Make the most comforting meal in a fraction of the time with this Instant Pot Barley and Chicken Soup recipe. It's chicken and barley soup made fast!
What Makes This Chicken and Barley Soup So Comforting?
- Ingredients. All the best comfort-food ingredients you love. Tender chicken, perfectly cooked barley, and simply seasoned broth and veggies.
- Quick. Comfort food shouldn't take forever to cook. Some Chicken and Barley Soup recipes can take upwards of two and a half hours to make! This recipe will only take about 30 minutes of cook time.
- Simple. Comfort food can't be complicated. This is a recipe just like your Grandma would have made, and it's going to warm you to your bones with that first bite.
How Do You Make Chicken and Barley Soup?
- Pour. Place chicken, barley, onions, carrots, turmeric, salt, pepper and broth into the Instant Pot.
- Cook. Close the lid and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 15 minutes.
- Pressure Release. Allow the pot to release pressure naturally for 5 minutes. Then, release all remaining pressure.
- Shred. Remove the chicken and shred. Add the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot.
- Serve. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Should Barley Be Cooked Before Adding to Soup?
Some sources will say yes, but the beauty of Instant Pot barley is that it's totally unnecessary to cook it before making this chicken and barley soup.
Pour it in with the rest of the ingredients and cook it at high pressure. You'll get perfectly cooked barley and tender chicken all in one step.
Can You Overcook Barley?
Yes. As with any grain or pasta, you can overcook barley, and you don't want to. I suggest a Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for 5 minutes, and then a Quick Release (QR) for this reason.
Food continues to cook during a Natural Pressure Release, which is why I limited it to just five minutes so as not to overcook the barley or chicken.
Tips and Tricks for Chicken and Barley Soup
- Chicken. Frozen chicken? No problem. You don't need to change the cooking time, it will just take your Instant Pot longer to come to pressure. See more on that here.
- Rotisserie Chicken? No problem. Just cook the rest of the ingredients in chicken broth, and stir in the cooked chicken once the soup is cooked.
- Carrots. Don't want to chop carrots? Use thick baby carrots to cut down on prep time.
- Shredding. Use a hand mixer to shred the chicken quickly if you don't want to use a fork. This will dirty an extra dish, so it may not be worth it for you to use this method, considering how tender the Instant Pot makes the chicken. But this will work well for pre-cooked chicken.
Perfect Barley and Other Barley Recipes
- How to Cook Barley (Instant pot, Stovetop, & Rice Cooker Instructions)
- Barley and Bacon Pilaf
- Barley and Chicken Soup
- Barley and Mung Bean Pilaf
Want More Instant Pot Soup Recipes?
- Instant Pot Caldo De Res - a lovely Mexican soup.
- Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup - easy and absolutely delicious.
- Indian Tomato Soup - one of my most popular recipes!
- Tuscan Bean Soup - the best Ribollita you'll ever have and made in the Instant Pot!
I can't wait for you to see how simple cooking barley in your Instant Pot is with this one-pot Chicken and Barley soup recipe! All the comfort, and none of the fuss. Pin this recipe on Pinterest, or share it on Facebook to keep from losing it.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken Thighs, skinless, bone-in
- 1/2 cup Pearled Barley, medium
- 1 cup Onion, diced
- 1 cup Carrot Sticks, thick, about 3 inches long
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 3 cups Chicken Broth
Instructions
- Place chicken, barley, onions, carrots, turmeric, salt, pepper and broth into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 15 minutes. Allow the pot to release pressure naturally for 5 minutes. Then, release all remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken and shred. Add the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Tips and Tricks for Chicken and Barley Soup
- Chicken. Frozen chicken? No problem. You don't need to change the cooking time, it will just take your Instant Pot longer to come to pressure. See more on that here.
- Rotisserie Chicken? No problem. Just cook the rest of the ingredients in chicken broth, and stir in the cooked chicken once the soup is cooked.
- Carrots. Don't want to chop carrots? Use thick baby carrots to cut down on prep time.
- Shredding. Use a hand mixer to shred the chicken quickly if you don't want to use a fork. This will dirty an extra dish, so it may not be worth it for you to use this method, considering how tender the Instant Pot makes the chicken. But this will work well for pre-cooked chicken.
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Nutrition
Don't forget to check out my other Best-selling Instant Pot Cookbooks!
Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.
John
Made this today for lunch. It came out great. The flavor was incredible and the smell was mouth watering. Will have this in my soup list for sure. Close to the top too.
Bernadette
Omg, so delicious!! I chose because it’s a dump in and set the timers. I thought maybe not first sautéing the veg would affect the taste/quality: Not at all !! In fact the baby carrots, which I did not even bother to chop, tasted sweeter and more carroty, and had al dente character, meaning cooked perfectly. The barley Too was just right.
I made this in June for an ailing friend. Can’t wait for the Winter to make this easy recipe.
Freya
Great base recipe however 2 tsp of pepper over powered the dish and my children could not eat it, and I had a hard time eating it as well and the whole pot ended up in the garbage. Made the dish again with a normal amount of pepper and it was great.
TwoSleevers
My apologies. I do tend to like it a little hotter than most. I will adjust the quantities to make it a little more family friendly 🙂
Ashley
Only made this because I needed something quick, and I had everything on hand (used frozen chicken breast in place of chicken thighs)...so I was not at all prepared for how GREAT it was! So delicious, in fact, that I made it again the very next day. Don't let the simple ingredient list keep you from making this dish. One for my keeper file!
jrh0
Excellent recipe! I like that alternatives are given for different situations. So I took the liberty of modifying it a little further. I actually made this soup with Thanksgiving leftover turkey, and I added shiitake mushrooms, one jalapeno, 2 bay leaves and a big pinch of maple-like kasoori methi, something I almost always add to poultry dishes. I used whole peppercorns instead of powder, as I love the burst of flavor it gives when chewed. The broth was made from the turkey carcass, with all the normal ingredients plus a dried lime.