Hamburger barley soup is so tasty and comforting you'll want to make this for supper tonight. Our recipe is more healthy than the traditional one without compromising any taste.
If you love soups with hamburger, you'll want to try our taco soup and our stuffed pepper soup.
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Ingredients
The ingredients for our hamburger barley soup take basic pantry staples that are easy to find. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Aromatics: We used yellow onions, carrots, celery and fresh garlic.
- Meat: We used ground beef, but you can use leftover London broil, cubed steak, flank steak, or roast beef. If you're vegetarian, you can use mushrooms.
- Dried Spices: We used a combination of salt, thyme, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, paprika, celery salt and bay leaves.
- Liquid: We used beef stock, filtered water and Worcestershire sauce.
- Grains: We used pearl barley, but you can substitute with quinoa, brown rice or buckwheat.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients for our hamburger barley soup. Chop up the onions, carrots, and celery, then mince the garlic. Measure the liquids and the spices.
- Cook the ground beef in oil until no pink remains, then drain the hamburger and place it in a large bowl. Pour the hamburger fat from the pot into a bowl.
- Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the same pot and turn the heat to medium. Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sauté them for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. Return the cooked hamburger back to the pot, then add the diced tomatoes and the tomato paste. Stir until well mixed, then pour in the beef stock.
4. Stir with a large wooden spoon.
5. Pour in the water and the dried pearl barley.
6. Add the spices: salt, parsley, thyme, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, paprika, bay leaves, and the Worcestershire sauce. Stir until well combined.
7. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. During the last 30 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Leave the pot uncovered the last 15 minutes.
Before serving, remove the two bay leaves.
8. Serve while still hot. Our hamburger barley soup recipe is supposed to be thick and hearty, but feel free to add a bit of beef stock if you prefer it thinner.
Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves. It really gives it an interesting finishing touch.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you most certainly can. Our recipe calls for ground beef, to make it more economical, but it can easily be substituted for another beef that is already cooked--especially if you have leftovers. Some choices would be shredded London broil, cubed steak, flank steak, or roast beef.
No, there is no need. If you are using pearl barley, make sure it's added at least 30 minutes before the soup is done so it will be properly cooked. If you are using hull barley, you can soak it in water for 2 hours before adding it to the pot. The cook time for hull barley is 45 minutes. For our recipe, we use pearl barley and add it in early. The barley is done when it has tripled in volume and is soft and chewy.
You can use either pearl barley or hull barley for this recipe. We prefer using pearl because it takes less time to cook.
Pearl barley is more commonly used in soups. It takes less time to cook because the outer husk and bran layers are removed. Hull barley should be soaked for a minimum of two hours or overnight. It takes longer to cook than pearl barley.
This recipe has pearl barley in it, which contains gluten. If you would like it to be gluten free, replace it with quinoa.
Make sure your beef stock is gluten free by reading the labels. Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce is gluten free. To be safe, always check your ingredient labels to ensure they are gluten free.
Serve
Our hamburger barley soup tastes amazing with a thick slice of homemade white mountain bread or skillet cornbread slathered in butter. You can also serve this soup with a crisp green salad and some fresh fruit.
Store
Make Ahead: Our hamburger barley soup tastes even better the next day, so feel free to make it the night before your event.
Leftovers: If you have it stored in an airtight container in the fridge, it should last up to 5 days.
Freeze: Yes, this recipe can be frozen. Allow it to cool completely before putting in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag. It can be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Reheat: Thaw frozen soup overnight in the fridge then reheat in a pot on the stove top on medium heat until heated through.
Variations
- Don't want meat? Try using mushrooms instead.
- Want more vegetables? Try potatoes, cabbage, kale, spinach, or golden beets.
- Don't want barley? Try green lentils, pasta, quinoa, brown rice, or buckwheat.
Expert Tips
- Drain off excess fat from the hamburger meat to lower the fat content.
- Let the it simmer as long as you can to let the flavors meld.
- Taste it during the last 30 minutes and adjust the seasonings as desired.
- Add extra beef stock at the end of the cooking time if you want it to be thinner.
- Freeze leftovers in zip-top freezer bags or airtight containers.
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Recipe
Hamburger Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ¼ pounds ground beef, 80% lean meat
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cups carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 28 ounces petite diced tomatoes
- 4 cups beef stock
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup dried barley
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven set over medium high heat. Add the hamburger and cook until all the pink is gone, roughly 5 minutes. Make sure to break up the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks. Drain off any excess fat, and place the cooked hamburger in a bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and turn the heat to medium high. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery until soft, roughly 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Add the cooked hamburger and the rest of the ingredients into the pot. Stir well and cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on for a total of one hour. During the last 30 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Leave the lid off for the last 15 minutes. Remember to remove the two bay leaves before serving.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves and serve hot. Note that the soup may thicken when cooled.
Crock Pot Instructions
- Start by browning the hamburger on the stovetop and draining the fat.
- Sauté the vegetables in the same pot.
- Transfer the cooked hamburger and vegetables to a crock pot, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and cover.
- Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or on low for 8 hours.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves for a finishing touch.
Notes
- Drain off excess fat from the hamburger meat to lower the fat content.
- Let the it simmer as long as you can to let the flavors meld.
- Taste it during the last 30 minutes and adjust the seasonings as desired.
- Add extra beef stock at the end of the cooking time if you want it to be thinner.
- Freeze leftovers in zip-top freezer bags or airtight containers.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Our hamburger barley soup recipe was originally published on November 16, 2017, and was updated on August 31, 2019 with new photos and content. It was updated again on October 28, 2022 with new content.
Alex
The rich, spiced tomato flavor of the soup is lovely with the barley. This soup is perfect on a cold fall night to warm you up!
Emma
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the soup, Alex! Thanks for your comment!
Jill Hugle
Delicious soup. I will definitely make this again. Deserves 10 stars.
Emma
Aww, thank you, Jill! We love hearing comments like yours. We're so glad that you enjoyed the soup!
Joan
The barley soup was very delicious and satisfying.
It rates 5 stars!
Emma
Thank you! We're so glad that everyone enjoyed the soup.
Beth
This soup is very soft and full of is one of my favorites, mostly due to the pearl barley. I would highly recommend this soup!
Emma
Thanks so much, Beth! I love this hamburger soup, too.