Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
Posted: 01/02/2019
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Cozy, comforting, and made so quickly and easily under pressure, this Instant Pot Beef Stew is going to become an instant favorite.
Happy 2019, friends! I can’t believe another year has passed, but here we are. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with your friends and families. I hope it was restful, relaxing, and full of joy. And full of fantastic food, of course!
I’m also curious if you’re making any resolutions this year! I’m not typically a resolution person. As cliché as it sounds, I prefer to improve myself all year rather than waiting for January 1st. It’s obviously not always successful, but if I see room for improvement, I do my best to take action immediately. I also know my personality and can be realistic enough to know that if I make a resolution and don’t keep it (and let’s be real…how often are they kept?), I’ll be hard on myself and I don’t need an unnecessary reason to do that.
With all that said, I’d love to hear if you make resolutions…and even better, how do you keep them?
If I was going to make a resolution, I think I’d resolve to meal prep and meal plan more. I feel like if I could master that, it would carry into other areas of my life. If I had meals planned and prepped, I think I’d eat healthier, maybe be less stressed….etc.
If I was meal planning, I’d definitely be adding this Instant Pot beef stew into my rotation. Well, I will anyways, because it’s delicious. And so easy to make. You get that tender, cooked all day, fall-apart beef in a fraction of the time, thanks to the pressure cooking method. This method also works great for short ribs.
About this Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe:
Like many of my recipes, this one is completely adaptable to your diets and tastes. It’s great as written, but you can definitely tweak it to make it yours. I start by tossing the meat with my homemade beef stew seasoning, give it a quick brown using the saute function of the Instant Pot (this adds so much flavor!), and then you basically just dump everything else in. It’s so easy!
How to make this a Whole30 Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe:
This is easy! You’ll leave the flour out of the seasoning mix, and only use 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix instead of 1/4 cup. Brown the meat as directed in the recipe. When it’s all done cooking, thicken as desired with arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch.
If you love your pressure cooker as much as I do, make sure to check out the warm and cozy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings, flavorful Instant Pot Shakshuka, or Instant Pot Spaghetti. Oh! And this versatile Instant Pot Pasta – it’s so easy and SO good – just read the reviews!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
Cozy, comforting, and made so quickly and easily under pressure, this Instant Pot Beef Stew is going to become an instant favorite.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup beef stew seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 cups beef broth or stock
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions (or 1 cup chopped yellow onion)
- 3 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 1 1/2 heaping cups)
- 4 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 2 cups)
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 2 heaping cups halved small potatoes (quartered if huge - about 1-inch pieces)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss cubed beef with beef stew seasoning until all pieces are coated
- Heat Instant Pot to Saute. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and about half of the seasoned meat. Brown on all sides, and remove to a plate or bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef. If needed, add a splash of the broth to deglaze and scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. Remove remaining beef to plate or bowl and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of broth. Scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the beef back into the Instant Pot along with the rest of the broth, onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, and herbs (bay leaf, thyme, rosemary). Stir to combine.
- Secure lid of Instant Pot and turn valve to Seal. Set for 35 minutes on high pressure. After cooking, let pressure release naturally (in other words, just leave it alone) for 10 minutes. Release any remaining pressure after 10 minutes by turning valve to Vent.
- Remove bay leaf and herb sprigs (or stems...whatever is left). Add in frozen peas and stir to combine. If desired, mix 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3-4 tablespoons of water until no clumps remain. Slowly stir into stew and cook until thickened.
Notes
- To make Whole30 Compliant: You'll leave the flour out of the seasoning mix, and only use 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix instead of 1/4 cup. Brown the meat as directed in the recipe. When the stew is all done cooking, thicken as desired with arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1g, Calories: 518kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 44g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 130mg, Sodium: 634mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Husband’s take: Beef stew isn’t Ben’s favorite, but he loves this recipe. No complaints from the peanut gallery.
Changes I would make: None are necessary!
Difficulty: Easy!
beckandbulow says
Delicious food. I loved it
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear it!
David Campbell says
Hi Rachel.
I just made my first Instant Pot recipe last night. It was also a beef stew recipe but from a different source. It was disappointing, not because of taste, but because all the carrots and potatoes disintegrated and turned the broth into a paste.
The recipe I followed had me cooking at high pressure for 25 minutes, not 35.
The carrot pieces I added were huge, yet they disintegrated. Tiny flecks of orange color showed in the broth. The potatoes were not so large and they just disappeared.
I notice in your pictures that the vegetables stay pretty much intact after 35 minutes.
What’s the secret?
Thanks in advance.
David
Rachel Gurk says
Hmm…strange! Mine were soft but not disintegrated. I noticed my onions broke down pretty much completely but I didn’t have that problem with the carrots and potatoes. Do you have the Instant Pot brand of pressure cooker?
David Campbell says
Yes. An 8 quart model.
David Campbell says
Just wondering…
The recipe I followed used 32 oz of broth and only one pound of meat.
Do you think too much liquid would cause the vegetables to ‘over cook’?
Rachel Gurk says
It shouldn’t make a difference…but you could try it with less?
Rachel Gurk says
Hmm, I have a 6qt. The only thing I could think of is that the 8 might take longer to pressurize, therefore increasing cooking time…but I wouldn’t think there would be that much variation between models.
David Campbell says
Thanks for replying. I’ll experiment following your recipe here and let you know how it goes!