Beef Barley Soup

Classic Beef Barley Soup is a comforting, hearty soup made with carrots, celery, onions, beef, and pearl barley. It’s also high-protein, high-fiber and freezer-friendly!

This easy beef barley soup is a one-pot meal that’s high protein and high-fiber, and simple to make. But it takes a little over an hour for the meat to get tender, so I like to make this on the weekend or when I have more time. The pressure cooker is perfect to speed up the process, so I also included Instant Pot instructions which cuts the cook time in half.

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1-1/2 lbs beef stew meat, such as chuck beef or anything with marbling
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
• 2 dry bay leaves
• 2/3 cup dry pearled barley
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste