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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 love this recipe! So delicious! Could it be frozen after you make it?
Yes it can!
Made this, my husband didn’t like potato in soup so I left that out, it turned out great still! I love how we can get so much vegetables into this 🙂 he wants the soup to be thicker next time (though maybe it would have happened with the potato), so I might try to add cornstarch next time. Thanks for the recipe!
try parsnips instead. they hold up better than patatos
I HAVE A 3QT MINI INSTANTPOT, YOU SAID TO REDUCE BY 1/2 OR 1/3 WOULD COOKING TIME BE THE SAME? Would there be enough liquid to build pressure?
Hi Meredith, yes, there will be enough liquid. If you cut the recipe in half, there will be 1 1/2 cups of liquid, which is plenty. I like my soup a little more soupy, so would use 2 cups. The cook time will remain the same (to cook the meat until tender).
I just made used my Instant Pot for the 1st time and tried your recipe, it is so good.
Thank you
Hi Patricia, thank you! I’m so glad you liked this recipe!
Do you think the cooking time would be the same if you left out the meat?
The cook time would be much shorter as the meat needs a long cook time to become tender. Try 10 minutes with a 10 to 15 minute NPR.
Hi Kadie, I have been using my Multi Cooker for about 7 years now, and I was in a rut! I was not using it for all the things it can do. That’s why I’m happy that I found you! I love your comfort food recipes. Right now I’m waiting for my split pea soup to get finished! It smells great!
I am so excited that I stumbled across your recipe one day after a couple Instant Pot fails. I was about to give up on my Instant Pot, but decided to give it one last shot with your recipe. The soup turned out amazing and has become an often requested favorite for my family and friends. Thank you so much for sharing your Nana’s recipe!
Hi Kadie! I’m so happy that you found me! Thank you for your nice review!
Do you know if it’s possible to double or make 1.5x this recipe in a 6 quart? I have to make soup for a teacher potluck at school, and I want to be able to serve the maximum number servings I can make. This recipe sounds amazing… Thanks!
Hi Julie! I think 1.5x would be safest. Do a longer natural release as the pot will be fuller (more full?).
Hi Sandy,
Is this recipe made in a 6 quart Instant Pot?
Thanks and I can’t wait to try it!
Yes, a 6 qt or 8 qt will work.
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!
Hi Jessie, I would brown the meat first, toss it all in and see what happens. I think it will still be great!