The soup that cooks your dinner while you're out living your life

There's a moment in winter — you walk in the door about six, cold hands, kids hungry — and the house already smells like dinner. That's what this one's for. Ten minutes of chopping before work, a quick brown-off if you've got five more, and the slow cooker does the rest. The diced beef turns silky after eight gentle hours, the barley plumps up, and you've got a pot that feeds the family tonight with lunches to spare. Honest food, zero drama.

8 hrs 20 mins 6 servings Prep 20 minsCook 8 hrsSoupAustralian

Ingredients

  • 480g Your Farmer grass-fed diced beef
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 sticks celery, sliced
  • 2 medium potatoes (about 400g), peeled and diced
  • 100g (1/2 cup) pearl barley, rinsed
  • 400g can crushed tomatoes
  • 1.25 litres beef stock
  • Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and brown the diced beef in two batches, 2–3 minutes each — five extra minutes that pays you back in flavour all day.

1 tbsp olive oil480g diced beef

Tip the beef into the slow cooker with the onion, carrot, celery and potato.

1 onion2 carrots2 sticks celery400g potatoes

Add the barley, crushed tomatoes and stock, season well, and give everything a good stir.

100g pearl barley400g crushed tomatoes1.25L beef stock

Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4) until the beef is fork-tender and the barley is plump.

Taste and adjust the seasoning — if it's thickened past soup while you were out, loosen it with a splash of hot water.

Ladle into deep bowls and serve piping hot.

Appears in

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed beef share — vacuum-sealed steaks, roasts, mince and sausages, paddock-to-plate NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Grass Fed Beef Share
From $176.67
Grass-fed diced beef from Your Farmer — vacuum-sealed paddock-to-plate, NSW & ACT delivery
Grass-Fed Diced Beef (approx 480g)
$16.79

Why Diced Beef Loves the Slow Cooker

Your Farmer® diced beef is chuck-style braising beef — hard-working shoulder muscle, cut into even chunks, 480g to the pack, and it lands in every beef share. Muscle that works hard is threaded through with connective tissue, and that's not a flaw, it's the feature. Give that tissue eight gentle hours and it melts into gelatine, which is what turns the beef spoon-soft and gives the broth a silky body no lean cut can manage. It's why you'd never make this soup from steak — here, the harder-working cut is genuinely the better one. When it's thawed, have a look: even dice with fine white threads running through the meat. Those threads are what do the work. If you want the freezer stocked beyond your share, you can order diced beef by the pack too.

Swaps and Variations

The vegetables are a guide, not a law. Swede, parsnip or pumpkin all belong here — use whatever's in the crisper. No barley? Stir in risoni or macaroni for the last 30 minutes on HIGH, or fold cooked rice through at the end. A drained can of cannellini beans in the final half hour makes it heartier again. And if you'd rather it thick and gravy-like than brothy, that's a stew you're after — our slow beef stew with root vegetables is the same cut pointed in exactly that direction. One more worth knowing: lamb forequarter chops, bones in, make a beautiful Scotch-broth-style version of this soup — just lift the bones out before serving.

Storage and Leftovers

Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The barley keeps drinking as it sits, so loosen with a splash of stock or water and reheat gently on the stove. It freezes well for up to 3 months in family or lunch-sized portions — the barley comes back a touch softer, and nobody has ever complained. Best leftover trick in our house: simmer a bowlful down until it's properly thick, then spoon it over buttered toast.

If diced beef isn't already turning up at your door, a CSA beef share puts a pack of it in the freezer with every delivery — and this soup becomes a winter habit, not a one-off.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make this soup on the stovetop instead?

Yes. Use a heavy pot with a lid, bring everything to a gentle simmer and cook on the lowest heat for about 2 hours, stirring now and then. Top up with a little water if the liquid drops below the vegetables.

Do I really have to brown the beef first?

No — the soup still works if you skip it. Browning adds a deeper, roastier flavour to the broth, so do it whenever you can spare the five minutes.

Can I cook it on HIGH to save time?

You can — about 4 hours on HIGH gets you there. LOW for 8 hours gives slightly more tender beef, but both versions make a proper dinner.

I can't eat gluten — what do I use instead of the barley?

Swap it for half a cup of white rice added in the last 40 minutes, or leave the grain out and add an extra potato. Check that your beef stock is gluten-free too.

0 commentson Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Soup

Three Simple Steps

A whole table of real food.

Your Farmers grow grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured eggs and the best eco-grown veggies and produce — every item grown to the same ecological standard, every farmer one you can know by name. One subscription, your whole real-food shop.

01

Reserve your share — or try a pack

Subscribe to a share of the harvest, or start with a one-off fixed pack.

02

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Pick your delivery rhythm and what's in the box. Skip or cancel anytime — no lock-in.

03

Cook, savour, know your farmer

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5.0
Vendor:Your Farmer

CSA Grass Fed Beef Share

Price$176.67
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Price$183.33
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Grass-Fed Steak Box

Price$158.89
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Grass-Fed Mince, Sausage and Diced Beef Pack

Price$264.44
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Grass-Fed Beef and Lamb BBQ Box

Price$286.67
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Pastured Lamb Roast and Slow-Cook Box

Price$155.56
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Quarter, Half or Whole Cow: Grass-Fed Beef, Cut Your Way

Price$1,145.00
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