Beef Stew Instant Pot Recipe

Do you love beef stew? Want to prepare a delicious beef stew in a fraction of the time it would take on a stovetop? This instant pot beef stew recipe has tender beef, tender perfectly cooked vegetables all in a velvety smooth sauce. I know you are going to love this easy beef stew recipe.

Instant Pot Beef Stew in a white bowl


Beef Stew in an Instant Pot

Beef stew is one of those all-time comfort foods, when served with some crusty bread you really can’t ask for a better dinner. This one-pot meal can be made quickly and it tastes like your favorite traditional beef stew recipe. Best of all this cooks in under 90 minutes, so you don’t have to wait for hours while your beef stew cooks.

Instant Pot Stew – Inspired by my Grandmother’s recipe

I wanted something to remind me of my Grandmother’s beef stew. She cooked plainly, letting food’s natural flavors come through. Her homemade beef stew was one of my favorite recipes, and the best thing about this recipe was when you enjoyed it the next day because it tasted even better.

This easy instant pot beef stew is made with beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, a little garlic powder, salt, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and smoked paprika. You really can make delicious stew in an electric pressure cooker.

Instapot Beef Stew Ingredients

What one secret ingredient is in this recipe? Chicken stock. I use chicken stock as the stew base. I think the flavor of the chicken stock adds a richness and nice flavor profile that beef broth does not have.

People always ask, “did you just say chicken stock?”. Yes. If you prefer beef stock or beef broth, please use it. I urge you to try your beef stew with chicken stock just once.

Here’s a list of what you need:

  • Beef Chuck Roast – this is a good beef stew meat, is has so much flavor due to the marbling of the beef.
  • Vegetable oil – you can use olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Chicken stock
  • Tomato sauce
  • Smoked paprika
  • Potatoes – I like to use Russet potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes also work well
  • Carrots
  • Onions – I prefer white onions for this recipe
  • Garlic powder
  • Worcestershire sauce – (optional) 1 tablespoon adds a nice touch
Ingredients to make Beef Stew Instant Pot Recipe.

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Learn how to keep the vegetables firm in this simple beef stew

I pressure cook my stew twice. If you cook the meat and the vegetables all in one single step you will tender meat and mushy vegetables. The best stew should have tender meat and firm vegetables. The first cooking is the meat, stock, and spices. The second cooking is where we add the vegetables. Cooking the vegetables for less time means they stay firm and distinct.

How to Make Beef Stew in Instant Pot

It’s pretty easy to make delicious stew, you can make a beef stew that tastes like it cooked all day in your pressure cooker. I will walk you through the process.

  1. Cut your beef into bite-sized pieces. Small pieces of meat mean your stew tastes extra meaty, by increasing the surface area of the meat means more flavor comes through.
  2. Brown the meat first before pressure cooking it. The browning process will give your stew a depth of flavor.
  3. Using meat stock instead of water adds another layer of depth to the taste of your stew.
  4. Cooking the vegetables last results in the vegetables retaining all of their natural bold flavors. No one wants flavorless mushy vegetables.

What meat is best for beef stew?

You can use just about any cut of beef for beef stew. The cheaper cut of meat will give you better flavor! My personal favorite is chuck roast. A chuck roast is inexpensive and has enough marbling on it to give it more flavor.

Don’t buy precut stew meat because it costs more. Five minutes of work means you can save a couple of dollars a pound. Here is a breakdown of types of meat you can make beef stew.

  • Chuck roast –  (Chuck Shoulder, Chuck Roast, Chuck-Eye Roast, Top Chuck) – is well-marbled, and releases a lot of gelatin when it cooks, so you get a wonderful velvety texture.
  • Sirloin – is great if you want a lower fat content in your stew, this is a great choice, this leaner cut of beef. You won’t get the same texture as you will with a fattier cut.
  • Round eye roast (Bottom Round Roast, Bottom Eye Roast, Rump Roast, Eye Round Roast, Top Round, Round Tip Roast) – These are all variations of the same cut of roast. Inexpensive and lean, this is a great choice for a leaner stew plus these are often priced less expensively than other cuts of meat.

How long do you need to cook beef chunks in a pressure cooker?

Meat takes 30 minutes to be cooked thoroughly, in a pressure cooker.  You might wonder if you want to add more meat in the pressure cooker do you need to cook it for longer? No, the meat needs to cook for 30 minutes at the proper psi to be done. Longer cooking time is irrelevant when you use more meat.

Why is my stew meat tough in Instant Pot?

If you cook your meat full time your beef should not be tough. Sometimes a particular cut of beef may have more connective tissue, and this may sauce your beef to be extra tough. To fix this you can simply cook your stew for another 5 to 8 minutes on high pressure. This additional cooking time should address the toughness of the beef.

Does beef stew get more tender the longer it cooks?

Yes, the longer beef stew meat cooks it will become more tender. It becomes tender because the connective tissue begins to break down. As the connective tissue breaks down the meat isn’t held together so firmly.

Tips for Success when making Instant Pot Beef Stew

To add richness and flavor to Instant Pot Stew

  • Brown the meat first in vegetable oil or olive oil.
  • Do not use water, use a meat stock
  • Use meat with some fat like a chuck roast, you will get the flavor from the fat, and the gelatin will give you a nice texture.
  • When you brown the meat deglaze with a bit of red wine if you desire, be sure to scrape the browned bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to pick up all of that rich flavor.
  • If you want to you can add a bay leaf or two when you cook the meat for flavor.
  • Do not put flour in your Instant Pot, it will clog the pressure valve.
  • If you think the stew is too thin, consider adding a cornstarch slurry to the final result.
How to thicken Instant Pot Beef Stew with a Cornstarch slurry.

Combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir to blend well. Add to hot stew after it has finished cooking. Stir until stew thickens. The residual heat of the stew is sufficient to thicken the cornstarch slurry mixture in the stew.

Beef Stew in Instant Pot is Flavorful

What I like about using the Instant Pot it is that is a safe, easy way to pressure cook. The flavors stay trapped within the liquid, so you get a nice flavorful stew.

This stew cooks quickly and the pressure cooker is relatively silent when in operation. It will even switch to a warm mode once the food is cooked.

I browned my meat right in the pot, then put on the lid, set the timer, and walked away until it beeped. Brilliant. This is the working person’s dream.

How to store leftover Instant Pot beef stew

You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. You can freeze leftover Instant pot beef stew in an airtight container or a vacuum-sealed bag for up to 3 months.

Does Instant Pot stew freeze well?

It freezes very well. Be sure to store it in an airtight container, and it will last for 3 months in the freezer. You should allow the frozen stew to thaw before reheating. You can pull the frozen stew out of the freezer and let it thaw in your refrigerator until it is ready to reheat.

How to Reheat Instant Pot Beef Stew

I recommend reheating the stew in a pot on the stove. Reheat the stew on low to medium-low heat until warm for best results

Instant Pot Beef Stew in a white bowl

Loved this recipe? Try my other Instant Pot recipes

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Be sure to take a look at more of my easy soup recipes and Instant Pot meals.

Instant Pot Beef Stew in a white bowl

Instant Pot Beef Stew

You can make the post amazing Instant Pot Beef Stew. 
4.93 from 38 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Instant Pot Recipes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 413kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 16 ounces chicken stock
  • 16 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 pounds potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 8 ounces carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 large onions, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  • Cut beef into bite-sized pieces.   Season meat with salt.  Brown bite-sized pieces of roast in the Instant Pot on saute in vegetable oil, you may need to do this in small batches.  
  • Once the meat has browned add tomato sauce and chicken stock. Cook the meat on the manual high setting for 30 minutes. Perform a quick release. 
  • Then add the garlic powder, smoked paprika,  vegetables and cook on the manual setting for 4 minutes. 
  • When the stew finishes you can either perform a quick release or a manual release.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 816mg | Potassium: 1337mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5125IU | Vitamin C: 21.5mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 7.5mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. EsQueue

    5 stars
    Followed the recipe 100%. I thought that it would come out bland as so little salt was added but it came out great. My tip is to let it cool off a bit as it’s hotter than the surface of the sun and you can’t taste it. My brother and I destroyed it in two days.

  2. Quijano Patricia Taeza

    5 stars
    Stephanie,this hearty Instant Beef Stew is the best.
    Flavorful & less time!
    Family loves ❤️ It!
    Thank you!

    • Liz

      Finally a recipe that tells you to add in the veggies at the end not in the beginning like most IP recipes do. Thank you. Learned from having mushy veggies when I first started using my IP not to follow that step but rather add the veggies in at the end. Thank you.

  3. Angi

    Hi, the potatoes were not done with the 4 minute cooking. Did I do something wrong?

    I made this for my family as I am vegetarian but it smells really good. Just waiting for dinner time to serve it.

    • Stephanie Manley

      Four minutes should have been long enough. You can turn the pot on low or high, and let them continue to cook. You also may want to cut potatoes into smaller pieces. I typically cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces for beef stew.

  4. Tonjua Soutar

    I made this plus added flour to meat than browned meat, also added a pint jar of my zucchini and tomatoes in place of tomato sauce.. one of the best Beef Stews I have ever eaten. I also served over fresh biscuits.

  5. Carolyn

    5 stars
    I made this recipe this week end in my Instant Pot and it was great. I did however, substitute the smoked paprika with regular paprika. Maybe next time, I’ll put a little of the smoked paprika, since I’m not a big fan of smoked flavors.

  6. Janice

    The recipe does look delicious. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, will it taste the same if you use a regular stainless steel pot? I do have a slow cooker if that would make it better. Thanks! Janice

    • Stephanie

      You can use a stainless steel pot, no problem, you will most likely have to cook it longer than the 30 minutes. I would simmer the meat for about 60 minutes, then add in the veggies and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.

  7. Nancy Riddel

    5 stars
    My favorite Instant Pot recipe! I tweaked it by using beef bouillon in place of chicken stock. I added celery, mushrooms, 2 bay leaves and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce. Thank you for this recipe!

  8. Rylander

    5 stars
    At first I thought the chicken stock wouldn’t work, but it did. This huge pot of stew was gone in two meals.

  9. Robin Gale

    5 stars
    Excellent recipe! I add some fresh garlic and a bag of mixed vegetables instead of the carrots as my family likes the veggies!! I also toss the meat in flour and salt before frying.

  10. Donna

    I am confused on the instructions for the Instant pot recipe for “Instant Pot Beef Stew.” When discussing how to keep veggies firm in the Instant Pot beef stew you state that meat is cooked for 15 min with quick release, add veggies and spices and cook for 30 min. Under printable recipe it says 30 min for meat (quick release), add veggies and cook 4 min. Which is it?

  11. Jennifer Nelson

    5 stars
    LOVED this! Super easy and very flavorful. I skipped the onion, added celery, Worcestershire and a thickening roux then served in a bread bowl. Hearty, delicious and exactly what I wanted. Thank you!!

  12. Veronika

    5 stars
    Like others commenting, this was my first meal using my instant pot – I used a slow cooker for years, so I was nervous, and after it conked out, my husband researched and got us a multi-cooker (yay, I can still slow cook if I want!). I used your recipe and added a few things from my own favorite beef stew recipe (bay leaf, mushrooms, red wine, Worcestershire, flour), and I used fewer potatoes and less tomato sauce. At the end I added some chopped parsley for color, and it was a great success! The meat was melt in your mouth, served with warm sliced baguette, so good. Thanks for inspiring me to get out of my slow cooker comfort zone!

  13. Pat Hand

    Why oh why would you use chicken broth in BEEF stew? That is just weird. I made the stew and it was fair, of course I used beef broth! I just don’t care for tomatoe sauce in beef stew.

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