Southwest Beef Bean and Barley Soup

This Southwest Beef Bean and Barley Soup is easy, economical, and, best of all, utterly delicious! Here’s a soup recipe you’ll want to keep around for those chilly days.

Beef with Barley Soup

Y’all …

We have had this Beef Bean and Barley Soup three times in the last two weeks. The first time I made it, Brian told me he could eat it every day – he liked it that much! It’s definitely becoming a staple at my house.

Of course, it took a while to really perfect this recipe. The first time I made beef with barley soup, I didn’t add the beef or tomatoes. It felt like something was missing. Yes, I thought maybe the soup would still work well without meat! I guess it was more of a barley soup. And it still tasted wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but it definitely needed more.

I re-added the beef the second time, but it still felt like it needed something else. So the third time, I added tomatoes, too. Absolutely delish. And perfection.

This twist on the classic soup is a total winner with my family, and I’m sure it will be with yours, too! Let me share that perfected recipe with you today!

Recipe for Beef Barley Soup: Ingredients & Substitutions

For this Southwest Beef Bean & Barley Soup recipe, you will need …

Ingredients

• olive oil, water, beef broth – the base of your soup. You can use homemade stock or store-bought. Whichever is easier for you!
• pearl barley – if you’ve ever wondered, barley is a type of grain that’s high in fiber. It looks a little like rice and has a similar texture, so it’s a great filler in soups. On top of that, it has a beautiful, subtly nutty flavor that works wonderfully in this recipe. Yum!
• beef stew meat – you’ll want the lovely texture of melt-in-your-mouth beef for this one.
• onion, celery, carrots, garlic, tomatoes – a good Beef Barley Soup is chock full of veggies, of course. 
• black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans – while it isn’t fully necessary, I like using all three of these beans to really add texture and flavor to the soup. You can use all of one kind or switch up the combination to suit your family’s tastes.
• chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, salt – your spices. If you’ve made any of my other hearty soups, you’re probably familiar with many of these. They’re my go-to!

Dietary note

You could easily make this vegetarian by leaving out the beef and switching to veggie broth. Also, seasoned gluten-free eaters know this well, but for those new to gluten-free eating, remember that barley is a lesser-known grain containing gluten. As always, know your ingredients well!

Beef Barley Soup Recipe: FAQs

Other recipes you may enjoy

• Simple Southwest Chicken & Rice Soup
• Southwest Cheeseburger
• Italian Sausage & Alfredo Pasta Bake
• Spicy Southwest Chicken Salad
• Southwest Potato Soup

4.50 from 10 votes

Servings: 8 servings

Southwestern Beef Bean & Barley Soup

By Jamie Sherman

This Southwest Beef Bean and Barley Soup is easy, economical, and, best of all, utterly delicious! Here’s a soup recipe you’ll want to keep around for those chilly days.

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Total: 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Maple Wooden Set Spoon, Multisize, Natural
• measuring cups and spoons
• measuring cups and spoons
• cutting board
• knife
• ladle
• Calphalon Classic Nonstick Dutch Oven with Cover, 5 quart
• 6-Qt. Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven 

Ingredients 

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• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 – 1 ½ pounds beef stew meat, chopped into small pieces
• ▢ 1 large onion, chopped
• ▢ 1 stalk celery, chopped
• ▢ 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 9 cups water
• ▢ 4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, 32 oz carton
• ▢ ½ cup pearl barley
• ▢ ⅓ cup dried black beans
• ▢ ⅓ cup dried great northern beans
• ▢ ⅓ cup dried kidney beans
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 can petite-diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz.
• ▢ sour cream and green onions, for serving (optional)

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Instructions 

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat.
• Add the beef and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic.
• Cook, occasionally stirring, for about 4-5 minutes.
• Add the water, broth, barley, all of the beans, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Bring just to a lively simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer.
• Cook, occasionally stirring, for about 2 hours. Add more water as necessary or if desired.
• Add the salt and tomatoes. Continue to cook an additional 30-45 minutes or until the beans are tender.
• To serve, top individual bowls with sour cream and green onions, if desired.

Notes

• Got leftovers? You can use steak, roast beef, or leftover beef from the previous night’s dinner in place of the stew meat. Ground beef or ground turkey is great, too!

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 53mg, Sodium: 692mg, Potassium: 1190mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 3289IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 104mg, Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Originally published on February 17, 2014. Updated on August 12, 2022.