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 will become an instant favorite.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: The beef gets super tender in the Instant Pot and it’s so easy to make!
How long it takes: 1 hour 40 minutes, but a lot of it is hands-off time
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, large bowl
Servings: 6
Table of Contents
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You definitely need to add this Instant Pot beef stew into your cooking rotation because it’s delicious and so easy to make. Thanks to the pressure cooking method, you get that tender, cooked all day, fall-apart beef in a fraction of the time.
A pressure cooker also works great for beef short ribs and BBQ ribs. Try it for pork, too: Instant Pot pork loin roast, Instant Pot carnitas, or Instant Pot pulled pork.
About This Stew Recipe
This recipe is a one pan dinner: meat, potatoes, vegetables. I love that the Instant Pot also has a Sauté function so you can brown the beef first for the best-tasting stew. Once the beef is browned, simply deglaze the pan with a little broth or wine, and dump in the rest of the ingredients.
The stew has plenty of flavor! I toss the meat with my homemade beef stew seasoning. It’s a great blend of dried herbs, seasonings, and flour. I make a big batch of it and keep it in the pantry so it’s ready to use. I also add some fresh herbs to the pot because there’s nothing quite like fresh herbs.
There’s one more little shortcut to take. I buy a bag of frozen pearl onions. I love those sweet little onions in stew but really hate to peel them. The frozen pearl onions are ready to go. Just dump them in.
Actually, I believe you can also buy a bag of frozen stew vegetables. I would stay away from those because I think carrots and potatoes get a weird texture when they’re frozen. It’s really kind of satisfying to chop up your own (although obviously I draw the line at pearl onions!) and you can do it the day before if you want.
Serve the stew with crusty Dutch oven bread or this easy no knead whole wheat bread. Cornbread muffins with herbs and cheddar or whole wheat cornbread go great with it, too.
Finish up with a homestyle dessert. Try homemade chocolate pudding or easy pumpkin pudding. Apple ginger crisp with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is always a great choice.
I’ll get you started on the recipe here and give you some extra tips. Look for the recipe card below which has measurements, instructions, and nutrition information.
What You’ll Need
- Beef Chuck Roast: You’ll need about 2 pounds. You can buy stew meat already chopped up but chuck roast is more economical and it’s pretty easy to cut your own. Trim some of the excess fat away.
- Beef Stew Seasoning: As I mentioned above, I make my own blend of seasoning. It’s so easy to do and you can customize it to your own taste. It contains: flour, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, celery seed, basil, parsley, salt, oregano, rosemary, and cayenne pepper.
- Olive Oil: The meat is browned in oil first. You can substitute a different kind of oil if you prefer as along as it has a high smoke point.
- Beef Broth or Stock: Look for low-sodium or no-salt-added broth.
- Frozen Pearl Onions: Of course, you could buy fresh pearl onions and peel them yourself. You can substitute chopped yellow onion, if you prefer.
- Celery, Carrots, Potatoes: This is a typical stew blend. Cut the vegetables into pretty uniform pieces. I like to buy baby potatoes. They hold their shape better than russet potatoes.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes: Again, look for low-sodium or no-salt-added tomatoes, if you can find them.
- Frozen Peas: The peas are added after the stew cooks. They cook very quickly and retain their bright green color.
- Bay Leaf: Either dried or fresh is fine.
- Fresh Thyme and Fresh Rosemary: There’s nothing like the flavor of fresh herbs. If you can’t find them, use dried herbs but use less (one third as much) because dried is more potent.
- Cornstarch: You may not need it but if you like your stew with a thick gravy, a cornstarch slurry helps thicken the broth.
FAQs
Why is my stew meat tough in an Instant Pot?
Beef chuck roast tends to be tough and requires a long cooking time. Cut the beef into small chunks and be sure you cook the stew as directed. Pressure cooking shortens the time to 35 minutes; however, the beef begins the cooking process as the pressure cooker comes to pressure and as the pressure is slowly released for 10 additional minutes.
When the cooking time has elapsed, check the meat with a fork to see if it’s fall-apart tender. If it’s not, continue to simmer the stew, using the Sauté function until the meat is suitably tender.
Make It Your Own
Like many of my recipes, this one is completely adaptable to your diet and tastes. It’s great as written, but you can tweak it to make it yours.
- Whole30 Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe: Leave the flour out of the seasoning mix, and only use 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix instead of ¼ cup. Brown the meat as directed in the recipe. When it’s finished cooking, thicken as desired with arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch.
- Crockpot Beef Stew: If you would rather slow cook the stew, try crockpot beef stew instead. It’s easy and turns out great.
- Feel free to adapt the vegetables and seasonings to your liking. Add garlic powder or minced garlic. Deglaze the pan with a half cup of dry red wine.
Make-Ahead Ideas
Get a head start on this recipe by prepping the vegetables and herbs a day ahead. Refrigerate them until ready to use. You can mix up the beef stew seasoning ahead of time, too. It keeps in the pantry for months.
Storage & Reheating Tips
Cool and refrigerate leftover beef stew in a covered container. It will keep for four to five days.
Beef stew can be frozen for up to six months although you will notice that the potatoes tend to get mushy and the stew may separate a little. Once it’s cooled, package it in freezer containers or bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating, if possible.
To reheat stew, microwave individual portions in 30 second increments until heated through. Reheat larger portions on the stove in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat.
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 will become an instant favorite.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth or stock
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (or 1 cup frozen pearl onions)
- 3 stalks celery, cut into ¼-inch slices (about 1 ½ heaping cups)
- 4 carrots, cut into ¼-inch slices (about 2 cups)
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cups (heaping) halved small potatoes (or quartered, about 1-inch pieces)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, celery seed, and dried rosemary (see note). Toss cubed beef with seasoned flour until all pieces are coated.
- Heat Instant Pot to Sauté. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and about half of the seasoned meat. Brown on all sides (3 to 5 minutes total), and remove to a plate or bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef. Remove beef to plate.
- Deglaze the inside of the pot by adding ¼ to ½ cup of broth. Scrape all the brown bits off the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Add the beef back to the Instant Pot along with the rest of the broth, onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, and bay leaf. Stir to combine.
- Secure lid of Instant Pot and turn valve to Seal. Set for 35 minutes on Pressure Cook (or Manual, High Pressure). Instant Pot will take 17 to 20 minutes to come to pressure. After cooking, let pressure release naturally (in other words, just leave it alone) for 10 minutes. Carefully release any remaining pressure after 10 minutes by turning valve to Vent. It may splatter so cover it lightly with a towel.
- Remove bay leaf. Add frozen peas and stir to combine.
- Turn Instant Pot to Sauté. In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with ¼ cup of water until no clumps remain. Slowly stir into stew and cook until thickened.
- Stir in parsley.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired before serving.
Notes
- If desired, substitute 4 ½ tablespoons of my beef stew seasoning mix for the flour, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, celery seed, and dried rosemary.
- Whole30: Omit the flour. Brown the meat as directed in the recipe. When the stew is finished cooking, thicken as desired with arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch.
- Storage & Reheating: Cool and refrigerate leftover beef stew in a covered container. It will keep for four to five days. To reheat stew, microwave individual portions in 30 second increments until heated through. Reheat larger portions on the stove in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1.5cups, Calories: 328kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 78mg, Sodium: 532mg, Potassium: 893mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 5497IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 58mg, Iron: 3mg
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.
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!