This Instant Pot Chicken Mushroom Barley Soup is comfort, simplicity, and a depth of flavor you can coax from a few vegetables, a whole chicken, and time. There’s a special transformation that happens when humble ingredients come together in perfect harmony, and something completely ordinary turns into something extraordinary.
Cooking the chicken whole in the Instant Pot ensures a soup that is rich, golden, and deeply aromatic. Serve it as is, or let it spill over a hearty grain like farro or wild rice—ingredients that soak up the broth while adding their own nutty, chewy character.
This is a kidney-healthy and kidney-friendly soup that you’ll be sure to make over and over again.
Dr. Blake’s Top Tip: To deepen the flavor, consider sautéing the mushrooms first until golden before adding them to the pot. If time allows, let the soup sit for a day in the fridge—the flavors only grow bolder, making it a dish that truly rewards patience.
1 small onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced on a bias
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 8-ounce package baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 3-pound whole chicken, giblets removed
8 cups cold water
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooked barley, for serving, optional
Chopped parsley, for garnish
1 Position a steam rack in the Instant Pot. Place the chicken in the pot breast side up. Add the remaining ingredients. Set to high pressure and cook for 18 minutes, or 6 minutes per pound. Allow pressure to release naturally. This will take 15-20 minutes.
2 Open the Instant Pot, using an oven thermometer, check that the internal temperature, inserted into the thickest part of the chicken thigh, has reached 165°F. If not, carefully remove the chicken from the pot and cut the legs and thighs from the carcass. Return all the chicken pieces to the instant pot set to the sauté function and cook, with the lid off, until the chicken reaches temperature, about 5-10 minutes.
3 Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the chicken meat from the bones. Discard the skin, bones and bay leaves.
4 Add the chicken meat to the soup. Serve hot over cooked barley, garnish with parsley
Serving Size 1 Cup