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.
My instant pot doesn’t have “stew mode” but I figured it out and put it on pressure cook for the 35 minutes.
I didn’t realize till we were rating, but the stew is missing corn and peas which we usually have in it. Is there a way to incorporate this? Maybe use quick release, throw frozen corn and peas in, then set the cooker to warm? What do you think?
I made this for dinner last night. I was in a rush, but got it made quickly. I was very happy how it turned out. I asking my husband if he liked it as much as I did. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Is it possible to adapt this recipe for a crockpot. I can’t afford a new appliance either in terms of money or space (tiny apartment kitchen). I’m thinking browning meat in a pan, deglazing, then transferring to the crockpot? 6-8 hours on low? Or 8-10? Help please, I know my carnivorous son would love this.
I think that would be fine Kimberly, I’d brown the meat in a pan & deglaze and transfer to the crock pot then cook on high at least 6 hours or low at least 8.
When you say deglaze do you mean scrap all the juice and everything over to the slow cooker?
When you deglaze the pan you add the liquid and then scrape the bottom to release any cooked-on bits to dissolve in the liquid and add flavor.
This was so good! Thanks for posting this easy recipe. Usually my Instant Pot is just use for hard boiled eggs, egg bites, and cooking rice and quinoa, but this was so easy and so yummy! The potatoes got a little mushy even though I cut them bigger than I normally would have. Next time I might just cut them in half to cook them. One question…. if I wanted to double or even triple the recipe to feed a crowd (I have an 8 qt.), do I need to adjust the cooking time or keep it the same?
Bessie I would love to know how you make your egg bites.
So glad you liked it! The cooking time would be the same, just make sure you can fit it all in the Instant Pot and all the meat gets seared at the beginning.
I have a Ninja would results be the same as instant pot
I made this in my ninja we just finished eating we both decided it’s a keeper and will definitely do it again I added a can of corn. Thank you so much for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Finally, a recipe that is easy to follow and delicious,! The beef was tender and moist, flavour was amazing.
I’m so glad you liked it Cathy!
Mine is cooking in Ninja now. I cooked meat on Hi on sear/sauté mode and then turned off. I added all the rest of the ingredients stirred well and then turn to pressure cooker setting except on high for 30 minutes.
I love this stew. I am making it again tonight. I will decrease the 5 large potatoes, however. I love potatoes, but 5 seemed a bit much.
It is interesting you say that “you are not going to overcook this stew” because that is what happened. I thought your 30 min cook time plus 30 min natural release seemed like a lot. The meat was cooked to very small pieces that just fell apart. In your video, the beef chunks looked the same size as mine so I went for it. That is my only complaint with my Instant Pot. Things tend to be overdone. The flavor was good and the seasoning was good. I just need to work on the cook time. Any suggestions?
This is a great recipe! I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delish! Definitely a keeper for dinner rotations! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Followed this recipe to a T and it was Devine! My toddler gobbled it up, and my 7 month old enjoyed the stewed veggies and meat! Sharing this recipe for our beef and venison loving families. Thanks for a great, simple recipe!
So glad you liked it Anissa!! I bet it would be delicious with venison!
With everybody’s heart problems nowadays people needs to cut down on salt and all their recipes. When it says 1 teaspoon, I cut it down to 1/2 teaspoon. The recipes still taste wonderful. But not as salty. It would be helpful. Thank you.
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.
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!
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?
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.
I have done that too. It’s because I forgot to cancel before doing the quick release.
Do I shut the instant pot off while It is natural releasing?
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.
This recipe is amazing! There are so many recipes to choose from and I’m SO glad I chose this one. I used mini red potatoes (about the same amount of carrots) and they cooked to perfection. It’s so delicious! Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you liked it Dianne!
What do you mean by natural venting?
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.
Was wondering if the tomato paste makes a huge difference or if there is something else to use?!
I used ketchup instead of tomato paste. I did not add extra salt. The soya sauce was enough. Will use this recipe again.
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!
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!
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!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Rachael! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment, you made my day!
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.
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!)
This was amazing!! My first time using my instant pot and it was a huge success 😁
So glad you liked it! It’s a great beginner Instant Pot recipe!
Would the time be the same if i.wanted to double it? Or should I do it in two batches? Thanks!
It should be fine for the same time Nichole!
Do you have it on less normal or more setting?
I’m not sure what you mean, I push the stew button then set it to 35 minutes, can you clarify?
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! /:
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