Go Back
Print
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup in a white bowl with spoon next to two rolls

Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

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!

Course Dinner, Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword pressure cooker beef barley soup recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 10 (1 cup) servings
Calories 280 kcal
Author Sandy Clifton

Ingredients

  • 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
  • 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

  1. Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté (or browning) mode. When the pot is hot, add the oil.

  2. 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.

  3. Turn the beef over and brown on other side.

  4. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.

  5. Add the garlic, stir and cook for just a minute.

  6. Add the potatoes, cabbage, bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper, barley, and broth. Stir.

  7. Cancel the Sauté setting and then add the tomatoes with juice and do not stir.

  8. Place the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.

  9. 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).

  10. 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.

  11. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

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.