Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup is an easy, rich, satisfying, soup. This hearty soup is made FAST in the Instant Pot with tender chunks of beef, barley, veggies, and a flavorful broth.
This soup is delicious served alone but is fabulous when paired with crusty homemade bread and a Winter Salad or Kale and Apple Salad for a fast, healthy family meal.
There is nothing more comforting than a rich and hearty soup on a cold day.
And this Beef and Barley soup fits the bill. It is rich, flavorful, and absolutely warms you to the soul.
Not to mention, when using the Instant Pot, this classic soup comes together much faster than the classic version.
Ingredients Needed
- Beef: Sirloin beef, chuck roast, or stew meat are all great options for this Beef and Barley Soup. Either purchase a whole sirloin steak or chuck roast and cut yourself into approximately 2-inch cubes, or purchase stew meat that has already been cubed for you.
- Tomatoes: Use either crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes based on your preferences. My son hates the texture of diced tomatoes, so I typically opt to use crushed tomatoes, as this soup is one of his favorites.
- Celery and Carrots: They both add incredible flavor to the soup, but omit one or the other if desired.
- Barley: Be sure to use pearl barley, not quick-cook barley for best results.
Step-By-Step Directions
- Turn pressure cooker to saute function and add in a bit of oil.
- Once heated, add the beef, onions, celery, and carrots and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until the beef is browned on all sides and the onion begins to soften.
- Add in garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Do not be tempted to add the garlic when adding the beef, onions, celery, and carrots, as garlic can burn quickly.
- Turn the Instant Pot off and add in the stock. Use a wooden spatula to scrape the bottom of the inner pot to remove any browned bits on the bottom of the Instant Pot, which will prevent a burn notice.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, barley, bay, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, 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 sprigs of thyme if using.
Slow Cooker Directions
Don't have an Instant Pot? You can make Slow Cooker Beef and Barley soup easily!
- Brown your beef with the carrots, onions, and celery on the stove over medium-high heat in 1 tablespoon oil.
- Once the meat is browned, add to the slow cooker with the stock, tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, and barley.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours.
- Stir in Worcestershire at the end.
Recipe FAQs
It is NOT necessary to saute the beef and vegetables first, but it does add a depth flavor to the final soup.
Yes! As long as your frozen beef is cubed. To prepare this soup with frozen beef, do not saute the beef. Instead just saute the onions, carrots, and celery if desired, and then add the beef with the remaining ingredients. Adjust the cooking time to 30 minutes.
Store cooled leftover soup in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the cooled soup for up to 3 months. Keep in mind, you may need to add a splash of stock or water when reheating, as the barley absorbs some of the liquid as it sits.
I am often asked if Barely is gluten-free. Barley contains gluten and therefore, is NOT gluten-free.
Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
If you enjoyed this Beef and Barley soup, I would love for you to take the time to leave a comment and a review.
Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 pound sirloin steak or chuck roast cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1- ½ teaspoon pepper divided
- 1 small onion minced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks of celerey minced
- 4 cups beef stock low sodium
- 16 ounces diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup pearl barley rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Turn the pressure cooker to saute function, add oil, and let heat for a minute.
- While the oil is heating, season the meat evenly with ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper.
- Once the oil is heated, add in the beef, carrots, celery, and onion. Saute until the beef is browned on all sides and the vegetables begin to soften. Add in garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Turn Instant Pot OFF.
- Add in 1 cup of beef stock and scrape up the bottom of the pressure cooker to remove any browned bits using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add the remaining broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce. Rinse the barley using a fine mesh strainer and then stir into the remaining ingredients in the inner pot.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and close the valve to sealed. Set to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Then open the lid and remove the bay leaves and the sprig of thyme. Serve warm.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2018 but was updated in 2021 with new pictures. Here is the old picture for reference.
Christine
This was such a delicious and quick recipe. The meat was so tender too!!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed, Christine!
Sam Pososki
I have leftover pot roast what would be the time for vegetables and barley with meat cooked
Kristen Chidsey
To cook the barley, you need still need a full 20 minutes. Enjoy.
Donna
Little less pepper or a splash of water before serving. Will definitely make again. Easy and delicious.
Lynette
Needed a quick way to make this soup in the instant pot and the whole family loved it! Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Lynette! So happy to hear you enjoyed!
Meg
Loved this soup. Very filling and warming. I used tomato sauce that I canned over the summer from my garden as well as carrots from my garden. It was so fresh and a great mix of flavors.
I used ground beef instead of cubed steak since I had it on hand. Word of caution to anyone wanting to do the same: make sure you break it up before cooking! I put the whole chunk in frozen, and while it cooked through it didn’t break apart into small pieces like I assumed it would. Whoops. I pulled it out after cooking and broke it up by hand then put it back in the pot and cooked on high for an additional 3 minutes plus 10 minute natural release. That did the trick and it ended up great but added a bunch of time. Learn from my mistake!
Louise Boulanger
I replaced 3/4 of the broth with leftover Chinese fondue broth that was our dinner yesterday. I added potatoes and a whole 28 oz of tomatoes.
Happy Mama
This was great and hit all the reasons I love my Instant Pot! So little prep time but amazing flavor and super tender meat. An easy fall weeknight dinner , thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this Barley soup! Thanks for sharing.
Audrey
I love this recipe! It’s a family favorite. I use 8 ounces of tomato sauce in place of diced tomatoes because my children don’t like canned tomatoes. I also used canned roast beef from Costco added after the soup is done, as the beef is fully cooked and very tender already. I leave the beef out for my vegetarian child.
Kristen Chidsey
I love how you modify this for your vegetarian child--great tip!
Pamela Whiting
My entire picky family loved this soup. Definitely loved the crushed tomato trick and not a single kid noticed a tomato on the soup. Thank you for this!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy that crushed tomato trick worked for you as well 🙂 And that you all enjoyed the soup!