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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. 138 Comments

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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.

    Table of Contents hide
    1 Secrets to Really Good Beef & Barley Stew
    2 Dinner with the Instant Pot
    3 More Instant Pot Recipes To Love
    4 Did you make this recipe?!
    5 Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew 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 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!

    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, 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!

    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 Chicken & Rice Soup, Cajun Rice with Chicken & Sausage, and Turkey Meatballs. Or you can check out ALL my Instant Pot recipes here.


    Susie Weinrich washing produce

    Did you make this recipe?!

    If you make this recipe I would love to hear your review. Pop down to the comment section and connect with me.

    Then sign up for our Weekly Newsletter so you never miss a new recipe!

    Rate This Recipe
    a bowl of Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

    Instant Pot Beef & Barley Stew Recipe

    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. 
    COOK ALONG WITH THE AUDIO RECIPE USING THE PLAYER BELOW.
    4.98 from 113 votes
    Print Pin Rate SaveSaved to Grow
    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 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
    Prevent your screen from going dark while you are cooking!

    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 thyme
      ½ 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!
    Did you try this recipe? Connect with me & let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
    Jump to Comments
    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

    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!

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Todd Bultynck

      March 23, 2023 at 1:07 pm

      5 stars
      Awesome!!!!

      Reply
    2. Sherry Berbit

      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

      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

      February 02, 2023 at 9:14 am

      5 stars
      My family was crazy about this beef barley stew, they couldn’t get enough, a real winner

      Reply
    5. Nicole

      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

      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

      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

      January 22, 2023 at 7:08 pm

      I am making tonight, noticed you don’t sauté the beef, If I do would that change the cooking time by much?
      Thanks!!

      Reply
      • Susie Weinrich

        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

      January 21, 2023 at 4:48 pm

      4 stars
      Very tasty! I will reduce the barley next time as there wasn’t much broth left. My family loved this!

      Reply
    10. Kurt Blodgett

      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

        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

          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

      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

      December 21, 2022 at 6:30 pm

      5 stars
      This was the best beef stew recipe I’ve tried! Thank you 😊

      Reply
    13. Elizabeth

      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

      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

      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 😊

      Reply
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