Cozy up with a bowl of Instant Pot Bean Soup with Pearl Barley! Hearty and wholesome, this simple bean soup recipe is made easy with canned beans and pantry basics!
Heat the Instant Pot or pressure cooker (affiliate link) on the sauté function. Add the olive oil, garlic, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and onion. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the bay leaf, pearl barley, and Herbes de Provence, and stir until the barley is well coated. Stir in the vegetable stock, beans, salt, and pepper.
Lock in the Instant Pot/pressure cooker lid. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Depressurize the pressure cooker and set the cooker to the simmer function (or sauté if your pressure cooker doesn't have that button).
Drop in the spinach and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes to wilt the spinach, and stir in the sherry vinegar.
Serve hot with crusty bread, and enjoy!
Notes
Instant Pot Bean Soup Tips
Make it vegetarian: use vegetable broth. The recipe will also be vegan!
What greens can I use in this soup? I use spinach, but use whatever you have on hand. Kale and swiss chard work nicely here, too.
Canned beans or dried beans? I use canned beans because it means I can make the soup even faster. Be sure to drain the liquid and rinse the beans well. If you have dried beans and the time, go for it!
What beans can I use?Great Northern beans or cannellini beans work perfectly here, but you can also use navy beans or your favorite white beans.
Pearl barley or hulled barley? Pearl barley is easily found in markets but has had its outer husk and bran removed. Hulled barley is the whole grain variety and definitely more wholesome, however takes more time to cook. Use whichever you have, however, if you use hulled barley, add an additional 5-7 minutes of cooking time.