So you might be asking what is Instant Pot beef stew. The Instant Pot is a pot that functions as a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, a rice cooker, it makes congee and more, and how does it work? It works brilliantly.
I was looking to replace my pressure cooker with something that could multi-task. I found it. No, this isn’t a paid endorsement. It is someone that is triumphal with the results. I have made several recipes this weekend with it, and I have been happy with all of them. If you know me, you know I can’t make rice on the stovetop. I try, I fail. So the rice here is cooked very well, and it does so much more quickly than in my rice cooker.
Tonight, I had to cook a roast. I often go grocery shopping before the weekend starts and Sunday night I am often cooking things for the week. This week it was stew. I made beef stew tonight that was excellent, and honestly some of the best that I have ever made. In about an hour I had beef that was so tender you could break it apart easily with a fork.
Instant Pot Beef Stew – Inspired from my Grandmother’s recipe
Tonight’s inspiration was simplicity, and I wanted something to remind me of my Grandmother’s beef stew. She cooked plainly, letting food’s natural flavors come through. So tonight’s pressure cooked stew was beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, a little garlic powder, salt, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and smoked paprika, and that was all. What I ended up with was a savory stew that I will enjoy for this week.
Instant Beef Stew – One Crazy Ingredient
What one crazy 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 stock does not have. People always ask, did you just say chicken stock. Yes. If you prefer beef stock, please use it. I urge you to try your beef stew with chicken stock just once.
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Learn how to keep the vegetables firm in your beef stew
I did pressure cook my stew twice. The first time through it was simply salt, tomato sauce, and chicken broth. I wanted the meat to have a head start on the vegetables, so I put them in first. I cooked these for 15 minutes, and then I put in the veggies and cooked for 30 minutes. What I ended up with was a flavorful stew that you would have thought was on the stovetop for an afternoon.
Beef Stew in the 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.
Want to see more about the Instant Pot? Read my Should You Buy An Instant Pot article.
I recommend this model: Instant Pot IP-LUX50 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker, 5.28qt, Latest 3rd Generation Technology, Stainless Steel Cooking Pot and Exterior
Loved this recipe? Try my other Instant Pot recipes.
- Easy Pulled Pork
- Pinto Beans in Instant Pot
- How to Make Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- French Onion Rice Instant Pot
- Corned Beef Instant Pot
- Pressure Cooker Irish Stew
Best Hearty Soup Recipes
- Best Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
- Copycat Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- Low Fat Vegetarian Black Bean Soup Panera
- White House Navy Bean Soup
- Chili Make With Tomato Juice
- Luby Green Chili Chicken Soup Recipe
- How to Make Crostini to Serve with Soup
Be sure to take a look at more of my easy soup recipes and Instant Pot meals.
If you are still wondering if you should get an Instant Pot you can read my blog post about Should You Get an Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Beef Stew
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.
Donna says
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?
Stephanie says
Cook the meat for 30 minutes, quick release, cook the vegetables for 4 minutes.
Linda says
GREAT RECIPE!
Jennifer Nelson says
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!!
Veronika says
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!