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You are here: Home / Recipes / Instant Pot

Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew

By Susie Weinrich ยท Date Sep 10, 2020ยท 177 Comments ยท May contain affiliate links.

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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.

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.

RELATED: Instant Pot Beef Stew

Jump to:
  • Secrets to Really Good Beef & Barley Stew
  • Dinner with the Instant Pot
  • More Instant Pot Recipes To Love
  • Did you make this recipe?
  • Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew Recipe + Video
  • Leave a comment and rate this recipe!

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!

Better Than Bouillon Beef Base

Let the tomato paste sautรฉ 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!

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.

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, Meat/Stew, Sautรฉ, 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

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.


Susie leaning on the kitchen counter

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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

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a bowl of Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew Recipe + Video

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.ย 
4.95 from 144 votes
Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 5 people
Calories: 407kcal
Author: Susie Weinrich

Equipment

  • Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 yellow or white onion chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 3 plump garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 ยฝ cups carrots, sliced
  • ยฝ teaspoon each- onion powder & garlic powder
  • optional 2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary or thyme
  • 1 ยฝ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoon beef base
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
  • 32 oz beef broth or stock
  • 1 ยฝ cup water
  • 1 ยฝ lbs beef stew meat - cut into 1 inch chunks (can be anywhere from 1-1 ยฝ 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 sautรฉ mode. Sautรฉ for 5 minutes.ย 
    1 yellow or white onion chopped, 2 celery stalks, sliced, 3 plump garlic cloves, chopped, 1 ยฝ 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 thyme
    ยฝ teaspoon each- onion powder & garlic powder, 1 ยฝ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 teaspoon beef base, 1 teaspoon salt, ยฝ 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 ยฝ cup water
  • Turn off the sautรฉ 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 ยฝ 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!
Did you make this recipe?Connect with me and let me know by commenting below!
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Serving: 1serving | Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 1546mg | Potassium: 957mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6550IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 5mg

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!

Comments

    4.95 from 144 votes (56 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Todd Bultynck says

    March 23, 2023 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    Awesome!!!!

    Reply
  2. Sherry Berbit says

    March 09, 2023 at 12:17 pm

    5 stars
    this recipe is great !! I had to use farro, as I didn’t have barley. also used ketchup vs tomato paste, and it still was just fantastic. I have made it several times, once as a gift and it was a huge hit. best soup I have made in maybe forever!

    Reply
  3. Opal says

    March 02, 2023 at 2:47 pm

    5 stars
    We love this stew I make it every week for my husbands lunches. I like the thyme better than the rosemary. Thank you SO much!

    Reply
  4. Cat Lemmons says

    February 02, 2023 at 9:14 am

    5 stars
    My family was crazy about this beef barley stew, they couldnโ€™t get enough, a real winner

    Reply
  5. Nicole says

    January 31, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    5 stars
    Made this last night with venison. My husband and I enjoyed this recipe, thank you!

    Reply
  6. Dave says

    January 31, 2023 at 1:59 pm

    5 stars
    So good. This was the best version of Beef Barley soup I’ve ever had. Followed the recipe exactly. No suggested modifications.

    Reply
  7. Carolyn says

    January 23, 2023 at 6:26 am

    5 stars
    I made this the other day as a soup and we’re eating it for breakfast and loving it! It’s the best-flavored barley soup/stew I’ve made. You’re absolutely right about the tomato paste. It makes a huge difference. Worchester sauce… same thing.

    Things I did differently for your recipe were to saute in an iron skillet and then deglaze and put into the I.P. I love my InstantPot, but not for sauteeing. I did stir the tomato paste into the skillet when the onions/carrots etc were just about done and let that brown a bit, too, to push up the flavor. I also added a pinch of cayenne. I just about doubled the broth as I wanted a soup more than a stew.

    Otherwise, it was just as directed, and the soup is great. I do have to add a little water reheating, but that’s always the case with barley.

    This is an excellent recipe. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  8. Diane says

    January 22, 2023 at 7:08 pm

    I am making tonight, noticed you donโ€™t sautรฉ the beef, If I do would that change the cooking time by much?
    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Susie Weinrich says

      January 23, 2023 at 9:34 am

      No, the cooking time is a mix of the beef and the barley needing to be cooked. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  9. Sue says

    January 21, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    4 stars
    Very tasty! I will reduce the barley next time as there wasnโ€™t much broth left. My family loved this!

    Reply
  10. Kurt Blodgett says

    January 19, 2023 at 10:23 pm

    *please don’t share this with my mother*

    This is the best damn beef barley stew I have ever had in my 53 years! It was easy to make, tastes phenomenal, and it hits the spot on a cold winter night! Wow! What a great testament to what Mom’s Dinner is all about! Next: https://momsdinner.net/4-ingredient-bread/ as an accompaniment at a future meal.

    Reply
    • Susie Weinrich says

      January 20, 2023 at 7:39 am

      What high praise, thank you so much!!! I am so glad you loved the stew. Easy recipes with lots of flavor is what we are all about!

      Reply
      • Alex says

        March 26, 2023 at 6:57 pm

        The prep time on this is a little under estimated on the prep time. 10 minutes is closer to the time needed to bring the meal up to high pressure, plus th N the time to cut and measure all the ingredients.

  11. Vic says

    January 12, 2023 at 9:30 am

    Hi,
    would be great if you could add the metric measures as here in Europe we use g/kg and ml/l …. and the conversion is sometimes difficult as US cups and UK cups are also different

    Reply
  12. Dana says

    December 21, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    5 stars
    This was the best beef stew recipe Iโ€™ve tried! Thank you ๐Ÿ˜Š

    Reply
  13. Elizabeth says

    December 13, 2022 at 4:25 pm

    5 stars
    So good! The flavor brings me back to my childhood! My mother would cook stew with the same flavor profile. This recipe is a keeper and so easy to make! Love it!

    Reply
  14. Seprenna says

    December 04, 2022 at 10:32 am

    5 stars
    I made this yesterday and it was soooooooo good im having the leftovers today with bread and butter

    Reply
  15. Lilly says

    November 27, 2022 at 1:42 pm

    5 stars
    I added 2 cups of potatoes and about 2 cups extra broth…..we loved it and im making it again tonight with the leftover prime rib from the holidays ๐Ÿ˜Š

    Reply
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Susie Weinrich is a professional food photographer and recipe developer. Her thoroughly tested recipes and step-by-step guides give readers confidence in the kitchen.

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