Barley Beef Skillet

Barley Beef Skillet in a bowl

This Barley Beef Skillet is a hearty, flavorful one-pot meal that’s sure to be a family favorite! My husband told me this is one of the best dinners I make and my one-year old daughter gobbles it up too. I love how easily this comes together and the fact that it all cooks in one pan. The less dishes I have to do after dinner the better! Barley is such an underrated grain, in my opinion. I really enjoy the texture of barley, and it’s perfect in a rustic dish like this one. Plus, this recipe gives you your meat, grains, and vegetables all in one bowl! My daughter is an expert at picking around vegetables right now, but she ate these without a fuss. A serving of this Barley Beef Skillet is so filling and satisfying, and it’s only 307 calories or 7 Green, 7 Blue or 3 Purple myWW SmartPoints each! To view your current WW Points and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Barley Beef Skillet overhead in pan

I originally posted this recipe back in January 2011, but I spruced it up in June 2019. If this post looks a bit different, that’s because I added new photos, new text, and tweaked the serving size a bit. Other than that, this is still the same delicious recipe!

Looking for more tasty, lightened up one-pot meals like this Barley Beef Skillet? Check out my One-Pot Barbecue Chicken Mac and Cheese, One-Pot Mediterranean Chicken with Orzo, One-Pot Spicy Dirty Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Spanish Chicken and Rice Skillet, Beef Enchilada Pasta Skillet, Turkey Sloppy Joe Pasta, Chicken Pot Pasta, Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Rice Skillet, Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles, Lemon Chicken Orzo with Tomatoes and Asparagus, Rustic Sausage and Potato Skillet, One-Pot Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Bake, Beef Stroganoff, Beefy American Goulash, Cheesy Chicken Veggie Pasta Skillet and more in the One-Pot Meals category of my recipe index!

Barley Beef Skillet in a bowl
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Barley Beef Skillet

This Barley Beef Skillet is a hearty, flavorful one-pot meal that’s sure to be a family favorite!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound 95% lean ground beef
  • a small onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium Beef Broth
  • 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 small carrots, chopped
  • 1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 1 small zucchini, chopped
  • 1 cup medium pearl barley
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Bring a large skillet to medium heat and cook ground beef and onion together, breaking up meat until it is browned. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the broth, tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the carrots, tomato, zucchini, barley, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
  • Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45-50 minutes until barley is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Notes

To view your current WW Points and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
MyWW SmartPoints per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Green: 7 SmartPoints/ Blue: 7 SmartPoints/ Purple: 3 SmartPoints
Weight Watchers Points Plus:
8 per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving (PP calculated using a WW PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)
Nutrition Information per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving:
307 calories, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 40 g carbs, 5 g sugar, 26 g protein, 8 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)
Slightly adapted from Taste of Home