🍲 Hearty Chicken, Mushroom & Barley Stew

A One-(Instant)-Pot Dinner

Chunky mushrooms, tender chicken, and chewy pearl barley pressure-cooked into a thick, spoon-coating stew. A simple meal I put together in a tiny hotel kitchen in Brian Head, Utah.

🧑‍🍳 Instructions

1

Sauté the Onion

Set a 3-quart Instant Pot to Sauté and heat a little avocado oil. Add the diced onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown.

2

Add Carrot & Mushrooms

Add the carrot chunks and quartered mushrooms. Continue sautéing until the mushrooms begin to release their moisture and take on a little color.

3

Bloom the Garlic

Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.

4

Everything In

Add the chicken tenders, pearl barley, chicken broth, water, salt, black pepper, dried parsley, and the bay leaf. Stir everything together.

5

Pressure Cook

Pressure cook on High for 20 minutes.

6

Release

Allow a 10-minute natural release, then manually release the remaining pressure.

7

Break Up the Chicken

Fish out the bay leaf, then give the pot a good stir to break up the chicken.

8

Taste & Serve

Taste and adjust with additional salt and black pepper if needed before serving.

📝 Notes

  • Keeping the mushroom pieces large gives the soup a nice, hearty texture.
  • More stew than soup. Next time I'll add parmesan for a risotto-like finish.
  • These seasonings were just what I had. Experiment freely, but keep the pepper heavy.
  • Should work in a Dutch oven or large pot too.
  • Could do 3 cups of chicken broth and skip the water. I only had 2.