Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup is an easy, healthy soup made in less than an hour with the help of the pressure cooker.
Be sure to check out all my Instant Pot Recipes, but a few of my favorites are Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches, Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham, and Instant Pot Chicken Tacos.
I was cleaning out my pantry this past week, when I spotted a bag of pearl barley in the bottom of one of my bins–yes, I have bins to organize things in my pantry!
I thought to myself, What barley recipes do I have that my whole family loves?
Given that it was 20 degrees outside, I decided upon soup. When paired with a crusty homemade bread or even a grilled cheese sandwich, my family does love a good soup. I, of course love to serve soup with a salad too–like this Winter Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette or Kale and Apple Salad.
It had been years since I had made Beef Barley Soup, but I knew that barley I had found would shine in soup.
Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
Making my traditional Beef & Barley Soup in the Instant Pot would mean I could have dinner on the table from start to finish in under an hour–and after working up my appetite cleaning my pantry, I was grateful for a quick dinner.
But truthfully, I am ALWAYS grateful for a quick dinner, aren’t you?!
How to Make Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
- Turn pressure cooker to saute function. Once heated, add in oil, beef chunks and onion.
- Saute until beef is browned on all sides and then add in garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
- Add in stock and scrape up any browned bits on the the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add in carrots, diced tomatoes, barley, bay, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and close valve to sealed. Set to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes.
- Before serving, remove bay and thyme and stir in 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.
Notes on Pressure Cooker Beef and Barley Soup
- I used sirloin steak to keep this Beef and Barley soup low in fat. You can use stew meat or strip meat as well–just cut any meat into 1 inch chunks.
- I omitted celery, which is traditional in most barley soup recipes, because my kids hate it! Feel free to add in 1/4 cup chopped celery to the soup.
- It is not necessary to saute the meat and onions first, it just enhances the flavor and texture of the meat. Feel free to skip that step, just omit the oil as well.
- I am often asked if Barely is gluten-free. Barley contains gluten and therefore, is NOT gluten-free. Nor is Worcestershire sauce, so this soup is NOT gluten-free.
- I have used tomato sauce in place of the diced tomatoes before. Again, this helps with picky kids who hate the texture of cooked tomatoes–I have experience with picky kids.
What if your beef is frozen when you want to make this Barley Soup?
- If your meat is pre-cut into 1 inch chunks, increase the cooking time by 10 minutes and skip the step of browning the meat.
- If your meat is in one full piece (like 1/2 inch thick Sirloin Roast or Round Steak), place the frozen piece of meat into your pressure cooker with the beef stock, thyme, bay, salt and pepper. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow pressure to release 15 minutes then remove meat and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add the meat back into your Instant Pot, along with the diced tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and barley. Seal the pressure cooker and cook for 20 additional minutes on high pressure. Allow to release pressure for 15 minutes before serving.
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup
Don’t have an Instant Pot? I feel bad for you–LOL!!!!
But totally get it–it is NOT for everyone. You can make this Slow Cooker Beef and Barley soup easily!
- Brown your beef in on the stove over medium-high heat in 1 tablespoon oil. Once meat is browned, add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients, except for Worcestershire sauce.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours.
- Stir in Worcestershire at the end.
Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 pound beef cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 small onion minced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
- 4 cups beef stock low sodium
- 16 ounces diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pearl barley rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce optional
Instructions
- Turn pressure cooker to saute function. Once heated, add in oil, beef chunks and onion.
- Saute until beef is browned on all sides and then add in garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add in stock and scrape up bottom of the pressure cooker to remove any browned bits.
- Add in carrots, diced tomatoes, barley, bay, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and close valve to sealed. Set to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes.
- Before serving, reomove bay and thyme and stir in 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce.
Notes
- I used Sirloin for this recipe to keep the Beef and Barley Soup light, you can use stew meat of chuck roast as well.
- If you omit worcestershire sauce, use 1 teaspoon kosher salt instead of 1/2 teaspoon.
- Time to come to pressure 15 minutes.
- Time to cook 20 minutes.
- Time to release pressure 15 minutes.
- Total Time 50 minutes.
To Make Easy Beef and Barley Soup You May Need:
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Kristen Chidsey
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Soup was Awesome I used Elk from last hunting season. Which we had canned our own Stock it worked fantastic. Thank you so much.
We Love Beef Barley, but I use Elk in place of Beef which is even healthier no hormones or antibiotics. Fresh is Fresh! We are planning our hunting season once more so excited… Turkey too. I am so excited to have my Instant Pot and taking it with us while hunting in our Camper it will surely come in handy. Thank you so much for your Lovely Recipe!
This would make a great soup for camping! I hope you have fun on your adventure! And while I don’t cook with elk meat much, I do love bison which also works great in this soup.
This instant pot soup is just what I needed! Ready to crank the AC and curl up with a bowl of piping hot beef and barley soup RN!
Oh yes, I am with you on turning up the air conditioner to enjoy this soup in the hot summer months! Enjoy!
I’ve got this delicious soup in my slow cooker as I type and the aroma filling my kitchen is amazing!
Oh that makes me so happy! Enjoy Joanie!