Instant Pot beef barley soup
Tender beef, chewy barley, mushrooms and carrots in a deep, savory broth that tastes like it simmered for hours.
- 105 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $3.73 a serving
- 350 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 1½ lb stew beef, cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 cups beef broth, divided
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Each serving has about 350 calories, 30 g protein, 28 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $3.73 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No baby bella mushrooms? White mushrooms work.
- No stew beef? Chuck roast works.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the carrots, celery and mushrooms, the garlic, and the barley in a strainer.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
the beef with the salt and pepper. Press , heat the oil, and the beef in two batches, about 4 minutes each, moving each batch to a plate.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 8 min
Add the onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms to the pot and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms release their liquid.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in 1 cup of the broth, scrape the bottom until nothing is stuck, then press Cancel.
Dolly’s tip: A clean bottom is what keeps the burn warning away.Add the beef and its juices, the rest of the broth, the Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaves and barley, and stir.
Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing and pressure cook on High for 30 minutes.
Timer: 30 min
Dolly’s tip: Coming up to pressure takes about 15 minutes before the countdown starts.Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Let the pressure release on its own for 15 minutes before turning the valve to Venting.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Barley foams, and a slow release keeps soup from spitting out of the valve.Pull out the bay leaves, taste for salt, and serve with parsley. Add of broth or water to leftovers, since the barley keeps drinking.
Splash. A splash is a small, quick pour, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon. It’s there to loosen or brighten a dish, so the exact amount doesn’t matter.
How you’ll know: The dish looks a little looser or tastes a little brighter, not soupy.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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