The result meant Liverpool suffered their second successive defeat of this stellar season in a highly-competitive encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool made seven changes to the side that lost surprisingly at Watford on Saturday - the first reverse of their league campaign after 18 successive victories left them on the brink of a first title for 30 years.
Chelsea, however, still had to overcome a Liverpool team containing the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Joe Gomez in a hard-fought fifth-round tie.
Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian gifted Willian Chelsea's opener after 13 minutes when he hopelessly fumbled his 20-yard shot, but the European champions had chances of their own only to see recalled keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga present a formidable barrier with a string of saves.
The game was effectively settled after 64 minutes when former Everton midfielder and Toffees fan Barkley surged from inside his own half on a solo run before beating Adrian with an emphatic strike.
"It was brilliant, a massive result for the lads," Barkley told BBC One. "We needed a top performance tonight at home after two disappointing results.
"Scoring against Liverpool is massive for me. As an Everton fan, it's always a dream to score against them."
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