooling, and repeating will increase the likelihood that bacteria may grow. To avoid this only take out the amount of food you are going to reheat and eat right then and there. If you heat it all at once then the whole thing should be eaten at that time. What is remaining should just be discarded at this time.