Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
I’ve had my pressure cooker for a little less than a year and I love trying new recipes in it. Actually, I find that I enjoy adapting some of my old, tried and true, recipes into pressure cooker approved meals. This weekend, since winter seems to be gripping a large chunk of the Midwest, I thought it would be a good time to bring out this Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup winner.
Like my Beef Tips with Gravy, that was my first Instant Pot recipe, this soup uses beef tips!
I love beef tips because they are delicious, economical, and oh so quick when cooked in the Instant Pot.
What normally would take over 8 hours in a slow cooker, can now be cooked in less than one!
In the busy lives we live, 7 hours is a huge difference.
I mean in 7 hours I could…
Drive to Chicago.
Then I could fly to London.
Deep clean the house (Ha. Ha. Ha)
Start a new series on Netflix.
Read a book.
Or lets be honest, take one solid nap.
So time to start the Instant Pot, snuggle under a quilt, and enjoy a simple meal in the comfort of your home.
Stay warm my friends!
Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Stew Meat
- Salt and Pepper, to Taste
- Olive Oil
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 5 cups Water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp "Better Than Bouillon" Beef Base
- 1 cup Celery, chopped
- 1 cup Carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Shredded Potato
- 1/2 cup Quick Cooking Barley
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
-
Salt and pepper the stew meat.
-
Turn on the "Saute" function for the Instant Pot. Heat olive oil in the bowl and then, working in batches, brown the stew meat. (The meat should not be cooked completely, just browned). As each batch browns, transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
-
Once all of the stew meat is browned, saute the onion in the Instant Pot bowl, then pour in 1 cup of water. Scrap along the bottom of the bowl to release the "browned bits" of stew meat and onion that may be stuck on the bottom. (Note: your Instant Pot may read "Hot" or "Burn" at this point. Don't panic… this last step will not only add amazing flavor to the soup, but it should cancel the "Hot" notice since you are releasing the scraps of food that are causing the message).
-
Once the bottom is scrapped clean, stir in the remaining water, beef base, celery, carrots, and garlic. Return the stew meat to the pot and stir to combine.
-
Seal Instant Pot and set valve to “Sealing”.
-
Select the “Manual” option on the pot settings and adjust time to 30 minutes.
-
Once cooking time is complete, let the Instant Pot sit for 12-15 minutes. After that time, quick release pressure, carefully turning the valve to the venting position.
-
Remove the Instant Pot lid and change the setting to "Soup/Broth" or "Saute". This setting should bring the soup to a rolling boil. Once the soup begins to boil, stir in the shredded potato (I use a small Russet potato, peeled and shredded).
-
Let the potato cook for about 5-10 minutes. As the potato cooks, it slightly dissolves and thickens the soup.
-
Once the shredded potato has cooked slightly, add in the quick barley. Stir to combine and cook an additional 10-15 minutes, or according to the package instructions.
-
Check the broth and if need add the Worcestershire sauce and more salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
Slow Cooker Instructions:
Brown the meat in a large stock pot. Remove to a clean plate. Pour in 1 cup of water and scrap the bottom of the pan to release the stuck on “brown bits”. Add in the remaining water. Into the slow cooker, put browned meat, water, beef base, celery, onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook on low 7 hours. After 7 hours, add in the shredded potato. Stir to combine, cover and cook an additional hour. Then stir in barley, cover and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes or until barley is tender.
I just bought the instant pot mini and sorry if this is a dumb question. But would these amounts work I. The mini. I made this awhile back and everyone loved it! Wondering if you think I could do it in the slow cooker. We are going to be away for the day tomorrow, so I thought it might be nice to throw in there for it to be ready for when we get back. Any tips on that? Or just throw it all in and see what happens? Brown the meat first? Thanks!
Yes! The recipe on how to make this soup in the slow cooker are in the notes section of the recipe printable.
Just got my 8 quart Instant Pot and am going to try this recipe. Can I cook the barley in a separate pot? I find when I cooked it in other soup recipes the barley thickened the soup broth too much.
You sure can cook the barley separate. No problem doing that.