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!
Judy says
This is one of my favorite recipes. I use a mirepoix which makes it very easy. The perfect rainy day meal
Nia says
This was great, easy and had amazing flavour and the pearl barley was not mushy. Will be putting this on repeat. The family loved it too.
Laurie says
This was easy and delicious! My favorite stew recipe!!
Ryan Johnsen says
Tried it. Flavors were ok, but the barley gets way too soft… I prefer a bit of firmness to the barley. Not a huge fan of mushiness. If I make it again, I will par-roast the meat first so that I can reduce cook time
Frances Taylor says
Thanks for the easy and delicious recipe! I’ve made it twice so far and will make it again. My 85 year old mom loved it on this cold January day. ❤️
Debra says
So easy, quick and foolproof! I used beef shanks, gave my dogs the bones. Made cornbread with it, a perfect weekend meal.
Judy says
It is a fabulous recipe. We make it frequently.
Daphne H. says
I haven’t made this yet but I plan on making it tomorrow. I have looked at so many recipes this evening and yours sounds the best to me! I can’t wait to make this soup!!!! Thank you for this recipe.
Wendy says
I have made that several times, and it is perfect every time! Thank you for sharing this recipe.❤️
Cory says
Absolutely awesome! This recipe was easy to follow and my family loved it
Carole says
We really enjoyed it! I didn’t add the onion and garlic powder. I usually use short ribs but they have all that rubbery fat and it is a pain to separate it from the meat and much more expensive. This tasted great, so I will use stew beef going forwards. Thank you!
Pamela Hunt says
Great recipe!
Susanne Savage says
Great recipe! My son’s absolute favorite is beef with barley, and this is the best recipe I have tried, yet, in two years of sampling.
Heather says
My kids love this recipe!
Martha F. says
I love this recipe. Have made it many times for my family. It is easy to make and delicious to eat. Bravo!