On even the chilliest of days, a hearty beef and barley dish is sure to warm the heart and soul. Ingredients for this recipe are readily available in most kitchens. Put them all together in your slow cooker, and presto! Your family will request more when you serve it.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 hrs 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 5 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 cups hot water, divided
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
- 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ cups pearl barley
Instructions
- Heat 2 cups water to boiling in a microwave-safe bowl, about 2 minutes. Stir beef bouillon cubes and onion soup mix into boiling water until dissolved.
- Pour bouillon mixture and remaining 4 cups water into a slow cooker; set cooker on High. Stir beef, potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into the slow cooker.
- Cook, covered, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Stir barley into beef mixture; continue cooking until barley is tender, about 30 minutes.
- Turn slow cooker off, remove cover, and allow to cool until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with pepper, and for that extra special touch…
- why not heat up some buns in the oven and serve them warm with this meal!
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 374 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 59 g |
| Cholesterol | 31 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Protein | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 585 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Great hearty stew. I didn’t have any potatoes so I added chick peas instead. I made it stove top by browning meat first and then adding to the stew. I added quick cook barley to the last 15 minutes.
The recipe was okay but was lacking “stew” quality with no flavor. The problems with the recipe is that the ratio of the ingredients is off. It needs an additional amount of meat to match the amount of vegetables calls for. It also lacked flavor and tasted as if I didn’t even add the bouillon or onion soup mix. And the broth was flat, not thick and creamy. As is, I won’t make again. Because I had to fix the recipe by making a rue with butter, flour, herbs and spices and add to the broth to thicken this recipe up to what I know to be a stew. Sorry, it didn’t work as is.
I made this recipe last night and cooked it overnight in the slow cooker on low for 7 hours. This morning I added the barley, then turned it up to high for 1/2 hour. This stew is delicious! My 3 and 5 year olds agreed. The recipe is quick and easy to make and low in calories. Thank you for posting this recipe. It is a keeper to enjoy for years to come!