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.
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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!
An old recipe of my Nana's that I have adapted for the electric pressure cooker (or stove top). Full of hearty vegetables, beef, and barley. A one-pot meal!
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 lb Chuck Roast, or stew meat (cut in 1 ½"-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 ¾ 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
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Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté (or browning) mode. When the pot is hot, add the oil.
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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.
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Turn the beef over and brown on other side.
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Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
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Add the garlic, stir and cook for just a minute.
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Add the potatoes, cabbage, bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper, barley, and broth. Stir.
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Cancel the Sauté setting and then add the tomatoes with juice and do not stir.
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Place the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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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).
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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.
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Serve immediately.
If you are Gluten-Free, leave out the barley.
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 quite as soft.
Linda
This was absolutely delicious and I made the recipe exactly as stated. The meat was tender, the veggies held their structure, the amount of barley was perfectly proportioned to the rest of the ingredients, and the soup had lots and lots of flavor. This one is definitely a keeper.
Sandy
Thank you, Linda! Nana would be so happy to know you liked her recipe!
Dora Monroe
If I used left over pot roast what would I change the cooking time to?
Sandy
I would cut the cook time down to about 8 minutes.
Donna
I made this tonight for the first time, followed the recipe just minus the tomatoes because I'm not a fan and I have to say it was delicious! We loved it! Will be making this again. Thank You!
Sandy
That's great, Donna! Thank you!
Linda C.
Sandy, I am wondering if I can leave out the cabbage? I have everything else. Also, I have 1.7 lbs stew meat and 1.5 lbs potatoes. Could I make up for the cabbage with extra potatoes, or meat? Or if I did all of each would I increase the broth?
Sandy
Yes, you can leave out the cabbage and add extra meat/veggies. You will want to keep the cook time the same.
Linda C
Thanks!
Tony
Hi Sandy,
Loved the flavor of this soup, the meat was perfectly cooked. I found everything else was overcooked and mushy. If I cut the veggies thicker and cook 5 minutes less will that work?
Obviously I'm not an experienced cook, but always trying to be better.
Thanks,
Tony
Sandy
Hi Tony, yes, you do need to cut the veggies slightly larger. You can try 5 minutes less time as well to get the texture you like! Thank you for letting me know!
Elizabeth
I love this recipe! So delicious! Could it be frozen after you make it?
Sandy
Yes it can!
lala
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!
Carrell
try parsnips instead. they hold up better than patatos