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Home » Main Meals » Hearty beef and barley stew (pressure cooker, stove or slow cooker)

Hearty beef and barley stew (pressure cooker, stove or slow cooker)

Author: VJ Published : March 2021 Updated : July 2021 / 4 people have commented

Recipe
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Why not cook up a batch of this hearty beef and barley stew to chase away the last of the winter blues. It’s packed with vegetables and nutritious barley for lots of health benefits – and it tastes super delicious too.

Closeup of beef and barley stew with crusty bread.

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Table Of Contents
  1. There’s nothing nicer than a good stew…
  2. What ingredients go into beef and barley stew?
  3. How to make it
  4. How to cook beef and barley stew
  5. Thicken if necessary
  6. What to serve with beef and barley stew
  7. Can I freeze beef and barley stew?
  8. Storage
  9. What is barley?
  10. Pin for later
  11. Beef and barley stew recipe
  12. Beef and barley stew
  13. Alternative cooking methods

There’s nothing nicer than a good stew…

And this beef and barley stew is one of the best! Tender chunks of beef with tasty vegetables and nutritious barley, swimming in a delicious tomato-flavoured gravy. This stew makes you want to grab a crusty breadroll and dive right in!

When the weather outside is frightful (as the song goes), what you need to warm you up from the inside is a bowl of this beef and barley stew. It’s comfort food at its finest. And the best thing is that you don’t need to stick to my choice of vegetables – you can throw in whatever you happen to have in the fridge at the time.

One thing I will say though, is don’t leave out the barley. It adds a delicious nutty flavour, and an amazing texture. Barley is such an under-rated grain, and yet it provides so many health benefits. Just have a look at this article on benefits of eating barley on healthline.com if you don’t believe me.

It’s quite astounding what you can do with barley too. It lends itself to so many dishes. Just take a look at all these barley recipes on the BBC Good Food web site.

I’ve made this stew in my pressure cooker because I like how quickly I can get this stew on the table, but I’ve included instructions below for cooking it in a slow-cooker, in the oven and even on the stove top in case you don’t have a pressure cooker.

Close up of a ladleful of beef and barley stew being lifted from the serving dish.

What ingredients go into beef and barley stew?

Surprisingly few actually.

This recipe feeds 4 people, but you can easily scale it up or down by adding extra meat or vegetables and adjusting the seasoning.

Apart from the beef and the barley, you will need only need some vegetables and a few spices.

You can get all measurements and full instructions from the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Ingredients for beef and barley stew.
Ingredients for beef and barley stew (plus Worcestershire sauce and a stock cube which somehow got left out of the photo).

Of course, you’ll need some beef (pictured below) which gets coated in seasoned flour before being browned in a frying pan to seal in all the juices. You will need between 4 and 6 ounces of beef per person (that’s about 120 to 160g if you measure in metric). You can use any good quality stewing beef such as chuck, or diced topside.

The other ingredients are:

Barley – which cooks up to soft plumpness.

Vegetables – I’ve used shredded cabbage, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes and parsnips. For thickening the stew I like to add a grated potato as well as cubed potatoes. The grated potato cooks away to nothing, leaving only its starch to thicken stew.

You can substitute the vegetables with any vegetable of your choice. Sweet potatoes, sweeds or rutabaga, leeks, anything you have on hand. Just make sure you add approximately one cup of mixed vegetables per person.

Seasoning – I like to add paprika which adds an amazing depth of flavour to beef (I’m thinking here of Hungarian Goulash), garlic, and dried thyme. You can use fresh garlic cloves, or crushed garlic from a jar.

Stock – If you have beef stock to hand, by all means use that. Otherwise a stock cube makes a perfectly adequate substitute. Dissolve the stock cube in one and a half cups of water, and mix in the tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce.

Finally, I like to season with salt and ground black pepper. And don’t forget the oil for frying the beef. You can use sunflower oil, or olive oil. It doesn’t matter.

How to make it

The preparation for beef and barley stew is the same whether you are making it in the pressure cooker, in a slow cooker, in the oven or on the stove. Only the cooking times differ.

Preparation

  • Start off by cutting the beef into bite-sized pieces, and trimming away any visible fat (image 1 below).
  • Coat the meat in flour seasoned with half a teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of paprika (image 2 below).
  • Peel the onions, carrots and parsnips. Cut them into approximately 1″ or 1/2 inch pieces.
  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm or 1″ pieces. Keep one medium-sized potato aside and grate it coarsely.
  • Shred the cabbage.
  • Dissolve the stock cube in 1 cup of water and add the tomato paste and the Worcestershire sauce
Steps for browning the meat and vegetables
Browning the meat and vegetables adds an extra depth of flavour to the stew.
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the meat and let it fry until nicely browned on all sides (image 3 above). Don’t overcrowd the pan or you may find that the temperature of the oil drops too much and the meat may start to lose moisture and stew rather than brown. If this happens you may end up with tough meat. Rather fry the meat in batches so that the oil retains its temperature.
  • Once the meat has browned, remove it from the pan and set it aside,
  • Add a little extra oil to the pan if needed, and then fry the garlic, onions, celery and carrots until they start to soften (image 4 above). Don’t allow them to brown. Keep stirring the pan to loosen any bits of meat that may have stuck to the bottom.

How to cook beef and barley stew

In a pressure cooker

  • Transfer the meat to the pressure cooker and add the barley, cabbage and grated potatoes.
  • Pour in the prepared stock and stir well.
  • Select the stew setting and cook for 30 minutes.
  • Release the steam, open the pressure cooker and add the remaining vegetables.
  • Select the stew setting and cook for 10 minutes.

If you have a normal pressure cooker rather than an electric pressure cooker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking meat and vegetables.

In a slow cooker

  • Transfer the meat, barley and all the vegetables to the slow cooker.
  • Stir in the stock.
  • Leave to cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

On the stove top

Transfer the meat, barley, cabbage, grated potato and stock to a large saucepan.

Make up another cup of stock and add this too, to allow for any evapouration.

Adjust the heat to a simmer, cover and and leave for 1 hour. Then add the rest of the vegetables and simmer for another hour.

Keep your eye on it, and top up with additional stock if necessary.

Casserole in the oven

Transfer the meat, barley, cabbage, grated potato and stock to an oven-proof casserole dish.

Cover with a tightly fitting lid and place in the oven pre-heated to 200C/400F. Leave for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

If it starts to dry out, add additional stock.

Add the remaining vegetables, stir and return to the oven for a further hour until the potatoes are softened.

Thicken if necessary

The grated potato should have thickened the beef and barley stew nicely. However, if it hasn’t thickened sufficiently, make a slurry of 1 teaspoon of cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water and stir it into the stew.

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What to serve with beef and barley stew

This stew is so thick and satisfying that you don’t really need much by way of accompaniment.

I like to serve it with slices of fresh crusty bread, or these homemade crusty Portuguese rolls.

A bowl of beef and barley stew with a spoon.

Can I freeze beef and barley stew?

Yes, you can freeze this stew for up to 4 months.

Allow to cool and pack into suitable freezer containers.

To use, defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then heat in a saucepan on the stove until piping hot.

You can also reheat the defrosted stew in the microwave.

Storage

You can store the cooled stew in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To use, reheat in a saucepan on the stove, or reheat in the microwave.

What is barley?

Barley is a member of the grass family, and is grown in temperate climates all over the world. It is the fourth most popular grain, after maize, rice abd wheat.

Barley is very well-suited to soups and stews, but is also used in beer and whiskey production.

Of the main different strains of barley, pearl barley is the most popular, and it is pearl barley that you are most likely to find in the supermarket.

Pin for later

Why not pin this recipe for beef and barley stew to your pinterest board so you can make it later. Just click the image below.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy these other stew recipes:

  • Hungarian beef goulash with spaetzle
  • Slow cooker oxtail stew
  • Slow cooker beef and kidney stew
  • South African lamb bredie (lamb stew)
  • Hearty beef casserole with suet dumplings

Beef and barley stew recipe

Overhead shot of beef and barley stew in a casserole dish.

Beef and barley stew

Why not cook up a batch of this hearty beef and barley stew to chase away the last of the winter blues. It's packed with vegetables and nutritious barley for lots of health benefits – and it tastes super delicious too.
Recipe by: Veronica
Main Course
British
Calories 531
Prep 10 minutes
Pressure release 10 minutes
Cook 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 4 people
Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
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5 from 4 votes

(Click the stars to rate this recipe)

Equipment

  • Sharp Knife
  • Chopping Board
  • Pressure Cooker
  • Frying Pan

Ingredients

  • 1 lb (450g) stewing beef Chuck or diced topside
  • ¾ cup barley
  • 1 cup white cabbage shredded
  • 1 cup onions diced
  • 1 lb (450g) potatoes diced, and 1 medium potato grated.
  • ½ cup carrots diced
  • ½ cup celery diced
  • ½ cup parsnips diced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon garlic fresh or from a jar
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower or olive oil for frying the meat and onions
  • 1 beef stock cube dissolved in 1½ cup of boiling water
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Preparation

  • Trim any visible fat from the beef and cut the beef into bite-sized pieces. Coat in the flour seasoned with salt and paprika.
  • Peel the onions, carrots and parsnips. Cut them into approximately 1cm or 1/2 inch pieces.
  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm or 1" pieces. Keep one medium-sized potato aside and grate it coarsely.
  • Shred the cabbage.
  • Dissolve the stock cube in 1 cup of water and add the tomato paste and the Worcestershire sauce

Make the stew

  • Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the meat and let it fry until nicely browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Add a little extra oil to the pan if needed, and then fry the garlic, onions, celery and carrots until they start to soften. Don't allow them to brown. Keep stirring the pan to loosen any bits of meat that may have stuck to the bottom.
  • Transfer the meat to the pressure cooker and add the barley, cabbage and grated potatoes.
  • Pour in the prepared stock and stir well.
  • Put the lid on the pressure cooker, xelect the stew setting and cook for 30 minutes.
  • Release the steam, open the pressure cooker and add the remaining vegetables.
  • Replace the lid, select the stew setting and cook for 10 minutes.

Notes

When browning the meat – don’t overcrowd the pan or you may find that the temperature of the oil drops too much and the meat may start to lose moisture and stew rather than brown. If this happens you may end up with tough meat. Rather fry the meat in batches so that the oil retains its temperature.

Alternative cooking methods

Slow cooker

  • Transfer the meat, barley and all the vegetables to the slow cooker.
  • Stir in the stock.
  • Leave to cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Stove top

  • Transfer the meat, barley, cabbage, grated potato and stock to a large saucepan.
  • Make up another cup of stock and add this too, to allow for any evapouration.
  • Adjust the heat to a simmer, cover and and leave for 1 hour. Then add the rest of the vegetables and simmer for another hour.
  • Keep your eye on it, and top up with additional stock if necessary.

In the oven

  • Transfer the meat, barley, cabbage, grated potato and stock to an oven-proof casserole dish.
  • Cover with a tightly fitting lid and place in the oven pre-heated to 200C/400F. Leave for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  • If it starts to dry out, add additional stock.
  • Add the remaining vegetables, stir and return to the oven for a further hour until the potatoes are softened.

Nutrition

Calories – 531kcal | Carbohydrates – 56.1g | Protein – 41.8g | Fat – 15.7g | Saturated Fat – 3.9g | Cholesterol – 101mg | Sodium – 495mg | Potassium – 1316mg | Fiber – 11.6g | Sugar – 6.9g | Calcium – 61mg | Iron – 24mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
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Filed Under: All Recipes, Main Meals

About VJ

In my previous life, I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, and you'll probably find a little South African influence creeping in due to the many years I spent there.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sevda

    18 March 2023 at 9:44 pm

    5 stars
    I was looking for a recepie with a low amount of beef as I only had 450g most are for double that.

    Well it was a big hit here. I only had 70g of barley so topped it up with red lentils. I couldn’t find my paprika so used hot paprika instead.

    I put Cabbage for about 15 minutes in last as I like a bite to mine, but otherwise it was delicious.

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • VJ

      19 March 2023 at 8:14 am

      Thanks for commenting – glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  2. Nicola Denise Wright

    28 November 2021 at 2:06 pm

    Can’t find ingredients and quantities?!!! I haven’t. got a printer handy!

    Reply
    • VJ

      28 November 2021 at 3:49 pm

      The ingredients and quantities are all listed on the recipe card at the end of the post (just above the comments). If you click on the Scroll to Recipe button at the top of the post it will take you to the recipe card. You don’t need a printer.

      Reply

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