Instant Pot Beef Stew (2024)

Instant pot beef stew is the ultimate one-pot comfort food using high-pressure cooking. The meat tenderizes with a hearty mix of potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions for a delicious complete meal.

Try this stew recipe with theSlow Cookeror Stovetop for alternative cooking methods.

This Instant Pot beef stew recipe is the answer to any dinnertime conundrum. Tender pieces of meat simmered with nutritious vegetables in a savory and rich sauce should satisfy all cravings. It’s a simple yet flavorful dish I grew up eating and always turn to for a comforting meal.

Using the multi-cooker, you skip the hours-long process of simmering the stew on the stovetop. Electric pressure quickly elevates the meal to the right temperature making it ready to eat faster! The Instant Pot also has a saute function to create a fantastic sauce near the end of cooking that even grandma would be proud to serve.

Choosing the right kind of meat

Avoid purchasing precut packages of “beef stew meat” from the grocery store. It seems so convenient, but it often becomes a lean cut that gets dried out quickly. Plus, you don’t know what primal cut it’s coming from. I recommend using larger subprimal cuts from the shoulder area called beef chuck roast. Cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes, then season with soy sauce, salt, and pepper to enhance the savory taste.

These beef cuts contain more connective tissue and fat. They are also labeled as:

• Chuck eye roll (first choice!)
• Chuck roll under the blade
• Chuck tender steak
• Chuck tender roast

Sear the beef

The advantage of using the Instant Pot is that you can brown the meat using the saute function. I always sear the meat before pressure cooking to encourage Maillard browning reaction on the surface for new flavor generation.Cook the pieces in hot olive oil for a few minutes until a golden crust is formed, then remove them from the pot.

The browned bits of meat and juices on the bottom of the pot are deglazed with onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. This ensures a more flavorful sauce and prevents the ingredients from burning on the bottom of the insert.

After browning, these cuts of meat require slow cooking or braising with moist heat cooking. This converts the collagen to gelatin for a tender and juicy product. This is where pressure cooking comes in.

How to make beef stew in the instant pot

Once the beef is seared, and the pan is deglazed, it’s time to cook the stew. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot to make a large batch. To withstand the high pressure, hearty root vegetables that hold their structure are added, like celery, carrots, and potatoes. Yukon gold all-purpose potatoes are my top choice for their buttery taste and waxy texture.

Beef broth or stock is added to make the sauce and help the system pressurize. Since the electric pressure cooker requires at least 1 cup of liquid to function, the steam and moisture make the right conditions for cooking this beef stew recipe. Additional soy sauce and salt enhance the umami taste of the beef. Worcestershire sauce would be a nice addition for a more tangy taste.

Cover and lock the lid on the Instant pot. Then manually pressure cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Natural release for 15 minutes prevents the liquid from spraying out of the pot. To thicken the braising liquid, a cornstarch slurry is simmered, which thickens in less than 2 minutes. Delicate peas are stirred in just before serving to warm the legumes.

How long to pressure cook beef stew

Because multiple types of ingredients are cooking, I found that 20 minutes at high pressure, followed by releasing the steam naturally for 15 minutes, works well. Thismethod allows the beef and vegetables to become more tender but not mushy.

The Instant Pot is a unique multi-cooker that uses pressure and heat to create superheated steam. Thisprocess cooks the food in the enclosed vessel at the high pressure setting between239 to 248ºF (115 to 120ºC) and10 to 12 psi (pounds per square inch). It’s amazing how it can cut the traditional stove top or oven method for making beef stew down to just 35 minutes of pressure cooking.

Serve this with

• Homemade no-knead crusty bread
• Garlic bread
• Mashed potatoes
• Steamed rice

More Instant Pot recipes

• Balsamic Chicken
• Potato Leek Soup
• Turkey Chili