Feelin’ all the cozy feels with this hearty beef barley soup. Warm soups make me want to bust out my fuzzy socks, oversized sweaters and drink warm earl grey tea lattes all day long. Needless to say, soups are some of my favorite types of food. And my instant pot beef barley soup isn’t just some boring old soup. I’m talking about the kind of soup that hits all the perfect warm and cozy notes with spoonfuls of flavorful broth, melt-in-your-mouth tender chunks of beef, veggies, and al dente barley. It’ll stick to your ribs, pack on the protein, give your insides a big hug, and leave your belly extra happy! What makes this soup recipe 1000x times better is that we’re making it from start to finish in the instant pot. With around 60 minutes of total time, you’ll have a soup that tastes like you’ve been slow-simmering it all day long. And yes, you sure can cook this recipe all day long and make beef barley soup in the slow cooker if that’s more your jam.
Ingredients for beef barley soup recipe:
Beef: you’ll need stewing beef, or a beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch pieces. My grocery store sells pieces that are about 1–1½ inch pieces. Keep in mind that the smaller your pieces are, the less time this soup will take in the instant pot. If the beef cubes are too large, feel free to chop them down a bit. This helps ensure all the ingredients require the same cook time in the instant pot.Mushrooms: I like to use baby Bella mushrooms for this recipe. However, button mushrooms would also work here.Mirepoix: Mirepoix is the base of the soup. It’s a combination of onions, celery, and carrots.Garlic: You can use as little or as much garlic as you like for this recipe. I typically go a bit heavier than most, and we love a good flavorful broth. I use about 6-8 cloves garlic!Beef broth: I suggest using low-sodium beef broth for this recipe. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have beef broth on hand, you can substitute it with low-sodium chicken broth (or stock) and add a tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce. I’ve done this plenty of times with great results!Seasonings and sauces: I recently started adding a dash of tomato paste to my soup, and I love the flavor profile it adds to this soup. Along with that, you’ll need bay leaves, dried thyme, and mushroom powder. The mushroom powder is optional, but it’s an umami flavor bomb if you have it on hand! Just ½ teaspoon takes this soup to new heights!Pearl barley: is a grain that has had the tough fibrous outer hull removed from it. Barley is a fiber-rich food that is great to include in your diet.Potato: Just a big old russet is what you need here! Remove the peel and shred the potato in your food processor.Fresh parsley: adds a bit of color and freshness to the soup recipe.
- Up until recently, I’ve always used diced potatoes in my beef barley soup but the shredded potatoes is a little trick I picked up from The Food Charlatan and it’s seriously the best thing in this soup!
How to make instant pot beef barley soup:
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Honey Lemon Chicken with Green BeansRustic Shepherd’s Pie with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and PeasHungarian Mushroom SoupMini Moroccan Meatball SoupHomemade Minestrone Soup
UPDATE: As of 01/2021 this recipe has been updated to include the tomato paste and mushroom powder as well as minor recipe adjustments to make this soup faster. These ingredients are optional, however, I do find that the soup tastes better with them. If you’ve made the previously shared IP version and prefer that recipe, you can make it by omitting the mushroom powder and tomato paste and adding the barley and shredded potato at the end (after pressure cooking) using the slow cooker function for 1 hour.
Sometimes I like to spice things up by adding a little pinch of red pepper flakes along with the dried thyme too but this is purely optional.
