Beef Barley Soup

 

A hearty bowl of soup made with carrots, celery, onions, lean beef and pearl barley.

When I was a kid, we had soup for dinner almost every night. Sometimes we had a bowl as a first course, and other times as a main dish. I wasn't always very happy about this, because believe it or not I was a very picky kid. But when my Mom served Beef Barley, I never complained.

This soup is perfect for the cooler evenings as we head into Fall. It's a one pot meal that's really simple to make, but it takes a little over an hour for the meat to get tender, so keep that in mind if you're pressed for time. The pressure cooker is perfect to speed this up, I've also included instructions if you own one.

I wasn't sure what my toddler would think, but I fed it to her anyway and to my surprise she ate it. Leftovers only get better and make a great lunches; this also freezes great if you want to make freezer meals for the month. To make this soup gluten-free, you can sub the barley for quinoa.

Beef Barley Soup
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 336 • Fat: 11 g • Carbs: 27 g • Fiber: 6 g • Protein: 32 g • Sugar: 1.5 g
Sodium: 453 mg (using 1 tsp kosher salt)

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1-1/2 lbs lean beef round stew meat
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 cups water
• 1 - 2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2/3 cup dry barley
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat a large heavy pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add oil and beef, season with a little salt and brown meat a few minutes.

When meat is browned, add carrots, onion, celery and garlic to the pot and give it a good stir.

Add water, salt and bay leaves and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered over low heat until the meat is soft, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Add the barley, adjust the salt if needed and add fresh ground pepper. Simmer an additional 30-35, remove bay leaves and serve. Makes 7 1/2 cups.

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Pressure cooker instructions: Follow all the steps with the meat and carrots as instructed above, when you add the water and cover and lock the lid. Cook in the pressure cooker for about 30 minutes on medium low heat. Remove from heat and when the pressure cooker is cool enough to unlock the lid, remove and add barley. Cook an additional 30 minutes uncovered.