One of my best-loved comfort foods is homemade soup, and vegetable beef barley is one of my favorites.
As I almost always do with home-cooked meals, I’ve tweaked the traditional recipe to make it healthier. I leave out the teaspoon or so of salt the recipe usually calls for, use reduced-sodium broth and no-added-salt tomatoes, and substitute a bit more spice to retain flavor. I also cut the amount of meat in half to lower both the calorie count and the cholesterol/saturated fat levels and double the veggies. The result is nutritious as well as delicious.
The soup is super easy to make. As a bonus, it freezes well, and therefore lends itself to batch cooking. This recipe makes approximately 10 one-cup servings.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 32-ounce carton reduced-sodium beef broth
- 3-4 cups water
- 28-ounce can no-added-salt diced tomatoes
- 6 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 6 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup barley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 small bay leaves
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat, barley and vegetables are tender. If the soup begins to get too thick, add a cup or two of water.
Enjoy!
Nutrition information
Serving size: 1 cup | Calories: 168 | Carbohydrates: 17 g | Protein: 12 g | Fat: 5 g | Saturated fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 31 mg | Sodium: 244 mg | Potassium: 477 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 5 g | Vitamin A: 128% | Vitamin C: 24% | Calcium: 3% | Iron: 6%
Seriously Seeking Answers 
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! Stay safe and well!
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Thanks! You too.
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Yummmm!!! Love that it’s super simple…thanks for sharing!
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I can see myself doing this, extra carrots and butternut and a bay leaf. Won’t last long in my house.
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Butternut would be good. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have to try it.
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Will try this, thanks!
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Hope you enjoy it!
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This looks delicious! I love barley, but haven’t been able to eat it for a long time because of the gluten, but I think I could probably substitute brown rice and it would still taste pretty good, don’t you think?
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I’ll bet brown rice would work just fine.
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I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing your recipe! 😊
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Thanks for sharing my recipe on your page!
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Thanks. We restrict our salt and I appreciate this recipe.
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Hope you like it!
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Showed the recipe to my husband Friday night and it looks like it is in our future.
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Excellent ! This looks delicious and has healthy ingredients. Thanks !
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Hope you enjoy it!
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The Campbells kind is beef barely.
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Clever.
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This sounds really good! I have to watch my sodium intake, so thank you for making this a healthier recipe.
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I was amazed to discover that even the celery and carrots have a bit of sodium. But the 200+ grams in this soup is still a lot better than the 700+ in a lot of soups.
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