Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew

This super Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew will have you grabbing a second bowl! A thick and rich sauce filled with hearty potatoes, carrots, onions, and melt in your mouth beef that will only take under an hour with an Instant Pot!

Fast and Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew

I love beef stew! I think one of my first recipes I had made when I got my very first slow cooker was either chili or beef stew. There’s just something about winter and snow that makes me crave something cozy like beef stew.

Usually the night before, I’d prep my slow cooker and have it cook overnight on low for 7 hours and reap the delicious benefits in the morning. However my cravings did not think ahead for me and I didn’t start preparing it the night before. Impatient, I didn’t want prep a beef stew and have it for dinner…I wanted it ASAP. Luckily, I have an Instant Pot and in under an hour, I was cozied up and eating a big warm bowl of beef stew.

So what’s an Instant Pot?

I have the Duo Plus 9 in 1 Instant Pot. The Duo Plus replaces 9 commonly used kitchen appliances – Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice/Porridge Cooker, Yogurt Maker, Cake/Egg Maker, Sauté/Searing, Steam, Warm and Sterilize. It’s quite the multi-use product! Instead of using the slow cooker setting (or bring up my slow cooker from the basement!), I used the pressure cooker setting and had it set for 35 minutes.

35 freaking minutes vs the 4 hours high or 7 hours low with the slow cooker for beef stew. Yes please! Also, because this is using the Instant Pot, it falls under the #OnePotRecipe category too! Minimal dishes! Win-Win-Win!

What You Need To Make Beef Stew in the Instant Pot

• beef stew meat
• salt and pepper
• flour
• butter
• beef broth (I use Beef Base Better Than Bouillon)
• Worcestershire sauce
• tamari or soy sauce
• tomato paste
• garlic, minced
• brown sugar
• dried rosemary
• pearl onions
• mushrooms
• baby potatoes
• carrots

How To Make The Best Instant Pot Beef Stew with Potatoes Recipe

This super easy Instant Pot beef stew is perfect for beginners too if you’ve just got your Instant Pot. If this is your first time making a recipe with your Instant Pot (after your water test of course), here are some step by step photo instructions that should make this easy instant pot beef stew recipe.

In a large bowl, mix together your stew beef, flour, salt (lightly!), and pepper.

Set your Instant Pot to sauté – low. Add your butter and lightly brown your beef. It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through, just browned. Because I had 2.5lb/1.15kg of beef for the beef stew, I had to do this in two batches because I didn’t want to overcrowd the pot and have burn marks at the bottom.

Next add in 2.5 cups of beef broth/stock (deglaze the pot if you have to, to avoid any brown bits from browning the beef from burning), Worcestershire sauce, soy/tamari sauce, garlic, brown sugar, tomato paste, and rosemary.

Next, add in the potatoes, onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Close the Instant Pot lid, close the steam valve, and set the Instant Pot to Meat/Stew or Pressure Cook for 35 minutes on High. Afterwards, either let the Instant Pot naturally release or (as I did) quick release the lid. (Note it could take up to 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to build up pressure)

Give it a good stir and if you notice that your stew is a bit too liquidly, the stew should thicken a bit once it cools. If it doesn’t, you can add some stew liquid into a separate bowl, add a tablespoon of flour, stir then add the thickening mixture back into the main pot.

WHAT KIND OF MEAT IS BEST FOR STEW?

I recommend stew meat for beef stew. Stew meat is usually just a cubed chuck roast. It’s a cheaper cut of meat that gets super tender from the pressure cooking process.

WHAT KIND OF POTATOES ARE BEST FOR A SOUP OR STEW?

Red potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes hold up better than russet potatoes in a stew. I like baby potatoes since it I can skip the peeling. Just slice them in half.

WHAT ARE PEARL ONIONS AND WHERE CAN I FIND THEM?

Pearl onions are small, marble-sized onions. They taste more mild and sweet. To skip peeling, you can purchase them peeled and frozen in the frozen section of your grocery store.

How To Freeze Instant Pot Beef Stew or To Make It a Freezer Friendly Meal

• If you are freezing this stew raw, I’d recommend skipping the potatoes and adding them in afterwards or going with a waxy potato which holds up better when frozen.
• To change this into a dump-and-go meal for the Instant Pot or slow cooker, I froze everything minus the potatoes together and skipped browning the meat then plopped it all into the pot.

Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew

This super Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew will have you grabbing a second bowl! A thick and rich sauce filled with hearty potatoes, carrots, onions, and melt in your mouth beef that will only take under an hour with an Instant Pot! 

5 from 4 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Instant Pot

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Carmy

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs beef stew meat
• salt and pepper
• 2.5 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2.5 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 bag pearl onions (approx 8-10oz)
• 8 oz mushrooms halved
• 1 lb baby potatoes halved
• 2 carrots chopped roughly

Instructions

• In a large bowl, mix together your stew beef, flour, salt (lightly!), and pepper.
• Set your Instant Pot to sauté - low. Add your butter and lightly brown your beef. It doesn't have to be cooked all the way through, just browned. Because I had 2.5lb/1.15kg of beef for the beef stew, I had to do this in two batches because I didn't want to overcrowd the pot and have burn marks at the bottom.
• Add into the Instant Pot 2.5 cups of beef broth/stock (deglaze the pot if you have to, to avoid any brown bits from browning the beef from burning), Worcestershire sauce, soy/tamari sauce, garlic, brown sugar, tomato paste, and rosemary.
• Add in the potatoes, onions, carrots, and mushrooms. 
• Close the Instant Pot lid, close the steam valve, and set the Instant Pot to Meat/Stew or Pressure Cook for 35 minutes on High. (Note it could take up to 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to build up pressure)
• Once done, either let the Instant Pot naturally release or (as I did) quick release the lid. Serve while warm. (Optional parsley for garnish)

Notes

If you notice that your stew is a bit too liquidly, the stew should thicken a bit once it cools. If it doesn't, you can add some stew liquid into a separate bowl, add a tablespoon of flour or cornstarch, stir then add the thickening mixture back into the main pot.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I'm always so happy to know about it! I'd love to see how it turned out! Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I'd really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition

Serving: 6servings | Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 767mg | Potassium: 1028mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3605IU | Vitamin C: 6.9mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 5mg

Let’s Chat! What is your go to comfort meal? Do you own an Instant Pot?

More Instant Pot Recipes to Try

• Healthier Instant Pot Butter Chicken
• Healthy Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
• Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Instant Pot Korean Inspired Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Coconut Thai Curry Chicken
• Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
• Spicy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Meal Prep (inspired by the chicken burrito bowls from Chipotle)

Other places to connect with me
Instagram: @carmyshungry
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Email: carmy@carmyy.com