This Soup recipe can also be made with left over Rotisseri chicken or Raw Chicken Thighs. If you need to make a glutenfree version, you can replace barley with quinoa or Sourgham(Jowar).Jowar will give a similar finish as barley. It’s also a great recipe for meal planning. I make a giant batch of this and eat it for dinner over the week.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Barley Soup
This gorgeous soup can be made easily with pantry staples.All you need is-
Pearl Barley Chicken - Already Cooked or Raw Whole Chicken Thighs Carrots Celery Onions Chicken Broth Herbs Olive Oil
A note on Chicken
You can use already cooked shredded chicken like leftover Rotisseri Chicken or even turkey.If using already cooked chicken, add it in the end after the pressure cooking step is over. When using Raw Chicken, I prefer Whole Chicken Thighs because their cooking time matches that of the barley.If you use chicken breast, they tend to over cook.Though you can use frozen chicken breast instead.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Barley Soup
Step 1: Prep
Cut the Vegetables- Onions,Carrots,Celery and Garlic.
Step 2:Saute
Select the SAUTE function.Once hot, add oil.Add Garlic and saute for 10-15 seconds. Add and Saute the Onions, celery and Carrots.Cook till they are translucent.
Step 3:Pressure Cook
Cancel Saute. Add all the left over ingredients- Barley,Chicken,Chicken stock(or water),Salt and pepper.Mix it up. Close the lid and Select Pressure Cook for 18 minutes.Let the pressure release naturally. Open the instant pot, remove the chicken and shred it.Put it back in the pot. If using Cooked chicken, add it after opening the instant pot.Add the chicken and bring it to boil in saute mode.
Is Chicken Barley Soup healthy?
Low GI Soup- This soup is low on GI because of the pearl barley. Gluten Free- Barley contains Gluten but the soup can be made gluten free if you substitute barley with Sourgham or quinoa.Sorurgham will have same meaty bite as barley. Paleo and Whole 30- you can omit the barley to make is paleo and whole 30 friendly.Also, you could replace the barley with chunks of potatoes to make it a more wholesome soup.
Tips and Alternatives for Chicken Barley Soup
Natural Pressure Release - When cooking anything liquidy in the instant pot, it’s always advisable to let the pressure release naturally.This is done to avoid the liquid spurting out of the pressure valve. Change up the veggies- You can add a lot more veggies to the soup.Green Peas,Cauliflower and Potatoes will work very well in this Barley Soup.
Here are some more healthy instant pot recipes for you
Soups are easy dinner options that are healthy and filling.They also freeze well.Thats the reason everyone should have several soup recipes in their repertoire. Here are some easy instantpot soup recipes for you
