Beef and Barley Vegetable Stew

Is there anything more cozy on cold winter days than a bowl (or two) of warming, hearty soup? I especially love a meal where you can just dump all of the ingredients and walk away. I know there are so many high-tech kitchen gadgets these days, but I have never gotten rid of my crockpot/slow cooker because I still find myself using it so much. It is my old trusty, especially for soups, stews, and sauces. Heck, I even do my applesauce and steaming in here as well.
You can easily remove the beef and amp up the veggies in this dish to make it a hearty vegetarian dish as well. Feel free to add and omit certain veggies in here. You could easily swap in chicken here, too! I recommend serving with a warm chunk of crusty bread for the ultimate winter meal.
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Beef and Barley Vegetable Stew
Recipe details
Ingredients
Beef Stew
- 2 pounds stew beef or chuck roast, trimmed and cut to 1 inch cubes
- 1.5 C pearled barley (can use less, but I like a lot of grains)
- 1 pound Yukon potatoes, cut into chunks
- 3 long carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup mushrooms, cut roughly
- 3 rib celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 6 cup beef broth or water with beef bouillon paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (optional pre-cooking beef)
- Bread for serving
Instructions
Beef Stew
- (optional) Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and sear the beef on each side for 1-2 minutes. This gives the meat a nice crust before slow-cooking
- Dice/chop all the veggies
- Add beef and all veggies to slow cooker and cook on Low for 5-7 hours, or High for 4-5 hours
- Take out the stems from the thyme and the bay leaves
- Serve!
Tips
- You don't necessarily have to use a crockpot for this recipe, but I love the low and slow way it breaks apart the meat and veggies. You can choose to simmer on low in a dutch oven on top of the stove or even on slow cooker settings on your Instapot
- Mix and match veggies used here, or add more grains/mushrooms and omit beef for a vegetarian option.

Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
This is a must try, it looks and sounds delicious!
I made this today and it’s a great recipe. I think I may cut back on the barley next time and maybe add some onion. I will also use a larger crock pot because mine was so full I had trouble stirring it. After cooking I mixed up some beef gravy from a packet because that was all I had available, thinned it out some and mixed it in. Delicious! Thanks for sharing.