Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
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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!
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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 recipe
- 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.
- It’s the perfect comfort food, I like to serve it with homemade texas toast or drop biscuits!
(If you’re new to the Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot 101 post to learn all about how to start pressure cooking!)
Ingredients
- beef stew meat I usually use chuck roast is a favorite
- flour & butter help sear the meat’s flavor in
- beef broth deglazes the bottom of the Instant Pot to release all that flavor
- potatoes, onion, & carrots make this stew hearty and filling
- garlic of course, can I make any savory dish without it?
- soy sauce & Worcestershire sauce – makes the flavors pop
- tomato paste thickens and enhances the broth
- salt and pepper finish off the flavor perfectly
Step by step with video
- Start with sauté mode to brown the meat and then add the beef broth. When you pour in the broth, stir around the bottom to deglaze the bottom of the pan and release all those flavorful bits into the broth for the best taste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir, then pressure cook on stew mode for 35 minutes.
- Once you lock the lid of the Instant Pot and set the timer 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.
Tips
- Don’t skimp when browning the meat, you want to brown all side and really lock the flavor into the stew meat.
- If you’re not ready to eat it after the pressure releases the Instant Pot will keep the beef stew warm automatically 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!) Just keep it on Warm mode in the Instant Pot with the lid on until you’re ready to eat.
FAQs
Most grocery stores carry pre-cut stew meat but you can also use chuck roast, boneless short ribs, or brisket cut into 1-2 inch pieces.
Allow stew to cool before storing in the fridge. (Never let it sit out more than 2 hours at room temperature though for food safety.) Keep leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 4 days. If you want to keep it longer freeze it.
Store stew in airtight containers, leaving at least 1 inch of space to allow it to expand in the freezer. Stew can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight.
If you want to add more veggies to the stew, some great options are peas, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and eggplant. Be sure to cut into larger pieces so they don’t get overcooked.
Serving suggestions
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.
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 Beef Stew recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
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Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
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, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 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
- Chop vegetables into 1 – 1 1/2 inch pieces, set aside.
- 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.
Notes
- use pre-cut stew meat or chuck roast, boneless short ribs or brisket
- cut vegetables into thicker pieces so they dont get mushy
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Category: soup
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 264
- Sugar: 5.1 g
- Sodium: 380.7 mg
- Fat: 6.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.7 g
- Protein: 7.3 g
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This recipe was originally shared in October 2018 and updated in January 2020.
Do you have it on less normal or more
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! /: thank you!
I’m making it tonight! Do you stew it for 35 min and let it naturally release for 30 min? Or do you stew for 35 naturally release and then stew for another 30?
Stew for 35 minutes and let it naturally release which usually takes about an additional 30 minutes!
Does anyone know how long roughly it took for the pot to come to pressure? Just trying to figure out when to start it
It comes to pressure faster in this recipe because you’ve already warmed it up bronwing the meat, so I’d say it’s about 15 minutes
Did a few things different. Was rushing to get it started so I skipped the browning step. Added a packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix to the broth. And I quick released after a 30 min NP release (we were getting hungry and it had been an hour and a half). Turned out fantastic! Will definitely be making this again
Glad you liked it Katie! It’s such a good comfort food recipe!
I love how you added the scale feature. That’s helps me a ton!
Oh good! I’m so glad it’s helpful!
I made this tonight (I’m Australian and it’s very cold here atm!) and it was a huge hit! Kids have asked to take leftovers to school tomorrow.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Julie!!
This was a wonderful recipe. Very easy to throw together, followed the instructions as written with the exception using frozen peas and carrots mix. Whole family enjoyed this. Thank you for posting!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kristin!
I am new to the instant pot world. But I tried this today and it is amazing!! All of my kids ate it! I will definitely be making this again!!
That’s awesome, I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Melissa, could I double the batch in one cooking? Or would you recommend making two batches?
I’m wondering the same! Hoping to make it for dinner tonight!
I answered her but in case you didn’t get notified, yes it can be doubled but I’d saute the meat in batches to make sure it cooks properly. ~Melissa
Yes, the recipe can be doubled easily. You may need to brown the meat in batches to make sure it isn’t too crowded and the meat gets cooked thoroughly ~Melissa
If you double the recipe you still cook it for the same amount of time?
Yes, it still cooks the same amount of time, just make sure you aren’t overfilling or crowding the pot.
I cannot have soy is there something else to replace soy with
I would just leave the soy sauce out Kathy, it shouldn’t affect the taste too much. If you think it needs a little something when you omit it you could just add some extra Worcestershire instead! Hope that helps, ~Melissa
Made this. I got my instant pot today & this was the first recipe i made. OMGGGGGG can we say DELICIOUSNESS!!! Amazing!!
Thank you for the recipe!!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it Monica! You’re going to LOVE your Instant Pot! ~Melissa
I made this for dinner and it was great. I made a pan of cornbread and dinner was ready in a hour. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review and comment, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ~Melissa
I cooked this but in a Dutch oven. It was so Good. Thanks for sharing. This will go in that Big book of recipes I save for my Family. Just a little different than mine. Thanks again, Angela P
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Angela! ~Melissa
Delicious!! I made 2 batches of this and the 2nd batch I added a half cube of beef bouillon and it gave it some more hearty beef flavor which I love! I also added mushrooms! Would go great with celery too. Definitely making this again!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ~Melissa
What is the green seasoning on top of the stew in the picture?
It is just a little parsley to add color to the photos, nothing that adds flavor or is needed for the recipe (although you’re free to add it if you want!)
This recipe was delicious. The only thing I changed was I added mushrooms and omitted the tomato paste.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gina! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a review, I appreciate it! ~Melissa
Recipe looks great! Would iit be a problem to reduce the natural release to 15 minutes due to time constraints?
This was so very good. A hearty meal on s cold day.
The stew looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I think the link may be broken. I am looking for the DYI cinnamon spice candle and the link brings me to this recipe for stew. Thank you
How did you come to the candle link? So I can better figure out how to fix it! Thanks ~Melissa
Can i use baby carrots
Yes you absolutely can use baby carrots Sean!