Lunch
Beef and Barley Soup
Diced beef, mushrooms and root vegetables in a thyme broth with pearl barley. Four bowls of 342 kcal with 28 g of protein.
- Calories
- 342kcal
- Protein
- 28g
- Fat
- 9g
- Carbs
- 38g
Per serving, makes 4. 25 minutes of work, then forty-five minutes simmering. Published 8 September 2026.
Allergens
- Gluten
- Celery
- Nearly every stock cube and pot lists celery.
Flags follow UK labelling rules and come from the ingredients as listed, not from any particular brand. Check the packet before cooking for somebody with an allergy.
Ingredients
- Lean beef, trimmed400 g
Weighed raw. The same piece weighed after cooking has lost water, so the protein per gram is higher and the total would come out about a quarter over.
- Cooked pearl barley400 g
Cooked weight.
- Carrot200 g
- Onion150 g
- Mushrooms200 g
- Beef stock1.2 litres
Made up from a cube or a pot.
- Tomato purée30 g
- Olive oil1 tbsp, about 11 g
- Fresh thymeA few sprigs
- Bay leafOne
Method
Cut the beef into 1.5 cm dice, pat dry and brown it hard in the oil in two batches. Set aside.
Add the onion, carrot and mushrooms, all chopped, to the same pan and cook for eight minutes, scraping up the browned bits as they release liquid.
Stir in the tomato purée, then return the beef with the stock, thyme and bay. Simmer with the lid ajar for forty-five minutes, until the beef is tender.
Stir in the cooked barley and heat for five minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.
Worth knowing
- Browning in batches is the difference between beef soup and grey stew. A crowded pan steams the meat instead.
- Barley keeps swelling in the fridge. By the third day it is nearer a stew than a soup, which some people prefer. Loosen it with hot water if not.
More like this
Other lunch recipes that share ingredients with this one, or every lunch between 300 and 450 calories a serving.
- Beef and Pearl Barley Stew for Four358 kcal · 32P
- Beef and Lentil Cottage Pie with Celeriac Mash for Four347 kcal · 29P
- Japchae-Style Beef and Vegetable Noodles490 kcal · 34P
- Pearl Barley with Chicken, Leek and Mushrooms491 kcal · 46P
- Mushroom and Lentil Ragu on Soft Polenta540 kcal · 29P
- Lentil Bolognese with Wholewheat Spaghetti554 kcal · 29P
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Macros are calculated from the weights listed above using standard food composition values, and will shift with your own brands and measuring. Weigh what you can. This is a recipe, not dietary advice. The full health disclaimer is below.