Easy Beef and Barley Stew – Madison's Recipes (2024)

This beef stew recipe is the perfect Fall dinner. Warm ingredients include a rich red wine broth, tender beef, and softened carrots, perfectly paired with fresh herbs and barley for a healthy, hearty, easy, and cozy dinner. This stew is so easy to prep and make and it saves well for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. This is a staple Fall/Winter dinner in my household.

INGREDIENTS

Cubed beef chuck- You can sub this for shoulder roast. I choose beef chuck since it is slightly fattier, it get really tender when cooked in stew. Shoulder roast is equally as flavorful in my opinion, but slightly tougher. It’s a great lower fat option though if you are watching calories.

Chopped Carrots- I like to chop full size carrots to be about 2 inches in length.

Onion- Red onion goes well in this stew, but if I have white onion on hand instead I will reach for that.

Celery- I like to chop my celery into bite size pieces.

Garlic- I always choose fresh garlic cloves over minced garlic. There is SO much more flavor in these. I either buy them pre-peeled, or I will prep a week’s worth on Sunday and put them in a ziplock bag inside of a airtight container in the fridge. For this stew, I mince 6 full cloves of fresh garlic.

Olive oil- used to sauté our veggies for the beef stew

Thyme- I sauté this with the veggies

Parsley- Used to cook with and garnish. The flavor of parsley changes slightly as it cooks so I like to cook it into the stew, and add more on top when I am serving the stew.

Beef Stock- Any beef stock or beef stock concentrate will work. Stock has more flavor than broth though so I do steer clear of beef broth for this recipe.

Red Wine- Any dry wine will work. Don’t break the bank with this one. Look for Sutter Home or a $10 wine.

Barley- Any barley will work for this beef stew recipe. If you choose quick barley though, wait to add it into the stew until about 10 minutes before you are ready to serve to prevent it from getting too soft. I usually use pearl barley and let it cook longer.

Salt and pepper – to taste

How to make easy beef and barley stew

1. Begin by cutting your meat into small chunks and browning in a large pot for about 5 minutes. You don’t need to cook the meat all the way through. Remove from cooktop and set aside for later.

2. In a large pot, sauté the garlic, onions, thyme, and parsley until the onions start to turn transparent.

3. Add in the carrots and celery and continue to sauté for 3-5 minutes.

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4. Add the beef and cover with beef stock. Cook the stew on medium heat with a lid for 45 minutes.

5. Add in the red wine and the barley and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low heat with a lid on.

6. Serve the beef stew hot and garnish with more parsley and serve immediately.

Easy Beef and Barley Stew

Recipe by Madison Hanson

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

5.0 from 2 votes

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Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Cook Mode

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs Cubed Beef Chuck

• 2 Cups Chopped Carrots

• 1 Cup Diced Onion

• 2 Cups Chopped Celery

• 6 Cloves Garlic

• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme

• Tbsp 2 Fresh Parsley

• 2 32 oz box Beef Stock

• 1/2 Bottle Dry Red Wine

• To taste Salt

• To taste Pepper

• 2 cups Barley

Directions

• In a large pot, brown the cubed beef and set aside.
• In the same pot, saute garlic, onions, thyme, and parsley in olive oil.
• Add chopped carrots and celery and saute for an additional 2 minutes.
• Add the beef and cover with beef stock. Cook on medium heat with a lid for 45 minutes.
• Add in the red wine and barley and cook for another 30 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.

Notes

• Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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If you liked this recipe, be sure to try out my 10 Minute Tortilla Soup recipe next!