Instant Pot Barley Soup is an easy,nutrient-rich, satisfying, soup made with loads of vegetables. This chunky soup is made FAST in the Instant Pot with mushrooms, leeks, carrots, pearl barley, and a flavorful broth. Dinner served in less than 60 minutes!
I used to hate soups for dinner. I’m someone who eats with eyes first and always need my food to fill the plates, liquid foods like thin soups don’t appeal to my eyes as well as stomach. But this chunky barley soup loaded with fresh veggies is an exception.
I feel like I’m eating a big meal in a bowl. Hot, soothing and comforting with the rich buttery flavour of leeks and nutty flavour of barley. Bowled! One more among million reasons to love my instant pot for weight loss.
This vegetable barley soup is loaded with carrots, leeks, mushrooms and pearl barley all simmered in a flavorful vegetable broth and mild herbs.
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe?
✅ Instant Pot Vegetable barley soup is a one-pot meal, no mess, no spluttering, nothing. Now, who wouldn’t love one meal on busy days?
✅ Full of nutrients from vegetables and use whole grains like barley.
✅ A great low-calorie winter warmer and the soup is not filled with sneaky high-calorie creams.
✅ A filling meal ready in less than 60 minutes for the whole family with minimal effort.
And barley is very inexpensive, this barley soup is perfect for weight loss too with minimal use of fats.
Why use Instant Pot ?
An electrical pressure cooker like an Instant pot is a boon for busy weekdays and quite useful for weight loss cooking. It eliminates the need for using high amounts of oil in dishes.
Barley can take up to an hour to cook on the stovetop where an instant pot takes 20 minutes(plus the time to release pressure.). you can also make Instant pot barley in bulk and use it throughout the week. Cooked barley can be used in soups, barley fried rice, salads and as a side for all curries.
It is quick, efficient and reduces your effort standing and stirring the pots for hours. You sautee the veggies, add barley and broth, set the timer and can come back for a hearty dinner.
And no spluttering or checking in between of course whether the soup is done or not.Also the vegetables don’t turn mushy at all and the barley grains are cooked to perfection, enough reasons to love my instant pot barley soup, isn’t it 🙂
Barley for Weight Loss
uncooked pearl barley cooked pearl barley
Barley is one of the lowest Glycemic index(GI) grains out there. GI is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates. It shows how quickly each food affects your blood sugar (glucose) level when that food is eaten on its own.
Barley is rich in high soluble fibre which slows down digestion and makes you feel full for a long time. thereby eliminating you to eat more than required content.
further, hulled barley is a whole grain which means the bran is not removed and more fibre. Even though pearl barley is somewhat refined, I consider it is a lot more nutrient-dense than other refined grains.
Weight Loss – Barley vegetable soup is rich in fibre and nutrient-dense with all the low-calorie vegetables added to it. Barely contains soluble fibre, which reduces hunger and enhances feelings of fullness. It may promote good weight loss.
Ingredients for Vegetable Barley Soup
Uncooked Pearl barley – you can also use hulled barley but the cooking time varies. I always rinse my barley well to remove any dirt and stones.
Onion – white onions are the best for soups but I didn’t have any. half an onion is good enough. optional spring onions for garnishing.
Veggies – I used carrots, mushrooms, leeks, greens like kale, spinach. You can also add beans, edamame, peas. I like to use fresh vegetables wherever possible.
Garlic – use it crushed or finely chopped but don’t skip.
Herbs and spices – like thyme, pepper, chilli flakes, sea salt. You can also use Italian mixed herbs or any other mild spiced that pleases your tastebuds.
Oil – I used olive oil here, but feel free to use any vegetable oil.
Vegetable stock – dissolve the stock cube in 4 cups of water.
Lime juice is optional to drizzle over the soup.
check the recipe card below for detailed measurements.
How to make Instant Pot Barley Soup
STEP 1
Press SAUTE mode on the instant pot, once it is hot enough, add a teaspoon of olive oil. Tip in the crushed garlic, finely chopped red or white onion and saute until onions turn transparent. Make sure the garlic does not stick to the bottom, keep scrapping out any burnt food particles from time to time.
STEP 2
Add 1 chopped carrot, 1 sliced leek and cook for 2 minutes until the vegetable turns tender.
STEP 3
Add chopped mushrooms, sprinkle salt and pepper, cook for a minute or so until all the vegetables are slightly tender. Make sure not to overcook the vegetables as they get cooked along with barley.
STEP 4
Add in ¾ cup washed uncooked pearl barley grains,spices, mix well and saute for 2 more minutes making sure you scrape off any sticky food at the bottom. the bottom of the pan should be clear of any sticky food else you will get a burn warning.
STEP 5
Add 4 cups vegetable stock. If you want the soup to be runnier, add an additional 2 cups of water. You can always thicken the soup even if there is more excess liquid left. Cancel SAUTE mode and close the lid, turn the valve to the sealing side. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 20 minutes.
STEP 6
Once the cooking is done, allow for at least 10 minutes before releasing the pressure manually. or you can let the pressure release naturally. If you think the soup is not your desired consistency, add water if required, press saute mode and cook for a further few minutes.
STEP 7
Add in greens like spinach or kale and let the soup rest for 5 minutes.
STEP 8
Season with more salt and pepper if required, serve hot.
Serving Suggestions
Serve instant pot barley soup on its own as it contains both whole grains and vegetables. If needed, you can serve it with a crust wholemeal roll or multi-grain crispbread or crackers.
Recipe Tips & FAQ
If you are using hulled barley, increase the cooking time to 35 minutes. Always wash barley grains to remove any dirt or stones.
Do not chop the vegetables very fine else they get blended in the soup(if you like it that way, go ahead).
It has lots of nutrient-rich vegetables, no high fats and obviously healthy, there is no question there. Barley vegetable soup is a wholesome healthy soup as barley is one of the lowest GI and fibre rich foods keeping you full for longer.
Yes, you can, I haven’t tried but I would assume it would take at least 4 whistles to cook the barley grains thoroughly.
even though pearl barley is slightly refined, it is a lot healthier and richer in nutrients compared to other refined grains, the fibre is distributed throughout the kernel.
Substitutions and Variations
Hulled barley can be used in place of pearl barley to include more fibre. increase the cooking time to 35 minutes more or less.
Add in protein like chickpeas, kidney beans to make the barley soup more filling.
You can add your favourite spices – mixed Italian herbs, thyme etc. Sprinkle chilli flake and garlic salt to make the soup spicier.
Storage
Barley soup stores well in the fridge for 3 days when stored in a closed airtight container.
One other reason to love this instant pot barley soup is that you can make it in bulk(the cooking times won’t change) and freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat in a microwave oven or instant pot before serving.
Come and follow me on:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST
TWITTER and YOUTUBE
You can also subscribe to Fat Rainbow so that you never miss any new updates and also get free healthy snacks e-book. If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a Comment, Rate It and Tag us in your photos #FATRAINBOWCOOKS on INSTAGRAM
Instant Pot Vegetable Barley Soup
Ingredients
- ¾ cup barley
- 1 carrot large chopped
- 250 grams mushrooms cut into large chunks
- 1 leek thickly sliced
- 1 red onion small finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or pureed
- 1 spring onion chopped, optional for garnish
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon thyme or mixed herbs such as Italian herbs
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Wash uncooked pearl barly well in runing cold water. Chop carrots and mushrooms in big chunks, chop inion finely and leeks ento big round slices.
- Press SAUTE mode on the instant pot, once it is hot enough, add a teaspoon of olive oil. Tip in the crushed garlic, finely chopped red or white onion and saute until onions turn transparent. Make sure the garlic does not stick to the bottom, keep scrapping out any burnt food particles from time to time.
- Add 1 chopped carrot, 1 sliced leek and cook for 2 minutes until the vegetable turns tender.
- Add chopped mushrooms, sprinkle salt and pepper, cook for a minute or so until all the vegetables are slightly tender. Make sure not to overcook the vegetables as they get cooked along with barley.
- Add in ¾ cup washed uncooked pearl barley grains,spices, mix well and saute for 2 more minutes making sure you scrape off any sticky food at the bottom. the bottom of the pan should be clear of any sticky food else you will get a burn warning
- Add 4 cups vegetable stock. If you want the soup to be runnier, add an additional 2 cups of water. You can always thicken the soup even if there is more excess liquid left. Cancel SAUTE mode and close the lid, turn the valve to the sealing side. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 20 minutes.
- Once the cooking is done, allow for at least 10 minutes before releasing the pressure manually. or you can let the pressure release naturally. If you think the soup is not your desired consistency, add water if required, press saute mode and cook for a further few minutes.
- Add in greens like spinach or kale and let the soup rest for 5 minutes.Season with more salt and pepper if required, serve hot.
Leave a Comment