Beef Barley Soup with a thick and rich broth full of flavor made in a pressure cooker.
Instant Pot recipes made with beef stew meat only take a few minutes to make but are full of flavor.
Instant Pot Soup recipes
Instant Pot soup recipes are perfect for lunch and dinner during the cold winter months. Or any time of the year for that matter.
I love eating soup all year long. Homemade soups are comfort food that warms the heart and soul.
If a little one is feeling icky a warm bowl of homemade soup from mom can lift their spirits and make them feel so much better.
Instant Pot soup recipes like this beef barley soup recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes.
Making Instant Pot soup recipes a delicious weeknight dinner option for the busy holiday season.
How To Add Flavor To Soups
Adding flavor to soups is easy to do when you start out with a few simple ingredients like onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.
These four simple ingredients along with a few herbs and spices are the secret ingredients that add all those delicious flavors to homemade soup recipes.
Sauting these basic soup ingredients before you start the pressure cooking process will add so much flavor to your bland soup recipes.
Browning the beef also adds a deep rich flavor to the soup.
How To Make Tender Beef in the Instant Pot
Making tender beef recipes in the Instant Pot is very easy. The magical Instant Pot pressure cooker does all the work for you.
When you pressure cook tough cuts of beef under the high steam pressure of the Instant Pot it breaks down the tough fibers making the beef tender and delicious.
Making Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup is very easy
Brown the beef stew meat in the instant pot on the saute setting. Remove the stew meat from the Instant Pot to a bowl as it browns.
Browning only a few pieces of stew meat at a time is the secret to browning beef.
You don't want to crowd the pieced of beef in. Leave plenty of room between the pieces of meat.
Once you have finished browning the beef stew meat add a bit more butter and saute the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic until tender.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the rest of the directions.
Check out the tip section below for tips on cooking with barley and making this Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup recipe.
How To Make Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 ½ to 2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup diced onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced carrots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 medium bay leaves
- salt
- ground pepper
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 cup Quick Barely or Barley Pearls (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cool water
Directions
- Turn the Instant Pot on the saute setting and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Salt and pepper the stew meat.
- Add the seasoned stew meat in small batches to the Instant Pot and brown all sides.
- As the meat browns remove it from the Instant Pot to a bowl until all the stew meat has been browned.
- Once all the stew meat has been browned in the melted butter and removed from the Instant Pot add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the Instant Pot.
- Next add the diced onion, diced celery, and diced carrots to the Instant Pot.
- Saute the vegetables until the onion is almost translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the Instant Pot and toss with the other vegetables.
- Sauté for another minute.
- Add the browned stew meat along with any accumulated liquids, beef broth and fresh or dried herbs to the Instant Pot.
- Stir to combine. Place the Instant Pot lid on locking it into the closed position. Turn the pressure valve to the sealing position.
- Press the manual button and set the timer to 18 minutes.
- Once the timer has alerted you the Instant Pot has finished pressure cooking allow it to naturally release steam for 2 minutes. Then carefully quick release the remaining steam from the pressure cooker. Carefully remove the lid. Stir the 1 cup of Quick Cook Barley into the hot soup.
- In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with the cool water and stir into the Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant Pot to the saute function and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.
- Cook the beef barley soup for 10 minutes more minutes or until the barley is soft and the soup broth has thickened.
- Makes 3 quarts of Instant Pot soup and will serve 6.
Helpful tips cooking Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup recipe
- Cooking method will be different depending on the type of barley used.
- Quick barley will be added to the Instant Pot after the beef soup has pressure cooked.
- Barely Pearls will be added to the pressure cooker in the beginning and cooked with all the other ingredients.
- If cutting the beef stew meat into larger pieces than the 1 ½ inch cubes called for in this recipe you will need to increase the cooking time to 20 minutes.
- Cornstarch is my soup thickener of choice. It is a lump-free, gluten-free thickener that has never failed me and does not affect the flavor of soups or stews when used as the thickener.
Helpful Product to make Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup recipe
(affiliate links)
- 6-quart Instant Pot
- Ceramic Knife: I love my ceramic knives.
- Clear Flexible Cutting Mats: Best $8 bucks I ever spent. I've been using mine for years.
- Wooden Spoons: I couldn't live without mine!
- Metal Soup Ladle: Mess-free soup serving.
- Soup Bowls
Instant Pot soup recipes are sure to become your go-to cold-weather meals.
More soup recipes
Pin or Print the Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup recipe below
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Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter (divided)
- 1 ½ to 2 lbs. beef stew meat (cut into 1 ½ inch cubes)
- ½ cup diced onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced carrots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme ( or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 2 medium bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 cup Quick Barley ( or Barley Pearls (see notes))
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cool water
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on the sauté setting and melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Salt and pepper the stew meat. Add the seasoned stew meat in small batches to the Instant Pot and brown all sides. As the meat browns remove it from the Instant Pot to a bowl until all the stew meat has been browned.
- Once all the stew meat has been browned in the melted butter and removed from the Instant Pot add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the Instant Pot and add the diced onion, diced celery, and diced carrots to the Instant Pot.
- Saute the vegetables until the onion is almost translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the Instant Pot and toss with the other vegetables. Saute for another minute.
- Return the browned stew meat along with any accumulated liquids, beef broth and fresh or dried herbs to the Instant Pot.
- Stir to combine. Place the Instant Pot lid on locking it into the closed position. Turn the pressure valve to the sealing position.
- Press the manual button and set the timer to 18 minutes.
- Once the timer has alerted you the Instant Pot has finished pressure cooking allow it to naturally release steam for 2 minutes. Then carefully quick release the remaining steam from the pressure cooker.
- Carefully remove the lid. Stir the 1 cup of Quick Cook Barley into the hot soup.
- In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with the cool water and stir into the Instant Pot. Set the Instant Pot to the sauté function and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Cook the beef barley soup for 10 minutes more or until the barley is soft and the soup broth has thickened.
- Makes 3 quarts of Instant Pot soup and will serve 6.
Video
Recipe Expert Tips
- Cooking method will be different depending on the type of barley used.
- Quick barley will be added to the Instant Pot after the beef soup has pressure cooked.
- Barely Pearls will be added to the pressure cooker in the beginning and cooked with all the other ingredients.
- If cutting the beef stew meat into larger pieces than the 1 ½ inch cubes called for in this recipe you will need to increase the cooking time to 20 minutes.
- Cornstarch is my soup thickener of choice. It is a lump-free, gluten-free thickener that has never failed me and does not affect the flavor of soups or stews when used as the thickener.
Kate
I was trying to find a quick barely recipe. Thank you so much!! Perfect soup
Julie K.
I made this last night. It is absolutely delicious! Next time, I will add a little more vegetables, but there will definitely be a next time!
Debbie
Great, hearty soup. I like my food less salty so I will omit the added salt next time.
Donna @ Modern on Monticello
I am always looking for new recipes to try out in my Instant Pot so thank you for sharing this recipe this week. Looks delicious. #HomeMattersParty
Bette Thornburg
Excellent recipe! I thought the 3 Tblsp of cornstarch and water produced a thicker soup than I like. I will try just 2 Tblsp next time. I also added mushrooms when I sautéed the veggies.
Amy
Made this with my mom’s new Instant Pot. It was soooo good. Had great flavor and so easy and quick. Thanks for sharing!
Arlene Mobley
Amy
You're welcome! I'm happy you enjoyed the recipe. Have fun with the new Instant Pot. It is an amazing appliance.