This Instant Pot Beef Stew is the perfect delicious comfort food. It is like the ultimate winter dish – hearty, warm, and delicious. Making this in the Instant Pot cuts the cooking time in half but still delivers a delicious and hearty dinner your family will be sure to love.
I love a delicious beef stew recipe, but the length of cooking time can make it really difficult to have it on a weeknight. This pressure cooker version cuts the time in half without sacrificing any of the flavor. This is a perfect way to make beef stew when that comfort food craving hits.
How to Make Beef Stew in the Instant Pot
Here is a brief overview of how this beef stew recipe comes together. For the full recipe, including all ingredients and their measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Prepare your ingredients. While your Instant Pot heats up, chop your vegetables and prepare the other ingredients. Add the oil and allow it to warm up.
- Sauté the onion. Add the onion to the hot Instant Pot and allow it to cook for a few minutes or until tender. Stir in the salt and pepper, followed by the tomato paste and garlic to coat the onions.
- Whisk in the flour. Stir in the flour and then the red wine, scraping up any browned bits left from sautéing the onions.
- Whisk in the beef broth. Continue whisking until you do not see any lumps. Stir in the thyme, bay leaves, beef, carrots, and potatoes.
- Cook the beef stew. Close your Instant Pot and set it to Manual and the time to 10. It will take approximately 30 minutes for it to come to pressure, and then the time will begin to count down, resulting in about 40 minutes of time in the Instant Pot.
- Allow the Instant Pot to vent. After the timer ends, turn the pressure release valve to venting. Once the float valve has fallen, open your Instant Pot and stir in the peas and parsley. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
Best Meat For Beef Stew
The best meat to use for beef stew is a well-marbled beef chuck roast. Sometimes, you can find meat labeled “stew meat,” which is chuck roast that has already been cut into small cubes for stew. This is a great option to save time on having to cut it yourself, but if you can’t find stew meat, get a chuck roast and cut it into small cubes. The marbling of this cut of beef results in tender beef that is perfect in beef stew.
Browning Meat For Beef Stew
The first time that I made this recipe, I browned the meat in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting before getting the rest of it going. I’m not going to lie, that makes for a really tender beef stew. However, I didn’t like how much oil it took, and I’m not overly impressed with the browning setting on the Instant Pot. It does not cook evenly across the whole surface, and it is such a small surface area that I had to do the meat in three batches, making the total time of this recipe almost the same as if I had done it on the stovetop.
My solution to this was to cut the browning out of the recipe and instead whisk the flour into the recipe to thicken it. The result was a delicious and thick soup. If you use meat that is well-marbled, it should not affect the end result.
If you still want to brown it, I suggest that you toss the meat in the flour called for in this recipe and brown it in a heavy-bottomed pot and then set it aside. Do not add more flour later; just skip that step and add the browned meat at the point written in the recipe below.
Cooking With Wine
Red wine adds a great depth of flavor to this stew. I recommend using a red wine that you enjoy the flavor of because it will be enhanced when it is cooked. I prefer a Cabernet Sauvignon in this beef stew recipe. If you don’t often have red wine on hand or know you won’t drink the rest of the bottle, I suggest buying a four-pack of small bottles to keep in your pantry to make this recipe.
If your family does not use alcohol in recipes, you can cut it from this recipe. I would recommend replacing that one cup of liquid with more beef stock. The reason it is in the recipe is to increase the depth of flavor in the stew. However, this Instant Pot Beef Stew will be delicious without it.
Other Cooking Methods
If you are looking for an even more hands-off recipe for beef stew, you can make it in your slow cooker. You can find the full slow cooker beef stew recipe linked in the box below. I also have a delicious recipe for making beef stew on the stovetop.
Crockpot Beef Stew
Tips and Tricks
- As mentioned above, you can brown the meat before adding it, though this is not necessary. I would not recommend browning it in the Instant Pot.
- Buy a very well-marbled stew meat. The butcher at your meat counter should be able to recommend something. You can often buy it pre-cut cut which saves a lot of time. It is key that it is well marbled with fat though, as this will help it stay tender during cooking.
- Cut your vegetables into one-inch pieces. If your carrots and potatoes are too small, they will overcook.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Store any leftover beef stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat only the portion you plan to eat in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat until heated through.
Freezing Beef Stew
This is a great soup recipe to freeze for a quick lunch or dinner. Once it is fully cooked and has cooled, transfer the stew to a freezer-safe bag or container, leaving some air at the top for it to expand. I like to freeze it in individual portions that are easy to pull out for lunch. When you are ready to eat your beef stew, allow it to thaw, then reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring often until heated through.
What to Serve with Beef Stew
- Beer Bread: We love having bread with our soup, and this bread comes together in a snap.
- Chopped Salad: Soup and salad are the perfect combo. This saladi s always a winner.
If you make this recipe or any of my other soups, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup red wine see note 1
- 2 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 pounds beef stew meat see note 2
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut into one-inch pieces; see note 3
- 1 pound potatoes unpeeled and cut into one-inch chunks
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- While preparing your ingredients, turn on your Instant Pot and set it to "Sauté," allowing it to heat.
- Once your ingredients are all prepared and your Instant Pot reads "Hot," add your oil and let it heat up for a minute.2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Add the onions and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender.1 yellow onion
- Add in the salt and pepper and stir to combine.1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Add in the tomato paste and garlic. Stir to fully coat the onions. Stir in the flour. Then, whisk in the red wine, scraping up any browned bits left from sautéing the onions.2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup red wine
- Whisk in the beef broth. Continue whisking until you do not see any lumps. Stir in the thyme and bay leaves.2 1/2 cups beef broth, 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme, 2 bay leaves
- Stir in the beef, carrots, and potatoes.3 pounds beef stew meat, 4 large carrots, 1 pound potatoes
- Close the Instant Pot and make sure the pressure release valve (the black knob on the top of your Instant Pot with words near it that say "sealing" and "venting") is set to sealing. Set your Instant Pot to "Manual" and the time to 10. Your Instant Pot will do nothing at first, then it will beep loudly and say "On." It will take approximately 30 minutes for it to come to pressure, and then the time will begin to count down, resulting in about 40 minutes of time in the Instant Pot.
- After the timer ends, turn the pressure release valve to venting. Allow the float valve to fall (the little sliver part near the pressure release valve). Once it has, open your Instant Pot. Stir in the peas and parsley. Enjoy!1 cup frozen peas, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Notes
- If your family does not drink wine, you can replace it with another cup of beef broth.
- Make sure to buy well marbled meat. See the note in the blog post about whether or not to brown.
- Make sure not to cut your carrots too small. However, you still want them to be easy to eat. Tops of carrots may be too thick and need to be cut in half.
BRIAN R CUMMING says
I tried the stew step by step and I had the Burn error. Cleaned the pot out added more liquid and tried again and received another BURN error. I gave up and put everything in a big pot and simmered it to completion. I was not impressed at all
I’m really sorry this didn’t work for you. I have never had that error occur with this recipe, but some instant pots can be finicky. Is it possible you didn’t scrape up the browned bits in step 5?