Fast, easy, and delicious, this easy Instant Pot Beef Stew cooks up in just an hour and tastes like its been simmering slowly all day long! It is the perfect easy pressure cooker recipe and comfort food for chilly winter evenings!
Beef Stew in the Pressure Cooker
Hi friends! We hit the upper 40s this week and in South Georgia, that means everyone is freezing and talking about it being winter! My husband (who is from Michigan) thinks this is hilarious, but we Southerners are cold anytime it’s below 70! Anyways, the crisp weather has me craving comfort foods, and this easy Instant Pot Beef Stew is just that.
Why I Love This Easy Stew Recipe
I used to make beef stew in the Crock Pot but sometimes I forget to start it in time. I love that I can make this stew in just an hour and it tastes like it has been simmering all day in a crockpot! It’s the perfect easy beef stew recipe for those busy nights I’m running kids around to various sports and clubs.
This is also a GREAT beginner Instant Pot recipe, just read the comments at the bottom of the post to see how many new Instant Pot owners are having great results with this recipe! (If you’re new to the Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot 101 post to learn all about how to start pressure cooking!)
How to Serve Instant Pot Beef Stew
If I have time I like to pair it with some corn muffins, pretzel bread, beer bread, homemade biscuits, or this yummy cornbread I shared with you recently. My husband likes it served over mashed potatoes as well. (He’s a potato guy!) Any way you serve it, you’ll love coming home to this delicious beef stew at the end of the day.
How to Make Beef Stew in the Instant Pot
With this recipe, we start with sauté mode to brown the meat and then use beef broth to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Don’t skimp when browning the meat, you want to brown all side and really lock the flavor into the stew meat. When you pour in the broth, stir around the bottom to deglaze and release all those flavorful bits into the broth for the best taste.
Once you lock the lid of the Instant Pot and set the timer under the stew setting you’re good to go to forget about this cooking until you are ready to eat. Let the pressure release naturally over the 30-40 minutes after cooking for the best results.
If you’re not ready to eat it after the pressure releases the Instant Pot will keep it warm until you are ready. I like to set up this recipe around the time my kids are coming home from school so its ready once we are finished with evening sports.
It’s also a great recipe if you have a busy evening where different people are eating at different times, as it will taste just as good at 5 as it will at 6:30 (which often happens when my husband and I have to tag team to get the kids to different activities and our evening schedules don’t overlap!)
I hope you enjoy this warm Instant Pot Beef Stew. For more easy comfort food recipes, check out these blog posts:
- Bacon Cheddar Quiche
- Slow Cooker Ham, Bacon, & Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Buttery Instant Pot Lemon Chicken
- 21 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes
If you’ve tried this easy Instant Pot recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
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Fast, easy, and delicious, this Instant Pot beef stew cooks up in just an hour and tastes like its been simmering slowly all day long! Its the perfect comfort food for chilly winter evenings!
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef stew meat (chuck roast is good for this)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups beef broth or beef stock
- 5 large red potatoes
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine stew meat and flour and stir to coat.
- Set Instant Pot to Saute setting and add butter. When butter is melted and sizzling, add meat. Brown on all sides stirring only enough to prevent burning.
- Pour in beef broth and scrape the bottom of the bowl to deglaze.
- Add potatoes, onion, carrots, garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and tomato paste. Stir until uniform.
- Lock the lid of the Instant Pot and set to Stew mode for 35 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally after the cooking time is ended, about another 30 minutes.
- Carefully move open steam valve and release the lid. Salt to taste.
Keywords: beef stew
This recipe was originally shared in October 2018 and updated in January 2020.
Stephanie
We really enjoyed this recipe. My husband who is now retired is taking over some of the cooking duties. As he was helping me fix this he asked what reason there was for flouring and sauteeing the meat first. I wasn’t sure.
★★★★★
Melissa Riker
Flouring then browning the meat first locks in some of the flavor so the meat doesn’t get bland during the cooking process. So glad you liked the recipe!
Sheila
I absolutely loved this stew! I have the small instant pot. This was the third time I’ve used it. Just got it for Christmas. Anyway, it turned out great except when I released the steam the juices came out too. I think I might have had the pot too full? Or I didn’t press the cancel button before releasing the stem. Does anyone know what might have caused that?
★★★★★
Melissa Riker
Did you let the steam release naturally for 30 minutes first Sheila? It shouldn’t have had much pressure left after a half hour of natural release.
Jennifer
Do I shut the instant pot off while It is natural releasing?
Melissa Riker
No, leave it on. It will switch to the warming mode and you’ll see it counting how many minutes it’s been since it stopped the pressure cooking.
Jonathan
What do you mean by natural venting?
Melissa Riker
The vent on the top back of the Instant Pot will be closed during cooking. Some recipes will call for manually turning the knob to vent to allow the air to release quickly, while others allow it to happen naturally over the course of 15-20 minutes on it’s own.
Chelsea
Was wondering if the tomato paste makes a huge difference or if there is something else to use?!
Kinberly
I’m making this right now and I’m rereading the directions. I’m confused as to why the total time is 2 hours? An I missing a step? Also I didn’t have any Worcestershire sauce, So I made it without, hope that’s ok… iim excited to see how it comes out looks great!
Melissa Riker
Hey Kimberly, Between the time spent browning the meat, then the pot coming to complete pressure for the timer to start, and the 30 minutes of natural release, it ends up being a 2 hour process. Only the first bit browning the meat is hands on though. Hope that helps!
Rachael
I want to thank you for an absolutely amazing recipe. It’s so good we’re using it for our Christmas lunch/dinner so I don’t have to spend half the day in the kitchen. Even my husband who thinks his mother’s beef stew recipe is sacred agreed this is one of the best tasting stews he’s ever had. (And he’s had many!). Thank you so much for an amazing and easy recipe. Highly recommend it!
★★★★★
Melissa Riker
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Rachael! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment, you made my day!
Lisa
This was the very first recipe I ever made in my Insta pot last night. I forgot to seal the steam valve so it was more saucy roasted vegetables and meat than stew. Even though I didn’t do it right it was absolutely delicious. If I can do it all wrong and it still tastes great, I know this will be one of our go to recipes.
★★★★★
Melissa Riker
I’m so glad you liked it Lisa! I think it’s a great first recipe for the Instant Pot too. (And I did the same thing the first time I used mine with the steam valve!)
Nichole
Would the time be the same if i.wanted to double it? Or should I do it in two batches? Thanks!
Melissa Riker
It should be fine for the same time Nichole!
Savi
Do you have it on less normal or more setting?
Melissa Riker
I’m not sure what you mean, I push the stew button then set it to 35 minutes, can you clarify?
Savi
Yes on my instant pot when I hit stew has 3 lit up options of less normal and more and I’m not sure which setting to set it to. Right now it’s on more for 35 minutes but I’m hoping that it’s not to much! /:
Melissa Riker
I’d have picked normal but you’re not going to overcook this stew so don’t worry if there’s more time on it