Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup is a hearty, satisfying soup that is incredibly easy to make. Filled with tender beef and perfectly cooked barley in a rich, flavorful broth, this Beef and Barley Soup hits the spot with minimal effort required.
There is nothing more comforting than a rich and hearty soup on a cold day. However, for soups like typically takes hours to develop a flavorful soup. And that is just not something most of us have time for, especially on busy weeknights.
Not so with this Instant Pot! You can develop incredible flavor in a short amount of time. Recipes like Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup, Instant Pot Beef Stew, Instant Pot Cabbage Soup, and Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup prove you can have a hearty and healthy soup in record time.
Reasons to Love Instant Pot Beef and Barley
- Minimal Effort. Beef and Barley Soup comes together in under an hour and with minimal hands-on work.
- Maximum Flavor. The beef and barley are tender and the broth is insanely flavorful. It is rich, hearty, and guaranteed to warm you to the core.
Notes on Ingredients
- 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.
- Aromatics: Yellow onions, carrots, celery, and garlic are the building blocks for any great soup, and beef and barley soup is no different.
- Diced Tomatoes: If you have issues with the texture of diced tomatoes, feel free to use crushed tomatoes in their place.
- Beef Broth/Beef Stock: Use a high-quality low-sodium beef broth or stock for the best flavor, while still controlling the level of sodium in the soup.
- Barley: Be sure to use pearl barley, not quick-cook barley for best results.
- Seasonings: Fresh thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce give this soup so much flavor.
How to Make Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One: Saute Beef with Aromatics. To add a deep flavor to this soup, it is best to saute the beef with the onions, celery, and carrots until the beef is browned and the onions are softened. Add the garlic right at that the end of the saute process, to prevent the garlic from being burned.
Step Two: Delgaze the Inner Pot. Any time we use the saute function, it is crucial to deglaze the inner pot to remove any browned bits off the inner pot, which will prevent a burn notice. To do so, add in 1 cup of the broth and then use a spoon or spatula to scrape up all those browned bits off the bottom of the inner pot.
Step Three: Layer Ingredients. Add in the remaining broth, diced tomatoes, barley, bay, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. And give it all a stir to combine.
Step Four: Pressure Cook. Place lid on Instant Pot and close valve to sealed. Set to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. This will ensure the beef becomes tender, the broth rich, and the barley to be just perfectly cooked. Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes. To try to do a quick release of pressure would cause hot liquid to spew all over the kitchen and the beef to potentially seize up and become tough. It is crucial to be patient.
What to Serve with Beef and Barley Soup
Beef and Barley Soup is hearty and delicious and can stand alone as a meal. However, I love to serve it with crusty homemade Dutch Oven bread or Italian Breadto soak up the rich broth. I also love to round the meal out with a side salad, such as a caesar salad or Copycat Panera Greek Salad.
Slow Cooker Directions
Don't have an Instant Pot? You can make Crockpot Beef and Barley Soup easily!
- In a large stockpan or cast-iron skillet, heat 1-2 teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is heated, add the seasoned beef, carrots, onions, and celery to the pan and saute until the beef is evenly browned on all sides. Remove from the heat.
- Add the meat and vegetables to the slow cooker, along with the garlic, beef broth, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, barley, and Worcestershire sauce. Give everything a good stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours.
- Remove the bay leaves and stems of thyme and serve as desired.
Storage Instructions
Beef and barley soup both reheats and freezes well, making it a great soup to make in large batches and keep on hand in the freezer for a hearty bowl of comforting soup on a busy night.
- To Refrigerate: Allow the soup to cool slightly and then store the soup in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze: Allow the soup to cool slightly and then transfer the cooled soup to freezer-safe containers or bags, being sure to allow 1 to 2 inches of excess space to allow for expansion. Store the Beef and Barley soup in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: If needed, defrost the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer the leftover soup to a heat-safe bowl or in a small stock pan and heat until warmed through. Keep in mind, that you may need to add a splash of stock or water when reheating, as the barley absorbs some of the liquid after being refrigerated or frozen.
Recipe FAQs
It is NOT necessary to saute the beef and vegetables first, but it does add a deep 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.
I am often asked if Barely is gluten-free. Barley contains gluten and therefore, this soup is NOT gluten-free.
Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
Need more inspiration for planning meals that your family will love? Sign up for my FREE Meal Plans and each week you will get a meal plan with a shopping list.
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 garlic minced
- 4 large carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery minced
- 4 cups low-sodium beef stock/broth low sodium
- 16 ounces diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon prepared Horseradish optional
- ½ cup pearl barley rinsed
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 for 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, Worcestershire Sauce, and prepared horseradish, if using.
- Rinse the barley using a fine mesh strainer and then stir into the remaining ingredients in the inner pot.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and close the valve to seal. Set to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for at least 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 2022 with new pictures and a video.
Mary
Made this today, definetly a keeper. Full of favor! Thank you for sharing.
Kristen Chidsey
So glad you enjoyed Mary!
Brenda Q
I made this recipe with frozen cooked ground beef (that’s all I had on hand); raw buckwheat (because i ran out of barley), dried thyme and added a cube of organic beef bouillon for extra beefy flavour. The beef came out more tender and my youngest (super picky eater) loved it.
Kristen Chidsey
Glad to hear that you and your picky eater enjoyed Brenda! Thanks for sharing your substitutions.
Debra Bruzzese
I love this soup and have made it a couple of times already in the instant pot. Fabulous!!
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing how much you enjoyed Debra! Thanks for leaving a review.
Rosie
I have looked at a few of Your recipes.
I can't find a list of Ingredients and the amounts.
I'm new with the insta pot and need all the help I can get
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Rosie. All of my recipes have ingredients and amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. I talk through the steps through the post and give you tips but the actual recipe is in the recipe card. Hope that helps.
Rosie
I have looked at a few of Your recipes.
I can't find a list of Ingredients and the amounts.
I'm new with the insta pot and need all the help I can get
Patti
This was my first attempt at beef barley soup in my life! I always liked it but never made it. Your Instant Pot recipe was so easy and delicious. My whole family, including my 88 year old mom and 100 year old aunt absolutely loved it! Many thanks for sharing.
Jennifer L McGraw
Awesome! Added frozen corn and crushed tomato for flavor and color. My family loves this soup with fresh bread.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Jennifer! I love this soup with fresh bread as well!
wendy
Delicious! Used to take hours to make Grandma’s recipe beef & barley soup. This was on the table in less than an hour. I doubled the garlic and served with crusty bread.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed the flavor and the ease😊
Jen
Fabulous!!! I made this with the celery and fire roasted diced tomatoes and it was delicious!!! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe and so simple too!!!!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Jen! Thank you for leaving a review.
patrick
Hi there. Just made this recipe. It was very good. Rich and thick. I added some can corn at the end to cool it off, add sweetness and texture! It turned out very nice. Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey
Oh I love the idea of adding corn Patrick! My family would love that as well. Thank you for sharing that idea and I am so happy you enjoyed this soup.
Anne
This was good but had a very earthy woodsy flavour. Perhaps I overdid the thyme. Husband enjoyed as well. Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Anne! Glad you enjoyed, but the next time I would cut back on the thyme for your taste 🙂
Jason
Can you give a rough measure on how much carrots and onions to put in, in cups? It's always difficult for me to interpret given the varying sizes of carrots and onions.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jason! For this recipe I would use about 1/2 cup minced onion and 1 cup sliced carrots. Feel free to change up those amounts slightly based on what you have 🙂
Lynette
Can you use dried thyme instead of the sprig of thyme
Kristen Chidsey
Yes Lynette, I would use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme. Dried herbs are much more potent.
Mary
I followed this recipe exactly as written and all the water steamed out and vegetables were mushy. Very disappointing ☹️
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mary. If all the water steamed out, it was because your vent knob was not sealed. If sealed, all the water will remain in the pressure cooker.
Josele Swopes
Soup was Awesome I used Elk from last hunting season. Which we had canned our own Stock it worked fantastic. Thank you so much.
Josele Swopes
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!
Kristen Chidsey
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.
Jenn
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!
Kristen Chidsey
Oh yes, I am with you on turning up the air conditioner to enjoy this soup in the hot summer months! Enjoy!
Joanie
I've got this delicious soup in my slow cooker as I type and the aroma filling my kitchen is amazing!
Kristen Chidsey
Oh that makes me so happy! Enjoy Joanie!