Beef and Barley Stew
Beef and barley stew is a hearty stew that can be prepared from freezer to table in under 2 hours. It's easy to prepare ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later use.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1.25 kg) beef, cubed
- 1 white onion, diced
- 4 cubed potatoes
- 1 cup (240 g) barley
- ¼ cup (60 g) flour
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 small can diced tomatoes
- 1 slug Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bunch parsley
- salt, pepper, paprika to taste
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2 teaspoons marjoram
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cartons beef broth
- 1 lb (450 g) mushrooms
- 1 pkg frozen green beans
- 3 cloves halved garlic
- 3 stalks celery
- 4 large carrots
- water, enough to cover all ingredients in pot
Steps
Variation I
- Dust beef cubes lightly with flour. Brown in vegetable oil.
- Move to a separate pot. Deglaze pan with beef broth and add to pot.
- Sauté celery, garlic and onion briefly. Add to pot. Simmer 1.5 hours.
- Add barley. Simmer additional ½ hour.
- Add potatoes, sliced mushrooms, frozen green beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Add a slug of Worcestershire sauce. Simmer 1 additional hour.
- Chop parsley. Stir into stew before serving.
Variation II
- Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika on a plate. Dredge cubed beef in mixture.
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan on medium high. Brown beef.
- When beef is browned on all sides, add water, beef broth, bay leaf, onion, carrots and barley. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat.
- Simmer 1 to 1½ hours until meat is tender. Remove bay leaf. Serve with noodles or rice.
Notes from the original
- Don't overcrowd the beef when browning. If there is not enough room to brown all the meat at the same time, do it in batches, and then add the reserved beef with the other ingredients.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Beef and Barley Stew” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-09-01, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.






