This Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew recipe is a classic stew with super flavorful beef broth that has cooked-all-day flavor in just 30 minutes! It 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.
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.
RELATED: Instant Pot Beef Stew
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Secrets to Really Good Beef & Barley Stew
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!
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!
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
Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew Recipe + Video
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!
Jennifer says
Sooooo good & hearty! Added a can of drained & rinsed black eyed peas on New Year’s Day for luck in 2022!
Susie Weinrich says
What a PERFECT way to get in your black eyed peas! Happy New Year!
Pat Moshimer says
This recipe is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing.
I tossed the beef in flour and sautéed it separately then mixed it in with the rest. It turned out nice and thick. Added petite peas after and everyone loved it.
Sharon says
Making this tomorrow. My husband isn’t a fan of tomato paste. Can I leave that out? What are your thoughts on adding red wine? I saw that someone mentioned it in a comment. Thanks
Susie Weinrich says
You can absolutely leave the tomato paste out!! And YES use red wine, I love cooking with red wine!!! I would do half red wine, half beef broth.
Carol Yunes says
I’ve made this several times and without the beef base. My husband absolutely loves it! I’ve shared it with friends and get great compliments back. It’s fast, easy to prepare and the meat is always tender. It’s even company worthy for a cold winter night. Yum!
lauren M. Krebs says
Made several times already and family loves it
Mary Kay says
What is beef base?
Susie Weinrich says
Beef base is similar to bouillon but WAY more flavorful. It will be in the soup aisle. It comes in a jar and is in paste form. I like to use “Better Than Bouillon” brand.
Marie Heath says
Beef base is a paste in a jar as opposed to bullion cubes. My opinion it gives much better flavor. However, it’s also high in sodium.
Carolyn B LeJeune says
it is found in the soup aisle
S. Taylor says
I made one mistake in the recipe, but I don’t think it hurt the outcome. I put the tomato paste in with the other seasonings. Next time, I will add it at the end as instructed. There will definitely be a next tim. My husband loved it so much that he begged me to put the leftovers away so he wouldn’t overeat.
Natalie says
Made it last night as directed and it was a hit. Not sure if I accidentally went too heavy on the beef base amount, but it was a little salty for me. I added extra water just to take down the sodium level. Family loved it as prepared but I think it was still hearty after I added 2 cups of water. Having some now for leftovers and added in a handful of chopped kale for some greens! Yum!
Debbie says
I’ve made this several times now, and it’s DELICIOUS just as written. Quick, easy and tasty – win, win, win! My husband & I both love it. Wonderful comfort food on cool autumn evenings!
Bonnie says
This was delicious! Because I wanted more of a vegetable soup as well as beef barley so I added frozen peas, frozen green beans from our garden & a can of fire roasted tomatoes. Even my picky husband loved it. The beef was so tender. Thank you.
KIMBERLY M KIRK says
Great idea with the extra veggies
Jo says
Can you keep this on warm in the instant pot , for about 4 hours??
Susie Weinrich says
It will thicken quite a bit in 4 hours. You may need to add a little broth or water before serving.
Steve says
Love this recipe. I don’t do the cellrey or carrots, not a good vegetable eater but substituted small white potatoes and is great. Making agian tonight and the wife loves it to. Thanks for the recipe.
Steve Lubrant says
Love this recipe. I don’t do the celery or carrots, not a big fane of vegetables but substituted small white potatoes instead and came out great. Wife loved it too. Making it again tonight. Thanks for the recipe.
Lynn says
This beef and barley stew is delicious. My 3-year old grandson loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Susie Weinrich says
Thank you so much! I made it this week too, perfect for fall!
Ann P says
Excellent! I added a half bag of frozen petite peas at the end. Hearty and wonderful.
Amber says
I added diced golden potatoes and only about 1/2 cup barley and a bay leaf. To ensure beef tender enough, i cooked for 35 min, 5 min natural vent then quick vent. SOOOOOO good and easy. Hubs LOVED it. This will be in heavy rotation this fall/winter. Thank you!!
Anne says
Made the most delicious stew!! Great flavors! Thank you! Family is loving it
Sandra says
Hi Susie,
Can this recipe be doubled or would that be too much for the 6qt instant pot?
Susie Weinrich says
I think it should fit. Since the barley puffs up a little I would make sure it is not on or over the max fill line in the pot before you start it.
JenniferJ says
This was delicious! I made it just the way the recipe is written.