Hearty, delicious and ready in a fraction of the time. Let the pressure cooker work it's magic with this recipe for Instant Pot Beef Stew.
What is Instant Pot Beef Stew?
Beef stew is a hearty, meat and potatoes based meal in a bowl. Everything is typically slowly stewed over low heat for horus. The result is wonderful, tender beef in a rich and thick beef broth. Beef Stew is truly a warm you from the inside out meal that's absolutely perfect when it's chilly outside.
With the Instant Pot, we speed things up quite a bit. Using the magic of pressure cooking, we can get tender beef in under half an hour, as opposed to over two hours in the oven or on the stove. Great comfort food with a fraction of the effort is what this recipe is all about.
Why I love this recipe for Instant Pot Beef Stew
In my opinion, the Instant Pot does few things better than beef stew. From developing deep rich flavors to giving you crazy tender meat in a fraction of the time, the Instant Pot absolutely delivers an awesome bite.
Plus, this makes it absolutely doable to make beef stew after work on a weeknight. No longer is this just a weekend meal, you can enjoy Instant Pot Beef Stew any night!
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Mike's Recipe Rundown
- Taste: Nice and beefy. By stewing everything together, every bite is full of rich, beefy flavor.
- Texture: Chunky beef with a thickened broth that has a soup like consistency. We cut out meat and veggies small enough so that you can get all of it in a single bite with a nice soup spoon.
- Difficulty - Medium: This isn't our easiest Instant Pot Recipe, but it's darn close. You'll need to sear the meats to get started, but this still comes together in right around an hour. A great turnaround time for a meal that typically takes the afternoon to cook properly.
- Pros: When you need a good warm-me-up meal on a cold day, this is an absolute go-to. Hearty, beefy and full of veggies in every bite, this ia a great one-bowl meal.
- Cons: This recipe isn't exactly light on ingredients. However, a lot of the ingredients are things you'll already have in your spice drawer. When it comes to beef stew, a nice balance of flavors really goes a long way. Most of our ingredients are toss them in and let them cook, so it doesn't add much difficulty once you have them on hand.
Check out some of our other great recipes, like cajun shrimp and grits, smoked gouda mac and cheese, chicken tikka masala, or 29-hour, super tender sous vide chuck roast. Or, try one of my wife's favorites, my Bacon Lamb Sliders which are 100% flavor-bombs. .
Instant Pot Beef Stock Tips and Tricks
- Not all potatoes are created equal. For any soup or stew, you want a low starch, waxy potato. That's why I love baby red potatoes in my Instant Pot Beef Stew. They hold their shape well throughout the pressure cook and don't fall apart like high starch potatoes. Alternatively you can use fingerling potatoes or even medium-starch Yukon Golds. Avoid high starch potatoes such as Russets of Idaho.
- If you're looking for an added burst of flavor, make your stew with lamb instead of beef, or a mixture of each. The natural flavors of the lamb really take things up a notch.
- With either meat choice, I recommend getting a chuck roast (or lamb shoulder) and cutting it up yourself. There are two reasons for this. First, you can better control the size of your cuts. Secondly, you typically get higher quality meat this way. Often times, what the grocer sells as "stew meat" are throwaway chunks.
- That said, "stew meat" can be a little cheaper and is an okay option if you're on more of a restricted budget.
- I recommend cutting everything into ½ inch chunks. the pressure cooker will shrink things down a tad bit more, which is perfect. Not only will small bites cook faster, but this also allows you to get a little bit of everything in a single bite.
- A good white bread or dinner roll always goes great alongside this recipe, especially to soak up any remaining sauce. I recommend my recipe for Everything Dinner Rolls, made from scratch.
- I recommend Guinness beer for this recipe for two reasons. The first is simply tradition. The second is that its' thick, deep flavor really lends to a hearty stew. It's a great starter for a well rounded bite. That said, if you don't have any on hand, you can sub in another dark beer instead. Or, red wine also does the trick.
What you need to make Instant Pot Beef Stew
Equipment wise, you simply need an Instant Pot (affiliate) or similiar electric pressure cooker and a good spatula or stirring spoon (affiliate).
When it comes to ingredients, you'll want to gather together:
- 2 Lb Chuck roast, cubed into 1 inch pieces
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow onion, sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 Red pepper, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup Guiness Beer
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 lb red potatoes, cut into ½ inch chunks
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch inch pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp cold water
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
How to Use an Instant Pot
Before you start this recipe, make sure you are familiar with the instructions and safety manual for your model of Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker). Instant Pot itself offers a nice set of videos on How to use an Instant Pot.
While pressure cookers are awesome tools, they have to be used correctly. Take the time to be familiar with how to use yours before you begin to avoid injury and give you the tastiest results.
How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew
Saute
Turn your instant pot on Saute (More) mode and allow to heat. While heating, pat your chuck roast dry and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
When display reads "Hot", add olive oil. After 30 seconds, add seasoned thick cut bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add in seasoned beef. Leave beef undisturbed for 3 minutes to allow a crust to form. Then, stir and sear remaining sides until no longer pink.
Pressure Cook
Pour in Guinness beer and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol, then add beef stock. Next, add in garlic cloves, bay leaves, potatoes, red pepper, carrots and red onion. Add Worcestershire sauce. Tie together fresh thyme and fresh rosemary with kitchen twine and add in.
Close lid and slip valve to sealing. Set Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 25 minutes. Calculate in about 10 additional minutes for the Instant Pot will to come to pressure.
Finishing Up
When Instant Pot if finished, quickly release the remaining pressure by flipping the valve to "venting". When the pressure indicator has gone down, carefully open the lid, tilting away from you to allow steam to escape. Next, stir in frozen peas.
In a side bowl stir together cornstarch and cold water and add to pot. Stir in to thicken, about 3-4 minutes. Add in fresh parsley and stir together.
To serve, you can either spoon the soup into a bowl on it's own. This goes great with white bread. Or, alternatively, you can serve it over white rice, which itself will soak up all the remaining juices. Either way makes for a super yummy bite.
PrintInstant Pot Beef Stew
- Total Time: 70 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Hearty and flavorful beef stew made in a fraction of the time.
Ingredients
- 2 Lb Chuck roast, cubed into 1 inch pieces
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
- 6 strips thick cut bacon
- 1 ½ cups Guinness Beer
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 red onion, sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 red pepper, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 lb red potatoes, cut into ½ inch chunks
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch inch pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp cold water
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- SEAR BEEF: Turn Instant Pot on Saute (More) mode. Pat cubed chuck roast dry and season with salt and pepper. When display "Hot", add olive oil and thick cut bacon. When bacon is browned, add beef and stir together. Cook until beef is seared on the outside an no longer visibly pink. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- DEGLAZE: Pour in Guinness. When it comes to a simmer, use the end of a spatula to scrape up the brown bits (fond) from the bottom of the pot. Simmer for one minute then add beef broth.
- COOK: Add red onion, red pepper, garlic, potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, and Worcestershire sauce. Bundle together fresh thyme and fresh rosemary using kitchen twine and add to pot. Stir everything together, then secure lid and set vent to "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. While it's cooking, stir together cold water and cornstarch and set aside.
- RELEASE AND FINISH: When timer goes off, perform a quick release. When pressure is released, carefully open lid and add frozen peas. Pour in cornstarch slurry and stir until stew reaches desired thickness. Stir in fresh parsley and enjoy!
- TO SERVE: There service options - 1) Spoon into a bowl on it's own. Serve with white bread to pick up any remaining sauce, 2) Serve over rice 3) serve over egg noodles.
Equipment
Notes
- If you’re looking for an added burst of flavor, make your stew with lamb instead of beef, or a mixture of each. The natural flavors of the lamb really take things up a notch.
- I recommend cutting everything into ½ inch chunks. the pressure cooker will shrink things down a tad bit more, which is perfect. Not only will small bites cook faster, but this also allows you to get a little bit of everything in a single bite.
- A good white bread or dinner roll always goes great alongside this recipe, especially to soak up any remaining sauce. I recommend my recipe for Everything Dinner Rolls, made from scratch.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Easy Beef Stew, Instant Pot Beef Stew, Family Dinner Recipe