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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Instant Pot

    Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew

    Published: Dec 6, 2018 · Modified: Sep 10, 2020 by Susie Weinrich · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Beef & Barley Soup with Pistou momsdinner.net

    This post contains affiliate links. 

    My Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew recipe is a classic stew with super flavorful beef broth that has cooked-all-day flavor, is full of tender beef, vegetables, and perfectly cooked barley. This is a hearty beef and barley soup that will fill you up, which makes it a perfect winter dinner.

    two bowls of beef and barley soup

    Since this Stew is so comforting, filling, and easy it also makes a great dinner to take to a family with a newborn, a new neighbor, a family grieving a loss, or for a meal train.

    How to Make Good Beef & Barley Stew

    There are a few steps that will ensure you have a great Beef & Barley Stew that is full of flavor.

    1. Use a good beef stock that has a lot of flavor. If you have homemade, great, but if not look for a beef stock instead of broth. A stock generally has more flavor.
    2. Cooking in the Instant Pot allows you to get cooked-all-day flavor in just 20 minutes!
    3. Use a quality Beef Base. If you are not familiar with beef base, it comes in a jar and can be found in the soup aisle at the grocery store. It comes in a paste form and has super intense beef flavor. It is like the grown up brother of beef bouillon. I always keep beef base and chicken base in my kitchen!Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
    4. Add a little tomato paste at the end to give it another layer of flavor.
    5. Seasoning the soup properly with salt and pepper always enhances flavors perfectly!
    a white bowl full of beef and barley stew on a wooden counter

    Dinner with the Instant Pot

    If there is one thing I can say about the Instant Pot is that it can make dinner prep super fast!!! Beef and Barley Stew is something that would normally take about an hour to prep and cook. But, with the pressure cooker it is done in a flash.

    I use the Instant Pot Duo Plus 60 6 quart 9-in-1, I also recommend the Instant Pot 6 quart 7-in-1. I like these two pots because of the size, 6 quarts. This is the perfect size for just about any Instant Pot recipe you will come across.

    6 quart 9-in-1 Instant Pot

    I’m not sure I will ever use all the functions, like sterilize or yogurt. But, If I want them they are there! The functions I use most are the Soup/Broth, Saute, Pressure Cook, and Bean/Chili.

    I will definitely use the slow cooker mode too, but right now I’m obsessed with the quicker cooking recipes using the pressure cooking modes!

    two bowls of beef and barley soup with a bag of bobs red mill pearl barley to the side

    Some of my other favorite Instant Pot Recipes are my Chicken & Rice Soup, Cajun Rice with Chicken & Sausage, and Turkey Meatballs. Or you can check out ALL my Instant Pot recipes here.

    I hope you will give this recipe for Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew a try in your kitchen.

    Love- Susie

    white bowl of beef and barley soup

    Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew

    Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew is a classic recipe with classic cooked-all-day flavors, but made in a flash in your pressure cooker. Full of flavorful beef broth, veggies, tender beef, and perfectly cooked barley. This Instant Pot stew makes a wonderful winter dinner. 
    4.99 from 71 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 5 people
    Author: Susie Weinrich

    Ingredients

    • 1 yellow or white onion chopped
    • 2 celery stalks, sliced
    • 3 plump garlic cloves, chopped
    • 1 ½ cups carrots, sliced
    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • ½ teaspoon each- onion powder & garlic powder
    • 1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 2 teaspoon beef base
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 ½ lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch chunks (can be anywhere from 1-1 ½ lbs)
    • 1 cup pearl barley I use Bob’s Red Mill brand
    • 32 oz beef broth or stock
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
    Prevent your screen from going dark while you are cooking!

    Instructions

    • Add the oil, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to the Instant Pot on saute mode. Saute for 5 minutes. 
      Turn off saute mode.
      Add the onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and beef base, stir to combine with the veggies.
      Add the stew meat, pearl barley, beef stock, and water. 
    • Close the Instant Pot and set to meat/stew mode (or manual/pressure mode), high pressure, for 25 minutes.
      Do a quick release. Stir in the tomato paste.
      Serve!
    Did you try this recipe? Connect with me & let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
    Jump to Comments

    If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.

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    About Susie Weinrich

    Susie Weinrich is the recipe developer, food photographer, and content creator behind Mom's Dinner. She has over 20 years experience in the food industry. Currently, Susie shares all her recipes and food knowledge on Mom's Dinner. You will find her recipes are easy to follow and full of tips and tricks to make sure the recipe you are making turns out perfect!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sandi

      February 12, 2022 at 10:35 am

      Hi Susie!

      How much longer should it cook for hulled barley?

      Reply
      • Susie Weinrich

        February 12, 2022 at 7:25 pm

        I haven’t tested with hulled barley, but a good guess would be to add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

        Reply
      • L

        February 28, 2022 at 7:52 am

        I used hulled barley, as it has more nutrition. 30 min was plenty of time for tender, tasty barley.

        Reply
    2. Oliver Kelsch

      February 07, 2022 at 2:00 pm

      5 stars
      Loved this recipe! Had to tell the guys to slow down when we ate it. They loved it so much they seemed to be inhaling it.

      Reply
    3. Jen

      February 06, 2022 at 1:30 am

      First, thank you for the recipe. I just bought an instant pot and tried this recipe. I will not rate this recipe yet. I made a couple changes to the base recipe. The base recipe is good. My soup was more like stew. Still good. I added mushrooms and cabbage. Next time, I will add more carrots and omit the mushrooms and cabbage.

      Reply
    4. Darlene

      February 01, 2022 at 7:04 pm

      Can I double this recipe? Or at least increase it by 50%? I have a instant pot ultra 60 which is a 6 quart volume

      Reply
      • Susie Weinrich

        February 02, 2022 at 8:19 am

        You should definitely be able to do 1.5x the recipe. Make sure if you double it doesn’t go over the max fill line in your pot, especially because the barley will puff up.

        Reply
    5. Michele

      January 27, 2022 at 4:46 pm

      5 stars
      Super delicious quick meal!
      Thanks

      Reply
    6. Dan

      January 22, 2022 at 3:11 pm

      Soup turned out wonderful my wife raved about the soup and just loves the fragrance it puts out will be making this soup often!

      Reply
    7. Diane H.

      January 19, 2022 at 10:04 am

      5 stars
      This was delicious but I prepared it differently. I completely browned all the meat FIRST. Then to it, I added the onions and garlic and sautéed them as well. I added the rest of the vegetables and the seasonings as she recommended and completed the recipe the same way she did. The tomato paste at the end was a good addition. Overall great recipe.

      Reply
      • MMigs324

        February 28, 2022 at 8:03 pm

        So good! I added a bag of frozen corn, dredged the beef in flour and substituted the cup of water for a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes and it was perfect!!

        Reply
    8. Phil

      January 18, 2022 at 3:03 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe. I got the instapot for christmas and have used this recipe 4 times. It is a great taste, quick and the left overs are even better the next day.

      Reply
      • Lindsey

        March 07, 2022 at 1:53 pm

        Do you recommend browning the stew meat or just throwing it in raw prior to pressure cooking?

        Reply
        • Erika

          March 15, 2022 at 4:37 pm

          5 stars
          Can you use instant barley?

        • Susie Weinrich

          March 16, 2022 at 8:29 am

          I haven’t tested with an Instant Barley. I think it cooks quite fast, I would just worry that it will get mushy before the beef has time to cook properly.

        • lien

          May 30, 2022 at 2:41 pm

          5 stars
          HI Lindsey,

          I just made this recipe today. I threw the beef in and slightly browned it while finishing sautéing up the veggies. I stepped away and dont know how much longer it stayed with the lid closed after the timer went off, but the meat was SUPER tender! I used steak that I cut into 1/2 cubes.
          I didnt have tomato paste, but think that would have made it even more tastey.

    9. Kathe

      January 17, 2022 at 5:48 pm

      First time using the Instant Pot and made this recipe. It came out wonderfully! I’m not a celery person, so I substituted mini portabella mushrooms instead. So easy; a definite keeper especially in this winter weather! Thank you!

      Reply
    10. Ashlee

      January 06, 2022 at 6:16 pm

      5 stars
      One of the best Beef Barley soups I’ve had in a long time, Great recipe!!

      Reply
      • Ashlee

        January 06, 2022 at 6:18 pm

        5 stars
        I forgot to mention that I added mushrooms and it was a perfect touch!!
        Thanks again!

        Reply
        • Susie Weinrich

          January 07, 2022 at 7:30 am

          Perfect!! I’ve also had people say they add peas. Love the customization!

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