Make this soup the night before to allow time for its flavors to develop. Pour hot servings into a thermos to take for lunch, or reheat individual portions in the microwave as needed. Serve the soup with crusty bread, crackers, or Spicy Whole-Wheat Pita Chips.
It wasnt as flavorful or as thick as I like my beef barley soup. Consistency was watery. Next time I will add more tomato, thyme and maybe some flour to thicken.
I'm surprised by the ratings on this recipe, but maybe I just don't appreciate the simplicity of beef and barley soup. I thought this recipe had no flavor, and had to punch it up with salt and pepper to even eat it. The three people I served it to agreed. Maybe I should have added thyme like the other reviews suggested, but I'm not sure if that would have been enough. We ate the whole batch over the week, but it just wasn't great and I won't make again.
Absolutely scrumptious. So easy to make. Even my picky eater enjoyed it. The only change I made to the recipe was to add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.
The recipe turned out delicious, except I added a few extras. I browned the chunks of meat to get a good sear, then mixed the onions with the meat. Then I added probably 1 tsp of thyme, 1/2 - 1 tsp of cayenne, and a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce to bring out some of the umami. Yum!
Quite good and came together quickly!
A tasty and hearty soup/stew. Ate this everyday for a week for lunch and it just got better and better. Didn't have tomato puree so used a can of tomato paste and some red wine. Delicious.
This is my go to recipe - I make it at least 3 times a month to pack for lunches and it's a guaranteed meal my foodie 2 year old will gobble down! I find it easy to pull together and delicious - though I do add dried oregano, thyme and basil to the soup and lots of extra black pepper, but this soup is great as written :-)
I gave this five stars because of the ease of this recipe and for the flavorful results. My previous go-to recipe took all day and required an entire chuck roast. I would definitely choose this recipe any day! The only change I made was to cook the onions down longer before adding the beef along with some extra fresh cracked pepper. Delicious and easy!
I was excited to try this because I have memories of my mom making this when I was a child. But, I was disappointed, it was very bland and boring. Needs something to give it some spice. Was better the second day, when the barley really got a chance to absorb some of the liquid and puff up.
I made this soup this weekend when it was unseasonably cool, and it was delicious. I made two batches. I used 1 pound sirloin steak and a half-pound chuck steak in each batch. I only used 1 cup of carrots, I added 1 cup chopped red potatoes, and used 1 1/2 cups of barley in each batch. I will definitely make this again!
This recipe was easy and tasted excellent. Great for a cold day outside and a cold in the nose!
Tried this a few nights ago. It was really good! I have a family of picky eaters and everyone really liked it. I added a few peeled cut up red potatoes and added a little more garlic than the recommended amount. Very easy to make.
Delicious soup. My family loved it. I made the recipe exactly as printed. It was delicious! My husband and I ate all the leftovers for lunch today. It does get better the second day. I will definitely make this again.
This was a nice, hearty stew for a cold winter evening. I made a few changes- I used lamb instead of beef and I accidentally added 1.5 cups of barley instead of 1. It was still very good. I think next time, I'll use the other reviewer's suggestion and add some thyme to it. I think that would give it a little extra.
I thought this soup was very flavorful and easy to put together. My husband loved it! We'll definitely be making this again. Changes: I added a teaspoon of dried thyme. Also, I didn't have any tomato puree, so I used a tablespoon of tomato paste and a can of petite diced tomatoes (undrained).
