Easy Instant Pot Ground Beef Barley Soup

This Easy Instant Pot Ground Beef Barley Soup delivers on cozy home-cooked flavors in a fraction of the time.  Dig into a flavorful broth filled with tender beef, fresh vegetables and herbs. Add some crusty bread and you’ve got the perfect meal for a cold day.

The magic of pressure cooking makes it possible to have this flavorful soup on your table in about an hour. I love using a slow cooker, but sometimes I don’t have enough time in the morning to set everything up.  Instead of slow simmering all day, the Instant Pot applies high pressure to yield the same results in less time.

Cooking with Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a personal favorite because of their meaty texture. They make for a hearty soup without having to add more meat.  They also have no problem being cooked in a pressure cooker.  

Some vegetables like green beans, peas and potatoes would get mushy if cooked for more than a few minutes.  But mushrooms are resilient and can be cooked right along with the rest of the ingredients in this recipe.

Hulled Barley vs Pearl Barley

Hulled barley is less processed, with only the outer hull removed, making it more nutritious and higher in fiber but with a chewier texture and longer cooking time. Pearled barley, on the other hand, has both the hull and bran removed, resulting in a softer texture and quicker cooking, though it has fewer nutrients.

How to Make Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup

Step 1: Brown the Beef

Set the ‘saute’ function on the Instant Pot or pressure cooker and heat 1 Tbs olive oil. Then add in your ground beef and break it up with a spatula or spoon, stirring occasionally until it’s browned.  Then strain off the excess liquid before moving on to the next step otherwise you’ll end up with a greasy soup.

Step 2: Add the Sherry

Add the sherry and stir, scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Those little browned bits add flavor!

Step 3: Add the Aromatics

Next add the carrots, celery and shallots and stir, still on the saute setting, for 3 minutes until the veggies are fragrant.

Step 4: Add the Rest of the Ingredients

Then add all the remaining ingredients and stir until everything’s all mixed up together. 

Step 5: Pressure Cook

Set the Instant Pot on the manual setting for 20 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure and seal, then the 20 minute timer will count down.  Once the timer goes off, don’t release the pressure quite yet.  Let it hang out for another 10 minutes so that some of the pressure naturally releases.

Step 6: Release the Pressure and Serve

Finally, release the remaining pressure and remove the lid. If adding the fresh parsley, stir it in at this point, and then enjoy!

Why Ground Beef for this Recipe?

I opted for ground beef in this recipe because it cooks up quickly and is one of the more affordable options for beef.  You could easily substitute diced beef stew meat in place of ground beef for this recipe. However instead of setting 20 minutes on manual pressure, set it for 30 minutes as it will take longer for the stew meat to get tender.

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