This Instant Pot Beef and Barley is SO good that William’s Sonoma asked me to come in and make it for an in-store demo! The whole store smelled like savory beef stew and people lined up to have a few bites. The store was a buzz about how good this soup is, and I think I sold a few Instant Pots that day because people wanted to be able to make the recipe at home!
You will not be disappointed when you dig into a big bowl of this Beef and Barley. It is a blast of slightly thickened savory broth mixed with tender pieces of beef, carrots and onions, and the hearty barley takes it over the top! It is truly the perfect winter stew.
As of today the recipe has over 140 Five Star Reviews, here is one you can bet on:
“I’ve made this several times, always with delicious results. I add sliced mushrooms as others before me have suggested, and I use more Worcestershire sauce because I love it. This recipe is without question still a 5/5 without those changes; they are just my personal preferences. Thank you for such a hearty and delicious meal!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Shari
RELATED: Instant Pot Beef Stew
Jump to:
- Dinner with the Instant Pot
- Secrets To Really Good Instant Pot Barley Soup
- Instant Pot Beef Barley Ingredients
- How To make Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
- Serving
- Storing
- More Instant Pot Recipes To Love
- Did you make this recipe?
- Beef Barley Soup (Instant Pot)
- More Recipes you will love
- Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
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.
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, Meat/Stew, Sauté, 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!
Secrets To Really Good Instant Pot Barley Soup
There are a few secrets that will ensure you have a great Beef & Barley Stew that is full of flavor.
- Use a really 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.
- Cooking in the Instant Pot allows you to get cooked-all-day flavor in just 20 minutes!
- Use a quality Beef Base, like Better Than Bouillon Brand (see below. 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!
- Let the tomato paste sauté a little to caramelize the flavors a little, but make sure you deglaze the bottom of the pot completely before pressure cooking!
- Seasoning the soup properly with salt and pepper always enhances flavors perfectly!
Instant Pot Beef Barley Ingredients
Onion, Celery, Carrots
Garlic
Stew Meat
Worcestershire Sauce
Tomato Paste
Beef Broth
Pearl Barley
How To make Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
Step 1
Add the chopped celery, onion, carrot and garlic to the instant pot to saute.
Step 2
Add the seasonings, Worcestershire, tomato paste and beef base.
Step 3
Now pour in the water and beef broth, scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Turn off saute mode. Add the barley.
Step 4
Add in the stew meat.
Step 4
Close the pot and let it cook for 25 mins. Then do a quick release.
Step 4
Let the stew cool and thicken for about 10 minutes before serving.
Serving
Serve hot bowls of Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup just as is… you don’t really need any side dishes since it has the protein, starch and veggies in the mix.
But if you want to bulk up the meal you can always serve warm crusty bread on the side as well as a side salad.
Storing
Keep leftover Beef and Barley Soup in the fridge in a covered container for up to 4 days. The barley will soak up some of the liquid while it cools, so you will want to add some beef broth or water to the soup when reheating.
More Instant Pot Recipes To Love
Some of my other favorite Instant Pot Recipes are this Instant Pot Beef Stew, Chicken & Rice Soup, Cajun Rice with Chicken & Sausage, and Turkey Meatballs. Or you can check out ALL my Instant Pot recipes here.
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Did you make this recipe?
I would love to hear your review, especially if you have tips and tricks to add! Pop down to the comment section and connect with me
Beef Barley Soup (Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 yellow or white onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 plump garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 ½ cups carrots, sliced
- ½ teaspoon each- onion powder & garlic powder
- optional 2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary or thyme
- 1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon beef base
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 32 oz beef broth or stock
- 1 ½ cup water
- 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
Instructions
- Add the oil, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to the Instant Pot on sauté mode. Sauté for 5 minutes.1 yellow or white onion chopped, 2 celery stalks, sliced, 3 plump garlic cloves, chopped, 1 ½ cups carrots, sliced, 1 tablespoon oil
- Add the onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and beef base, stir to combine with the veggies.and optional rosemary or thyme½ teaspoon each- onion powder & garlic powder, 1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 teaspoon beef base, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, optional 2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary or thyme
- Pour in the beef stock and water and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom. This will prevent the burn notice.32 oz beef broth or stock, 1 ½ cup water
- Turn off the sauté mode.
- Add in the stew meat and pearl barley. Make sure all the barley is submerged.PRO TIP: if you have a sensitive pot that gives you the burn notice do not stir at this point, just let the barley sit above the meat, but make sure it is all submerged in liquid or at least touching the liquid.1 ½ lbs beef stew meat, 1 cup pearl barley
- Close the Instant Pot and set to meat/stew mode (or manual/pressure mode), high pressure, for 25 minutes.
- Do a quick release. Give it a good stir and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes.It will thicken as it cools!
- Serve!
Julie Roman says
This was an outstanding recipe with great depth of flavor! We made a couple minor tweaks: 1) we doubled everything except the beef broth so it was even more hardy. 2) Added 1 cup of red wine 3) Added mushrooms. We will definitely make this again and again!
Susie says
LOVE that you added red wine. Great idea!!!
Kristen says
This was quick, easy, came out perfect! Kid approved, comfort food at its finest!!
Lucie says
Absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make it again.
Debra says
love this recipe. Sooo easy to make. Didn’t have worchestershire sauce. Didn’t miss it. I doubled the tomato paste for the acid. Will definitely be making again and again.
Brooke says
I can’t wait to try this! Show I Brown the beef first? I’ve seen a lot of instant pot recipes that recommend that step when dealing with stew beef. Thanks!!
Susie says
You can definitely do that. I find with stew meat it is not totally necessary because it turns out fall apart tender so you don’t really need the caramelization on the outside.
Sarah says
Delish and a new staple in our rotation. As I said in a reply thread: I adapted the recipe slightly – in lieu of the beef base, I threw in a packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup mix and some black garlic puree.
Michelle says
Can this be made without beef base? What changes should I make?
Susie says
You can absolutely make it without the beef base. It just won’t be quite as flavorful. You can add a beef bouillon cube, but it still won’t have quite the same flavor.
Sarah says
I adapted the recipe slightly – in lieu of the beef base, I threw in a packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup mix and some black garlic puree. This is a new favorite in our rotation!
sherry brubaker says
You’re using my favorite bullion, so I KNEW this recipe was going to be insanely good. Beef and Barley soup really hits the soul… the way momma’s cookin’ usually does!
Susie says
That beef base is the BEST! I am so glad you love the recipe. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe, I truly appreciate it!
Karla says
I live this stew! I’m making it for the second time tonight. I couldn’t find this recipe and I was panicking! Haha. Every other beef stew I’ve made was time consuming. This is easy, cooks in the instant pot and tastes amazing! I usually think it’s annoying when people rate a recipe and then state all the things they did different. I am just going to add that both times I randomly had mushrooms that needed to be used. And I added a bit of thyme because that’s my preference. I know this stew would be just as good without my additions! Great recipe. I need to save it somewhere. Thank you!!! ❤️
karla says
Love*
Susie says
I also made it this weekend and considered adding mushrooms. Great minds think alike! Definitely “pin” the recipe if you use pinterest, or you can save the url on your phone so you can always find it. Thank you so much for taking the time to rate and write such a nice comment!
Shannon says
Just made this. My husband loves it. I rarely go by a recipe 100% but was in a hurry and did with this one. It’s a keeper for sure!!
Kati says
I’m assuming you did not use quick barley. That’s all I can find though in stores here. 🙁
Susie says
No, I used pearl barley. Do you have an area in the store with a lot of Bob’s Red Mill products? It might be in there.
You could certainly try the quick cooking barley, it might be hearty enough to hold up.
CorvetteKaren says
GReat recipe Susie! I made it tonight and it was yummy. This is the first soup I’ve made in my IP and it didn’t disappoint. TY for sharing with us. Quick question….I noticed (after the fact) that the barley package said to sort through the barley and weed out any bad pieces and then rinse with water. Did I miss a necessary step? Oops….hope not…..but it was awesome anyway!😊
Susie says
Hi Kati- I am so glad that you loved it!! Thank you for taking the time to rate and leave such a nice comment. I also have never rinsed or sorted my barley. I actually wouldn’t recommend rinsing it because you want that extra starch to thicken the broth during/after cooking. Makes it extra yummy.
Candace says
Kati, did you use quick barley? Did it work? That’s all I can find as well and would like to make this for tonight. I don’t want the barley to turn to mush, though. Wondering if I can just add it after with the tomato paste?
Susie Weinrich says
You could certainly add the quick barley after the stew pressure cooks. Just use the sauté function to simmer the stew for 10 minutes to cook the barley. If you try that come back and let me know how it works out for you!
John says
This is my favorite soup recipe!
Bill says
Awesome ! The Bomb !
Susie says
Thank you!!!
Andrea Howe says
It’s raining here in SoCal right now and this sounds like the PERFECT dish to make! thanks for the great recipe
Tawnie says
So hearty and comforting! Thank you!!
Tawnie says
So hearty and comforting! Thank you!!