Instant Pot Sausage Barley Soup–with Italian sausage and barley this soup has flavor and texture in every spoonful. It’s perfect for a cold night supper and the leftovers are the best for lunch the next day.
Get the SLOW COOKER sausage barley recipe here
Instant Pot Sausage Barley Soup
We were in a hurry the other night to make dinner and get out the door to my son’s basketball game. My husband pointed to a chicken and barley soup recipe in my cookbook* and said “make this except with Italian sausage.” It turned out to be an amazing idea. The soup was just a perfect flavor. I love the texture of barley and am committed to using it in more recipes. And of course the leftovers were super tasty for lunch the next day.
A few notes about the ingredients:
Sausage–I buy the ground Italian sausage. Usually I just find the store brand on the foam trays wrapped in plastic. I like the mild flavor. If you’re a spicy person then get hot.
Pearl Barley–I buy my grains like barley in the bulk section of Winco. I know I’ve seen the quick cooking kind in packages by the rice. Don’t use the quick cooking kind in the Instant Pot. It will get to too mushy.
Broth–I often use Better than Bouillon Chicken Base in the place of broth. I used 5 cups water and 5 teaspoons of chicken base. I buy this in the big container from Costco because I use it so often.
More Instant Pot soup recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Tuscan Sausage White Bean Soup
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
See all my Instant Pot Soups here
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Sausage Barley Soup I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Print
Instant Pot Sausage Barley Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
With Italian sausage and barley this soup has flavor and texture in every spoonful. It’s perfect for a cold night supper and the leftovers are the best for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage (I used mild)
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (or fired roasted tomatoes for more flavor)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown your sausage. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in your sausage. Break it up*. Add in the onion. Brown the sausage for about 5 minutes. If there is excess grease, drain it off.
- Add in ingredients. Add in the garlic powder, basil, celery, carrot, barley, broth, tomato paste, tomatoes and bay leaf.
- Pressure cook. Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the soup button to 20 minutes (if you don’t have a soup button use the manual/pressure cook button). When the time is up let the pot sit for about 10 minutes (display will say L0:10) and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Serve. Discard the bay leaf. Taste and salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
One of our very favorites 🤩
★★★★★
Thanks Jaci!
Quick, easy, no frills and tasty! There’s simply no wayto go wrong with this recipe.
Just made it for the first time today and, only a few bites in, my husband already tells me I need to save this recipe. (That’s a very good sign in our home! lol)
I opted for pearl barley, without any adjustments for time, and it turned out just fine. Also, I added in some diced cabbage that needed to be used up, and for the meat I actually went with 1/2 Italian sausage, 1/4 ground beef and 1/4 ground pork (the ground meats needed to be used up).
★★★★★
I love the idea of cabbage! Yum!
When I first got my Instant Pot, one of the first things I made was the excellent Loaded Baked Potato Soup from this website. This recipe is equally good. I used fresh garlic, sautéed the veggies in the sausage oil for about 3 minutes, sautéed the tomato paste for a minute, and used dried italian seasoning since I didn’t have basil. I threw in a cup of diced zucchini b/c I wanted to use it up. Thanks for a simple and tasty recipe.
★★★★★
Yum I like the idea of zucchini!
This was sooooooo good! I made a double batch that almost over filled my instant pot!
I used fresh garlic and added some oregano and paprika and a charred jalapeño,
I added the tomato paste while sautéing the sausage and onions to “caramelize” it.
I also added a can of corn niblets and a can of chopped spinach.
Mmmmmmm! Thanks!
Your version sounds amazing Brett!
Best soup I have ever made. Thank you!
★★★★★
This was delicious. I used a little less sausage and added a bit more rinsed barley. The 20 minute cook time, and the 10 minute stand time were right on.
★★★★★
Good! Thanks for sharing!
The Sausage barley soup was fantastic!!!! My family also thought so too. Easy to make, this was the 3rd recipe I had tried making in the pressure cooker. Thanks for the tip of using pearl barley and not the quick type.
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Vicki!
Great recipe Karen! I made it yesterday and had some for dinner, supper AND a snack. I love soup, as you can tell. 😁 And it’s on the menu for today as well. I didn’t have pearl barley on hand, so I used the quick cooking kind and reduced the time to 10 minutes and it turned out perfect! Thanks for adding a new soup to my repertoire. It’s a definite keeper!
★★★★★
Okay thanks for the tip on the quick cooking barley!!!
This turned out amazing! I added kale and I think next time I might add some beans!
★★★★★
I loved this recipe with sausage instead of ground beef, like I make. With a crusty French bread, it will be dinner tonight!
Yum that sounds great!
I made this in my Instant Pot tonight for dinner, It was delicious! Thank you Karen. I made no changes to the recipe, however next time I will add 1/4-1/2 cup more of the pearl barley. I served it with home made bread, perfect for a cold, rainy February night.
Thanks Tamara! More barley is a good idea.
I’m confused about the barley. You list pearl barley as not being the instant kind. I always thought it is because it has been processed and is quicker cooking than whole grain hulless barley. Can your recipe be modified for hulless barley, which is the only kind I am permitted to eat?
I would cook it longer. I am not exactly sure how much longer but I would suggest starting with 25-30 minutes.
Can I make this vegan and still get flavor?
Is there a vegan sausage substitute?