UPDATE: As of January 2021 I have updated the printable recipes for my Beef Barley Soup to include directions for both the Instant Pot and Slow Cooker. This post has the Instant Pot directions.

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Click here for the Slow Cooker directions

Instant Pots, or instapots for short, are all the rage these days. They are marketed for busy people looking to make affordable, whole food meals on hectic weeknights. If that isn’t just about every person you know these days, you might be living under a rock.

I consider my instapot to be the smarter, trendier cousin to my crock-pot. And if you know me, you know that I don’t totally love my crock-pot. Yes, it definitely serves a purpose, but it just isn’t my favorite way to cook. So that may leave you wondering…how do I feel about my Instapot?

I like it….better! And I’ll tell you why.

Why I Like My Instant Pot

First let me introduce you to the one I own, here she is! (affiliate link) Now that I have a family of six, I do wish I had gone with the eight quart pot, but alas my 6 quarter is still very handy! For starters, it cuts cooking time down significantly. A crock pot recipe that takes 8 hours, will be ready to eat in about 2 hours when done in an Instapot. Another very important reason I prefer it to my crockpot is that you can infuse a lot more flavor into food by cooking it under pressure, than you can by just putting it in a hot crockpot all day. I also like that I can saute directly in the pot and don’t have to dirty an additional pan during a recipe. What’s more? You can make yogurt, if that’s your thing, bake cakes, and steam foods. It’s a really versatile tool and that’s why I like it.

What I don’t like about it? The very same thing that I love about it – the pressure. It can be overwhelming and scary to think that your dinner could burst out of the pot all over the walls and ceilings. Although it’s very, very rare, it’s still something I think about when I use mine. So I’m writing this now and probably will ever other time I post an Instapot recipe. USE CAUTION. Follow the instruction manual per your machine. I always make sure my kids are not near the kitchen when I am cooking with the Instapot or opening it. In fact, I generally try to use mine when they are at school and the babies are napping. Maybe I’m just a paranoid mama, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

With that information out of the way, let’s get to this recipe I created for Beef Barley Soup. I was in the mood for a vegetable beef soup and I usually add in things like peas, carrots, and potatoes. But I had a bag of pearl barley* in my pantry and it dawned on me to make a beef barley soup instead, and so I did.

*What is Pearl Barley you ask? Straight from our friends over at Wikipedia:

Pearl barley, or pearled barley, is whole grain barley that has been processed to remove its fibrous outer hull and polished to remove some or all of the bran layer^[1].

It is the most common form of barley for human consumption because it cooks faster and is less chewy than other, less-processed forms of the grain^[2] such as “hulled barley” (or “barley groats“, also known as “pot barley” and “Scotch barley”).^[2] Fine barley flour is prepared from milled pearl barley.^[3]

Now let’s make Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup…

To start, prepare a 2 pound chuck roast by cutting into small 1 to 1.5 inch cubes. I always try to trim away large chunks of visible fat to make the dish leaner. See the large white area of fat I’m pointing to? It’s running through the middle of the roast and can be removed entirely.

Some fat is both necessary and delicious – because it will add flavor, so use your best judgement and your families preferences when cutting your roast.

Next, roughly chop the following:

2 cups carrots. Baby carrots will do, but I generally prefer whole carrots for better flavor.

2 cups chopped onion. White or yellow sweet onions will work best.

2 cups chopped celery.

2-3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed.

Now that all of the prep work is done, set your Instapot to the saute feature and add in 1 Tablespoon of cooking oil, I prefer extra virgin olive oil, but use whatever you have on hand. Once the pan has heated up, add in the celery, onions, carrot and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes stirring often. You really just want to start to draw the moisture out of the veggies and begin to soften them.

Next add in 1/4 cup of dry red wine. If you do not have wine or prefer not to cook with it, you can add in 1/4 cup of water or beef stock. I did try the recipe both ways and I prefer the depth of flavor that the wine adds to the soup. Let the wine (or water or stock) cook for about a minute or two and then add in your chopped chuck roast, 1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste, 2 Tablespoons *Organic Beef Better Than Bouillon, 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 3/4 cup of dry pearl barley and optionally a few sprigs of fresh thyme. If you do not have fresh thyme it’s not a big deal, the soup will still be delicious.

Now add in 40 ounces of water. Room temperature water is fine.

Stir all of the ingredients together and then secure the lid of your pot, taking care that there are no bits of food on the lip of the pot, as this could cause the lid to seal improperly.

Set the pot to manual high pressure for 25 minute, and make sure the valve is in the sealing position. Now just leave it alone!

Every pot is different…

But once mine is set, it will say ON and then once it has come to pressure, it will begin to count down from 25 minutes to zero. When it hits zero, I still just leave it alone. The soup will continue to cook as the pressure releases naturally over the next 45 minutes. My pot begins to count up once the pressurized cooking is done. At about 45 minutes you can gently move the valve from sealing to venting. It should have already released most of it’s steam and pressure over the past 45 minutes. However, if it has not, it will let out whatever remaining pressure is in the pot. Wait until there is no steam or noise coming from the pot and then gently release the lid with the handle. As I mentioned above, I always use caution and make sure my kids are not near me when I am cooking with or opening my Instapot.

Now opening an Instapot, much like a crockpot, is not usually a thing of beauty. Bits of food and cooking liquid have splattered up onto the sides of the pot. Don’t let those pretty food pictures on Pinterest fool you – this is what it looks like when you open up. Not so ugly after all, but also not picture perfect, but man does it taste good!!!

The soup is ready to eat just like this. You can adjust the seasoning to your preference by adding freshly ground black pepper and salt. I don’t think it needs anything, but that’s just me. This makes A LOT of soup. I generally portion the extras into a few containers for extra meals throughout the week and freeze several to have on hand for a quick lunch or dinner anytime.

I hope you add my Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup to next week’s meal plan and that you enjoy it as much as I do. Get my free Family Meal Planner straight to your in box, when you sing up here.

Until next time, happy cooking!

If you liked this recipe, check out my other hearty, comforting Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Pasta

*Buying Tip: Organic Beef Better Than Bouillon is now sold at Costco!