Name: Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat (cut into 1-inch cubes, patted dry); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp salt (divided); 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 medium yellow onion (diced); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces); 3 stalks celery (sliced); 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz, with juices); 2/3 cup pearl barley (rinsed); 4 cups beef broth (low-sodium preferred); 2 cups water; 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme); 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped, for serving)

From the roundup: 22 Instant Pot Soup Recipes for Easy Weeknight Dinners

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This Instant Pot beef and barley soup is what I make when I want something that tastes like it cooked all day but I only have an hour. The active part is maybe 15 minutes: browning the beef in batches, softening the onion, scraping up the bottom of the pot. After that the Instant Pot handles everything, and you can go help with homework or fold laundry while it runs.

Pearl barley is doing the real work here. It absorbs the broth during pressure cooking and thickens the soup into something closer to a stew without any flour or cornstarch. By the time you open the lid, you have a thick, deeply flavored bowl that just needs a stir and a handful of fresh parsley.

One honest note: the 45-minute cook time does not include the 12 to 15 minutes the pot takes to come up to pressure, plus a 15-minute natural release at the end. Plan on the full hour. It is still faster than the stovetop version by a long stretch, and the flavor is worth every minute of it.

Why you will love this

Pearl barley thickens the broth on its own, no cornstarch or flour needed
The saute step takes 10 minutes but adds the kind of flavor you usually only get from a long braise
One pot from sear to serve means minimal cleanup on a weeknight
Leftovers taste better the next day as the barley soaks up even more of the broth overnight
Hearty enough to be dinner on its own, especially with a piece of crusty bread

Tips for success

Brown the beef in two batches and do not move it for the first 2 minutes. Crowding the pot steams the meat instead of searing it, and you lose the crust that carries the flavor.
Deglaze with a splash of broth before you add anything else. Those stuck bits on the bottom are flavor, and scraping them up also keeps you from getting a burn warning mid-cook.
Rinse the pearl barley before adding it. It only takes 30 seconds and removes surface starch that can make the broth cloudy and slightly gluey.
Do the full 15-minute natural release. Cutting it short leaves the barley a little chewy in the center, especially if your barley is on the older side.

If the soup is too thick

The barley keeps absorbing liquid even after cooking, so day-two soup is almost always thicker than day-one soup.
Stir in a splash of beef broth while reheating on the stovetop over medium-low heat until you hit the consistency you want.
If it has thickened into something closer to porridge overnight, treat it that way: add enough broth to loosen it and taste for salt before serving.

Substitutions

Chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes works well here and often has more marbling than packaged stew beef, which means more flavor in the broth. If you only have quick-cooking barley, use it but drop the pressure cook time to 20 minutes or the barley will turn to mush. Dried thyme stands in for fresh at 1 teaspoon, which is already listed in the ingredient list as an option. Fire-roasted diced tomatoes are a easy swap for regular diced tomatoes if you want a slightly smokier base.

For a lower-sodium version, use unsalted broth and taste at the end before adding extra salt. Worcestershire sauce does contain some sodium, so keep that in mind if someone at the table is watching their intake closely.

Make-ahead and storage

This soup is genuinely better the next day. Make it the night before, let it cool completely, and refrigerate it in an airtight container. The flavors settle and deepen overnight. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. When reheating, add a splash of beef broth because the barley will have soaked up more liquid while it sat, and stir well over medium-low heat until warmed through.

To freeze, portion the cooled soup into airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The barley holds up reasonably well after freezing, though the texture will be softer than fresh. Reheat gently on the stovetop and add a little broth to bring it back to the right consistency.

Brittany Stage