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Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup is total comfort food! A wonderful one-pot meal. This pressure cooker beef barley vegetable soup recipe has chunks of tender beef, carrots, cabbage, potatoes and more. An old fashioned, hearty beef barley soup.
Originally published on 9/28/2017
Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
This is a fun recipe for me, and I’m proud to be sharing it with you! This recipe was originally my Nana’s, and was for a stove top pressure cooker. I adapted it for an electric pressure cooker.
What is the Best Meat to Use for Beef Barley Soup?
I prefer a cubed Chuck Roast for this beef barley soup in the Instant Pot. The meat becomes very tender and has a lot of flavor.
You can also use the pre-cut stew meat that you find in the grocery store, or cut up a roast that you have on hand.
Several of my readers have told me that they made this recipe with Venison or Elk meat with fabulous results!
Vegetable Substitutions
The vegetables in this pressure cooker beef barley vegetable soup recipe are basic: potato, carrot, cabbage, celery, tomatoes. Much like you would find in a beef stew recipe.
You could also add or substitute mushrooms, turnips, rutabagas, green beans, or any other hearty vegetable.
Keep in mind that this soup has a long cook time (because of the meat), so the veggies will be soft. Cutting the vegetables in larger pieces will help with them not being quits as soft.
This is a very hearty soup, it feels warm and good in your belly! It is really a one-pot meal. All you need is some bread or biscuits, and you’re good to go! If you are gluten-free, leave out the barley.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Sandy’s Instant Pot Beef Stew
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
If you make this comforting, delicious pressure cooker beef barley soup, please leave a comment with a star rating below. I would love to know how you liked Nana’s recipe!
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 lb Chuck Roast, or stew meat (cut in 1 1/2"-2" bite size chunks)
- 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
- 2 med Carrots, chopped
- 1 cup Chopped Celery,
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 lb Potatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 8 oz Cabbage, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 2 Bay Leaves,
- 4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme (or 3/4 tsp dried thyme leaves, not ground)
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- ⅓ cup Pearl Barley, rinsed (not instant or quick barley)
- 3 cups Beef Broth, (or Chicken Broth) low sodium
- 1 - 14.5 oz Can of Diced Tomatoes (with juice) or 2 cups of fresh tomatoes, chopped
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté (or browning) mode. When the pot is hot, add the oil.
- Add the beef chunks and spread out in one layer on bottom of pot. Let cook for a couple of minutes to develop a crust.
- Turn the beef over and brown on other side.
- Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the garlic, stir and cook for just a minute.
- Add the potatoes, cabbage, bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper, barley, and broth. Stir.
- Cancel the Sauté setting and then add the tomatoes with juice and do not stir.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button and use the +/- button to select 20 minutes. High Pressure (This is a pretty full pot so it will take several minutes to come to pressure).
- When cooking cycle ends, leave the pot undisturbed for 10 minutes to naturally release some of the pressure. Then do a controlled Quick Release (short bursts) of the remaining pressure. When the pin in the lid drops, open the lid and very carefully stir the soup. Discard bay leaves. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I fill my 8 quart almost to max by adding various amounts of vegetables and liquids. Basically I add any left over veg in the fridge. I always add about a cup of corn. I like the sweetness it brings. When chopping celery I add the leaves and top pieces. They add great. There’s plenty to share so I fill quart jars and a mini loaf of colonial bread and bless a couple of my retired friends with a great dinner for a chilly evening.
Can you use ground beef in this recipe?
Yes, though I would leave the meat a bit chunky as that will give the soup a nice texture.
I have been making beef stew for many years. I have fixed the problem of overly soft vegetables. I cook the meat 3/4 the way, let the meat lose its pressure add the vegetables and bring the meat back up to pressure again for only a few minutes. It is worth the little trouble.