Name: Instant Pot Beef and Barley Stew
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds beef chuck (cut into 1.5-inch pieces); sea salt and black pepper (to taste); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup diced yellow onion (1 large onion); 2 cups chicken stock; 4 cups beef stock; 1 cup diced carrots (1 large carrot); 2 large russet potatoes (peeled and cut into large dice similar to beef); 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 cup pearl barley; 11.2 ounce bottle Guinness Extra Stout Beer; 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or .75 teaspoon of dried); 2 bay leaves

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Instant Pot Beef and Barley Stew is the perfect meal for when you need an easy, hearty dinner that the whole family will love. It is full of tender meat, vegetables and perfectly cooked barley!

Check out the Instant Pot Recipes page for even more delicious pressure cooker recipes.

Large chunks of beef, potatoes and carrots surrounded by barley and broth in a blue bowl.

This is the ultimate comfort food – it tastes like it has been cooking on the stove all day!!

Looking for a simple soup recipe that is packed with flavor and veggies, and made completely in a crockpot? You need to try this Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup too!

Large chunks of beef, potatoes and carrots surrounded by barley and broth in a blue bowl with a glass of Guinness in the background.

📋 What you need to make Beef and Barley Stew

Instant Pot Beef and Barley Stew ingredients in white bowls.

beef chuck cut into 1.25-inch cubes
sea salt and black pepper
1 cup of diced yellow onion
olive oil
chicken stock adds an extra layer of flavor
beef stock adds the warm, deep flavor
Worcestershire sauce to add another layer of flavor
brown sugar to round out the flavors
2 large russet potatoes diced into 1-inch cubes – similar to the size of the beef
1 cup of diced carrots
pearl barley
11.2 ounce bottle of Guinness Extra-Stout – it has a deeper, richer flavor than Draught
fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves

Check out the printable recipe card below for the complete recipe and detailed instructions.

🧑🏻‍🍳 How to make Beef and Barley Stew in an Instant Pot

Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper.

Cubed chuck roast tossed with salt and pepper in a white bowl.

Press the Sauté button on your pressure cooker. When display reads HOT, add the oil. Swirl around the bottom.

Pressure cooker set to Sauté with HOT on the display.

Add the beef chunks to the hot oil in batches and cook just until all sides are browned.

Oil and beef chunks sizzling in a pressure cooker.

Remove the browned meat with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl while continuing with the additional batches.

Add the diced onions to the remaining oil in the pressure cooker and cook until tender and browned, about 7 minutes stirring often to keep them from sticking.

Sautéed, chopped onions in a pressure cooker.

Pour the chicken stock into the pressure cooker and use a flat wooden turner to scrape ALL of the cooked on bits off the bottom of the liner. Seriously get in there and scrape it as much as possible…as in 1 to 2 minutes of scraping of you will get a burn notice.

A wooden spoon scraping the bottom of the pressure cooker to remove all of the cooked on bits.

Add the browned beef, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, potatoes, carrots, barley, thyme leaves, bay leaves and beer to the pressure cooker.

Beef stock, beer, carrots, potatoes, beef, barley, thyme and bay leaves added to the pressure cooker.

Press the “Cancel” button. Secure the lid and make sure the pressure knob is in the “Sealing” position.

Press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and use the – and + buttons to adjust the time to 15 minutes on High Pressure.

Pressure cooker set to 15 minutes on HIGH pressure.

When the pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Carefully turn the knob to release the remaining pressure and remove the lid.

A wooden spoon with a scoop of beef and barley stew.

Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed and serve.

Looking down on a big blue bowl of beef, potato and carrots chunks surrounds by broth and barley.

The perfect cozy meal to warm you up on a cold winter day.

📌 Recipe Notes & Tips

Substitute your favorite stout beer if desired.
The broth is thin, more like a soup. With all of the carbs in the potatoes and barley I chose not to add any thickener. Feel free to remove 4 tablespoons of the cooking liquid and place it in a small bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to create a slurry. Press the Sauté button and stir the mixture until it thickens.
If you do not want to use Guinness, you can substitute red wine or additional beef stock.

🥣 Tools used to create this recipe

🍲 More delicious stew recipes

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Enjoy!!