This beef & barley stew is a simple, easy-to-make dish for weeknight meals or weekend family get-togethers. I make this beef & barley stew in a crockpot, which gives the kitchen and house a mouth-watering scent all day while it simmers and cooks.

I like to use my large crockpot with a lid that fastens down. This is a great way to make a dish and carry it to friends or family dinners. I also use food-safe disposable liners that fit in the crockpot and allows for easy cleanup. You can find them at your grocery store or click here to find them on Amazon. When it’s time to clean up, I gather the liner and pop it into the garbage.

There’s a lot of chopping and prep work with stews and soups. I think it’s a bit therapeutic on a cold day to prepare the ingredients in the kitchen. You could chop the vegetables the day before to save some time when making the stew.

The ingredients you’ll need are pretty basic and not hard to find. In fact, you probably have them in your pantry or refrigerator.

The ingredients you’ll need to gather for beef & barley stew

  • 1 lb. of good beef stew meat from the butcher
  • 1-2 tablespoons of good quality olive oil for browning the meat
  • 3 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 ribs of celery, sliced into small pieces
  • a medium onion, chopped
  • 1 large russet potato, about 1/2-inch cubed
  • 1 large sweet potato, about 1/2-inch cubed
  • 1-28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups of beef broth
  • 1/2 cup of red wine
  • 1/2 cup of pearl barley
  • optional, 4 ounces of mushrooms (I didn’t add these, but they would taste great)

Here’s how you put it all together

Place the liner in the crockpot. If you’re not using a liner, skip this step.

In a pan, brown the stew beef on all sides. I put some salt and pepper on the meat as it cooked. This will take about 5 minutes or more to cook. When the meat is browned, place it in the crockpot.

Next, add the carrots, celery, onion, russet, sweet potatoes (and mushrooms if you want) to the pot and stir together.

Then, add the tomatoes, broth, and wine and stir.

Finally, add the pearl barley and the seasonings and stir to mix all of the ingredients to get the flavors mixing and incorporated.

I like to cook the stew on high for four hours and then reduce and cook on low for two hours. The beef, vegetables, and potatoes will be perfectly cooked and tender.

You can omit the wine if you want; however, I think it gives the beef & barley stew a unique taste.

Serve with warm bread for a hearty and delicious meal on a cold evening.

Enjoy!

Other great recipes to try.

place-the-line-in-the-slow-cooker

Place the liner in the slow cooker.

brown-the-stew-beef-in-olive-oil

Brown the stew beef in olive oil

add-the-vegetables-and-potatoes-to-the-cooker

Add the vegetables and potatoes to the cooker

add-the-diced-tomatoes-and-stir

Add the diced tomatoes and stir.

finally-add-the-pearl-barley-and-spices

Finally, add the pearl barley and spices.

cover-cook-on-high-4-hours-and-low-2-hours

Cover, cook on high for 4 hours and low for 2 hours.

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