Hearty beef cabbage barley soup is wholesome, filling and so flavourful. This one pot meal is packed with ground beef, fresh cabbage, and tender pearl barley and is pure comfort food. Make it with just 10 minutes of prep and leave it on the stove to simmer until ready. The best part? It's freezer-friendly, so you can make it ahead of time and freeze it for another day. It's the perfect meal to serve for lunch or dinner.
And the leftovers? They taste even better the next day. So go ahead and make a double or triple batch of this beef cabbage barley soup so that you have leftovers to eat all week or to freeze. And don't forget some crusty bread for dipping and soaking up all that soup. Some great bread to pair with this is pull apart garlic bread, rosemary garlic focaccia bread, or easy skillet dinner rolls. Some homemade no yeast biscuits also really hit the spot.
Ingredients
- ground beef - 1 lb. of ground beef.
- cabbage
- barley - the barley in this soup adds a nice texture. I used dry pearl barley, but you can also used hulled barley.
- olive oil
- onions
- garlic
- carrots
- bay leaves
- tomato sauce
- soy sauce
- miso paste - this adds a little flavour so that you don't need to season with any extra salt. If you don't have any miso paste, then add in salt and pepper, to taste.
- water
- fresh parsley - optional, to garnish on top.
You will also need a medium cooking pot (I used my 4 qt. dutch oven).
How to Make the Best Beef Cabbage Barley Soup
It is very simple to make this one pot beef cabbage barley soup. First, heat the olive oil in a medium-large cooking pot (I used my 4 qt. dutch oven) over medium high heat for 2 minutes until the hot oil is sizzling and shimmering. Add ground beef and stir well to cook for 5-7 minutes until browned.
Then, add onion and garlic. Stir well to combine and cook for 3-4 minutes until onions are soft and tender. Add cabbage, carrots, barley, and bay leaves. Stir well to combine and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add tomato sauce, soy sauce, miso paste and water. Stir well and bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour until the barley is soft and tripled in size. The barley be soft but still chewy.
Serve warm and garnish with fresh parsley.
How to Store
- Storing Instructions: Store beef cabbage barley soup in the pot (covered) or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Transfer soup to an airtight container and freeze in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or for a few hours at room temperature on the kitchen counter. Then, reheat on the stove and serve with garnish on top.
More Soup Recipes
- Vegetarian Mushroom Barley Soup
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Mexican Corn Soup
- 30-Minute Butternut Squash Soup
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup
This easy beef cabbage soup forms a part of my 25 warm and cozy fall soup recipes. Follow the link to check out all of my 25 fall favourite soups.
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Beef Cabbage Barley Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Description
Hearty beef cabbage barley soup is wholesome, filling and flavourful. This one pot meal can be made ahead and is freezer-friendly. Prep it in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped (approximately 1 medium onion)
- ½ tablespoon garlic, minced
- 4 cups cabbage, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- ½ cup dry barley
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 cups tomato sauce (16 oz.)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat for 2 minutes until the hot oil is sizzling and shimmering. Add ground beef and stir well to cook for 5-7 minutes until browned.
- Add onion and garlic. Stir well to combine and cook for 3-4 minutes until onions are soft and tender. Add cabbage, carrots, barley, and bay leaves. Stir well to combine and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, soy sauce, miso paste and water. Stir well and bring the soup to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour until the barley is soft and tripled in size. The barley be soft but still chewy.
- Serve warm and garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
Equipment used: medium cooking pot.
How to store: Store beef cabbage barley soup in the pot (covered) or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
How to freeze: Transfer soup to an airtight container and freeze in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or for a few hours at room temperature on the kitchen counter. Then, reheat on the stove and serve with garnish on top.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Helen Hayes says
Enjoyed reading comments..how would you increase the servings to 10 people without losing some flavour...cant wait to try it,,thanks
Lynn says
Delicious! Added a bit of rosemary and pepper, but otherwise prepared as directed. I actually had to look up how to shred cabbage for this, LOL - so worth it though!
Saundra J Dern says
Great recipe !I have made this several times as written but changed a bit the last couple of times. I grated the cabbage so it would better dissolve in the soup, used V-8 juice instead of tomato sauce ( because I remembered my friend in high schools Mother would do that ) and left out the Miso Paste and Soy sauce. Added " Beef better Than Bullion." One time I had left over meat loaf in the fridge so I chopped it with my pastry cutter and added it to the soup. WOW! Added great flavor. I have a pot on the stove simmering right now and can't wait for dinner. LOL! Thank you for sharing you recipe. Off to make some corn bread........
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Saundra! So glad you liked the recipe and thanks for sharing what you did differently.
James McNulty says
Very tasty soup. Doubled water/broth to 4 cups. Made stock from some beef bones I had in freezer and used in lieu of water. Cut tomato sauce in half & added chopped Roma Tomatoes. Added a rib of Celery & about 5 inches of Tomato Paste (tube). Cut hamburger to 12 ounces & added 1 Italian Sausage. I topped with fine chopped fresh Rosemary instead of Parsley (I like Rosemary better with beef barley soups). Next time I make this delicious soup, I will cut the corn off a cob and add it to soup. Thanks again for a 5 star recipe.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much James! I am loving all the changes you made. That's the great thing about this soup, it's so versatile. 🙂
Kathy Callahan says
Sam,
Could I use my pearl barley (on hand) for this recipe?
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Hi Kathy, yes absolutely. I used pearl barley as well in this recipe.