Beef Barley Lentil Soup

I doubled this recipe and cooked it on the stovetop. I omitted the lemon pepper seasoning and used fresh tomatoes instead of canned (about 4 or 5 large tomatoes, diced.)I added the cubed potatoes after simmering the rest of the ingredients for 45 minutes because I was afraid if I added the potatoes in the beginning they would be mushy. I think I ended up making almost 20 cups of this soup. I served it with fresh from the oven Parmesan Cracked pepper bread. It fed my whole family (which is rather large.) My kids all had seconds-and two of them had thirds. I also sent a container of this to my dad, sent some over to my sister, sent some with my husband to work for lunch, sent some to a family friend for dinner and gave some to my neighbor. All came back with rave reviews telling me how great this was! I served mine with sprinkled parmesan cheese on top, garnished with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of chives. My family and friends absolutely loved this recipe! I think it will be a new fall/winter staple in my home.

This recipe makes a nice hearty soup. I made a few changes based on reviews: added garlic, used stew meat instead of ground beef, and substituted half of the water for beef broth. I accidentally added the tomatoes at the beginning of cooking, but it was fine. After 6 hours on low in my slow cooker the lentils were still al dente, so I turned it up to high for one hour and the texture was perfect. Will definitely make this again, my husband and dog really like it!

My hard-to-please husband adored this soup. I deviated very slightly to adjust it to ingredients I had on hand (left out carrots/celery) and it was still really good. Very easy recipe, simple ingredients, highly recommended.

This was a healthy and easy soup to make. I added 2 bay leaves and garlic powder because it lacks a little flavor. Next time I'll leave the potatoes out since there's plenty of starch from the lentils and barley. I didn't have time to put it in the slow cooker so I cooked it on the stove top for about 45 minutes. The next time I try it, I'll use stew meat! I think that would be great. Good recipe.

I simmered the soup on the stove top for about an hour instead of using the slow-cooker. Then added the barley & lentils and simmered untill done about another 30 min. For additional flavouring I used half beef stock to half water. Overall, I think this is a pretty good, hearty soup. THX.

Good soup! I like that the ingredients are ones that you usually have on hand. I also added minced garlic to the meat and onions to add some extra flavour.

This is the best Barley Lentil soup I have had. I did use stew meat instead of ground beef but other then that I mad as directed. I will defiantly make this again. Thanks for the great recipe.

I made this in a Dutch oven on top of the stove-it came out excellent. An easy winter recipe. The leftovers were very good and thick also!

This is a wonderful beef soup! I like to make a lot and freeze it in ziploc bags. Great for winter or anytime!

My husband deviated from this slightly -- nearly doubled everything but the meat and onions, and didn't use lemon pepper but used black pepper. We did need to add water when we re-heated the next day, as expected. It'll be a permanent addition to our rotation of soups. Thanks for the recipe.

very tasty, hearty, filling meal-time soup. i scaled down the recipe for 4-5 people. based on other reviews, i made a few minor changes: added some crushed garlic, worcestershire sauce and bay leaf. used instant barley, so added that towards the end with the tomatoes. the total liquid i used consisted of 1/2 beef stock, 1/4 red wine and 1/4 water. didn't have lemon-pepper seasoning to hand unfortunately, but seasoned well with freshly ground black pepper. recommended. :)

I liked it but really needed to bump up the flavors. Instead of potatoes I used button mushrooms, used a couple cans of beef stock and simmered on the stove top for 2 hours instead of slow cooker. Other then that I originally kept to the recipe. After tasting I added bay leaves, garlic powder, Worcestershire, basil, black pepper and a little cayenne. I'd give my finished product 5 stars. I'll be making this again!

After reading some of the reviews complaining about blandness, I took it in hand to make a few changes. Beef broth (low sodium) in place of the water and bouillon, which gave depth of flavor while still keeping the sodium down (I also omitted the added salt). I increased the lemon pepper to double and added in a generous bunch of fresh rosemary and thyme. I omitted the canned tomatoes. It was very thick (like stew) and hearty and had a lot of flavor. My entire family enjoyed this one. It made a lot which is great as it heats up well for lunches or to go in the freezer for another meal.

This was really good, but could use a little more seasoning - not salt, but maybe herbs? Still, a very good soup.

I omitted the potatoes since the barley and lentils contribute so much starch. I also used stew meat instead of ground beef. All in all it was pretty good. Next time I think I'd use either just lentils of just barley, since the textures of both grains were so different. I was a good recipe to use up lots of stuff in the pantry though!

Very yummy. I used stewed tomatoes with garlic and oregano to add extra flavor. The whole family loved it. I will definitely make it again!

we loved this meal.....corn bread and ready. we have two additional meals so cutting it in half may work when cooking for two.

I don't like to cook, but have been trying to get excited about my crock pot. This soup was super easy to make!! It came out great, I didn't do anything to change the recipe. Hubby really liked it and so did my 1 yr old daughter! I will be making it again.

Super easy and delicious!

Tasty recipe! I cooked this stove top in about 30 minutes (had some precooked lentils in the fridge). I left out the potatoes and barley to cut carbs (diabetic) and ended up adding fresh garlic and garlic powder, and a dash of Tony Chachere's. I also used stew meat. Will be using this again! THANKS!

This recipe was ok. I used stew meat instead of ground beef but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The meat was very tender but the soup was a little bland. My son said "I like it ,but I wouldn't ask for it on my birthday."

Great easy meal for my perpetually hungry husband. I subsituted ground venison for beef which I browned in bacon fat for added flavor. I also adjusted the lentils to 1/2 c., water to 6 c. and tomatoes to 1 can. Spiced with a little curry, allspice, salt, pepper and bayleaves.

Really, really good. i sub'd stew meat for the ground beef and used a bouillion cube instead of granules, and just threw in a bag of frozen cherry tomatoes from my summer garden instead of the canned ones. everything else was the same. it did take quite a bit longer with the stew meat (10 hours was just right.) it's very hearty and filling and i loved it with a dollop of sour cream on top and some homemade bread!

When I made this soup, I cooked it on high for 3 hours and then added only 1 can of tomatoes and (quick) barley, then cooked on low for 2 more hours. It was kind of lacking in flavor so I added some thyme and at the table, lots of salt and pepper. I wasn't overly impressed the night I made it, but the next day, the broth had thickened up nicely and it was fabulous reheated!

I omitted the potatoes because of all the starch. My family was not crazy about this one.

Wonderful comfort soup... Made just as recipe said. As I was eating it I was thinking about maybe next time using frozen corn. Might be a good addition

This soup was really tasty! I cooked it on the stovetop for a little over an hour. I added 2 minced cloves of garlic to the hamburger and onions and only used one can of tomatoes as my pot wasn't big enough.

My husband and I liked this, but it does need a lot of help on the flavor side. I added garlic powder like someone suggested, and needed to add more, along with pepper and something???? else. I also upped the beef soup base to 4 tsp. and it still needed more help. The rest of the recipe was just as good as I remember having as a kid. Yum!

I cooked this on the stove top for about 45 minutes. Pretty good recipe. Reminds me of the Campbell's beef and barley soup my mother made for me when I was a child. I think the tomatoes are key to the flavor. I omitted the lemon-pepper and it tasted fine without it. I used grass-fed ground beef given all the E. coli problems that have cropped up with factory farmed meat. I wanted to try stew meat, but I was worried it would be too tough since I was only cooking the soup for 45 minutes. I think stew meat needs to cook longer to become tender, but I'm not sure about that. I rarely cook with beef.

Made this exactly as the recipe states, with the exception of adding 2 garlic cloves. The soup was tasteless and too many tomatoes. The recipe makes a huge amount. I should have made only 1/2 to try it out.

We didn't like this at all. No flavour whatsoever.

Tasty and hearty

very good, I did make changes - stew meat, garlic, 2 bay leaves and canned french onion soup (mistakingly purchased meant to buy beef stock..) I was out of celery so I used ground celery powder. I think I may add more barley and less lentil next time more like 50/50. I also think it need a lot more salt than called for. thanks so much for the recipe!!

Great recipe, I made it with bison. Also anytime i make a long simmering soup i put the veggies and onion in first, then fish out the old tired ones and put fresh chopped veggies in a half hour before done. I mixes garlic and onion powder in with the beef, splashed it with worcester sauce and let it marinate in the fridge for an hour or two. Then I browned it in a generous amount of oil and added all that into the pot for a richer flavor. it tastes super meaty and I only added two patties of bison (all i had in freezer). I didnt have an potatoes and its good even without. My fiance is inlove with this soup.

The slight changes I made are: 8 cups of beef broth instead of water; omitted potatoes; used dried tomatoes instead of stewed tomatoes since most stewed tomatoes are stewing in some type of preservative. Everything else is same. Because I used beef broth, it turned brownish in color as opposed to clear like you see in the pic. But the taste is better I think since fr reading the reviews some have said it tasted bland and needed spices. The beef broth made it tastier. Also, stick with using both the lentils and barley since it looked better with the combination of both.

I hardly ever like a recipe as it is and don't do something to embelish it a bit- however, this is an exception! This is perfect just the way it is. Reminds me of my Grandma's beef barley soup! Thank you for the recipe!

We ended up making this on the stove. We used some minced garlic while browning the beef and added some onion powder for extra flavor. All in all, an easy, tasty, and hearty soup.

My husband loves this soup! I made it for the third time last night! I used beef stock instead of boullion and added 2 bay leaves. I subbed small pasta for the barley as I didn't have it on hand. Very hearty, tasty soup!!

Great easy recipe! My only variations were using cubed beef and adding some red wine. I marinated the beef cubes in red wine overnight and they turned out so nice and tender. I also added a few 'splashes' of red wine to the soup which gave it a real nice rich taste. Definitely recommended!!!

This is a delicious soup on a cold night. The only changes I made was to use stew meat, leave out the potatoes, add 2 bay leaves, and 3 garlic cloves, chopped. I served it with hard crust bread. The soup was very hardy. My husband and I enjoyed it very much.

This is okay. It needed alot of salt. I also added extra beef boullion, and some beef stock. I didn't like this enough to make it again.

Three variations--comments. I used stew meat instead of burger. A bit more festive (?). Don't forget the lemon pepper. It just doesn't get enough notice. If you have a question, just shake some into your hand and taste it !! Great!! Finally, use hulled barley instead of pearled. It is more flavoful, more nutritious, and just as available. Lotsa fun!!!

Sadly I've never used lentils or barley before, and if this recipe is anything to go by, I have been missing out! This was a hit with my family, from my husband to my toddler. It was much heartier than I expected, with a great flavor! Thank you Judy! And I had left overs to freeze for another night. Yum! The only thing I did differently was I used fresh tomatoes (didn't have stewed tomatoes on hand). I added them in the beginning, and turned out just fine.

Mmm-mm good. I used beef stew meat instead. Only used 1/2 c lentils with the barley & this was more than enough for 2 kids, hubby & me. 7 oz of stewed tomatoes gave enough flavor though more would have been ok.

I did not care for this recipe, maybe it was the Lentil's, I have never cooked with them before, but we ordered take out. hubby would not ever try it. On a good note, very simple to throw together.

after reading the reviews of this i decided to use an equal ratio of lentils and barley and i left out the potatoes. i really enjoyed the combination of the lentils with the barley. i added some ital seasoning and garlic because many of the reviewers said it was bland. this made a big batch of soup so would be great for freezing for later. served it with homemade swiss and fennel bread.

Thick, hearty and filling soup. This recipe makes a huge batch! I used the same measurements and ingredients listed in the recipe except that 1/2 of the tomatoes were just plain canned tomatoes, but cooked it on the stove top for the afternoon since I didn't have a slow cooker that would accommodate it. I was surprised that it was so flavorful since it does not have a lot of seasonings in it. I will definitely make again, but I think it needs a little more zing. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm thinking maybe some tomato paste for some tartness thinned down with a little broth.

This is such a fun and easy recipe! I substituted Lamb for the beef and it had a very robust and nice flavor.

We loved this soup. Even my 3 yr old who doesn't like anything ate it and loved it. The only change I made was I put grated carrots in instead of sliced, because my boys won't eat big chucks of carrots, but they don't even notice the smaller grated pieces. Will definately make this again soon!

used small pieces of lean beef instead of ground beef.

Are you kidding me? This recipe says 5 minute prep time. But there is browning meat and chopping veggies. This prep-time definitely should be changed.

Quick prep, good flavor. We had to cut down the recipe to fit our crock pot though and still had enough for 2 full meals for our family.

This is just what I wanted in a beef barley soup. I love the lentils. I didn't have beef granules so I used beef stock. Also I didn't have lemon pepper seasoning so I just used pepper. Next time I will try to make it more spicy I think, maybe just with red pepper flakes.

I will cook this again. My family loved it,especially my granddaughter who is two.The diference I added was a half lb. each of gr beef and soup bones. Also used a little more beef bouillon granules for taste and used the quick cooking barley at the end of the recipe. Cooked it in a large stockpot for around 2 hrs and added the barley and 1 can of tomatoesinstead of 2.

Very good base recipe that can be altered to your family's taste. I used beef broth and cubed stew meat instead of ground beef. Everyone enjoyed! Thanks for sharing.

I prepared with given ingridents. I used more bouillon and salt & (regular) pepper. It was excellent. Ground beef was very good with it. I also used quick barley and waited to add it until there was about 1.5 hours left. I cooked it on high for about 3 hours. Very very good.

A yummy soup on a cold winter night, but I made some mistakes that I will fix next time. Found out my crock pot is 4 quarts not 5, there wasn't enough room to add 8 cups of water. And even after skimping on the water, there wasn't room later to add two cans of tomatoes, so I had to spoon a little bit of everything else out. And the canned tomatoes I bought should have been diced, not stewed. Stewed are in big chunks, and I want smaller bits of tomatoes throughout the soup. Maybe even three cans of diced tomatoes and less water. I used Morningstar veggie burger crumbles instead of ground beef - I am not a vegetarian, but substitute veggie products for meat when I feel like it. It was fine, but I think I would stick to ground beef in this recipe. I also added garlic and more pepper. Topped with shredded parmesan. I will make it again with a few adjustments - thanks!

Love this recipe. I halve it because it's just too much for me and hubs. But I use the full amount of ground beef, I use 4% beef. I divide it into servings and freeze two servings in one container and one in another for hubs when he works, it freezes well. When heating two servings, I mix 1/4 cup of red wine with a half tablespoon of cornstarch and mix it in. Very delish! We are both doing Weigh Watchers and, depending on how it's tweaked, is very WW friendly!

very good the only thing was i added a little more beef boullion

I absolutely love this soup!!! I didn't cook it in the crock pot all day I cooked the meat and drained it then cooked the rest over the stove. I took me maybe an hour. I ate it for a week just added water to thin it out. It's very filling.

My husband and I enjoyed this soup. My crockpot isn't bit enough for 6 cups water so I just did 4 and added some worcestshire sauce for a bit more flavoring as it seemed a little flat to me.

This was just okay. Basically like every other time that I throw a bunch of vegetables and meat into the crockpot. I deviated from the recipe by using stew meat instead of ground beef, and I omitted the potatoes.