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.
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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
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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.
- 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.
- Brown the meat first before pressure cooking it. The browning process will give your stew a depth of flavor.
- Using meat stock instead of water adds another layer of depth to the taste of your stew.
- 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.
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
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.
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.
Lisette L
You state that this recipe serves 1. That seems a bit odd. Is that a typo error?
Stephanie
The recipe serves 8 people.
B Cronin
I made this recipe tonight in my Instant Pot. I added a bay leaf, a half-cup of sliced fresh mushrooms and about a shot of dry red wine. The flavors were delicious, but the meat was very dry. I did a quick release after the first cooking and a natural release after the second.
Stephanie
What cut of meat did you use for this? I think an eye of round which is naturally lower in fat would result in a drier meat.
Esther
Thanks for the recipe! It’s in my regular rotation and one of my favorite meals.
Shirley Sewell
Please do more recipes for electric pressure cookers. Thanks so much!!
Stephanie
I will see what I can do.
Julie
This is going to be my first recipe in my new Instant Pot! So excited. (I have an electric pressure cooker but was so excited to get one that multi tasks!)
Irene
I am wondering if you could cook the stew for a longer time and then add the veg and cook for less than 30 minutes so that the veg are not over cooked
Stephanie
I added two cooking processes, one for the meat, then 1/3 of the way though I had you add the vegetables. So I thought this is what my instructions said. Let me know how this goes for you.
Zorica
I put all the ingredients at the beginning. Put it on “stew” setting, 35 min and all is perfect. Saves so much time.
Julie
That’s good to know. I sautéed in batches, and by the time the pot came up to pressure each time it became a two hour project. I guess that would be OK if I had started earlier….????
Heidi
In my pot as we speak – smells terrific! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Stephanie
I hope you loved this beef stew.
Abby Moore
I followed this recipe exactly and it took two hours total with the heat up and release times. This is my first time using the instant pot. So far it was not very fast! I hope other recipes are quicker.
Kim
I think she did quick release on both of the times, not natural release. Doing a QR would cut down on the time.
Stephanie
Either release will work, but you are right a quick release will save you some time.
Jeanne Serafin
What do you use the soup function and not the stew function.
Dawn
Yum yum yum for dinner! Only had sweet potatoes on hand, they broke down a bit more but still delicious! Added Worcestershire to the meat and celery to the veg. Awesome recipe!
Andy
Thanks for the recipe. I made it exactly as described and it was great!
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoyed the soup.
Tania
First time using my Instant Pot and made this. Very tasty, thank you for the recipe! I added green beans to up the veggies. I did notice a couple of things. 1. The bottom was very slightly burnt, should I have added more liquid? 2. It took 30 minutes for my Instant Pot to come to pressure when I added the vegetables — is that normal? Thank you!
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoyed the soup. I am not sure what happened with the slightly burnt bit at the bottom, you could add a little more water. I haven’t timed how long it takes my pot to get back to under pressure. It can take a bit of time, but 30 minutes seems like a lot. Are you at a higher altitude by chance?
Liko Puha
Thank you so much for this recipe. It turned out awesome! We used 3.5 lbs of meat and did not use any salt. Since there was so much more meat, we browned half in the pot and half in a pan. We also added .5 tsp of Beef Better than Bouillon and pepper to taste (roughly 1/4 tsp) after cooking.
Sande
Oh, remembered…thanks
Stephanie Manley
Ok, glad you got it, just got home 😉
Sande
Help, I am cooking this now but should the valve be on vent?.
Stephanie Manley
I hope you enjoy the stew
Katie L
Made this recipe last week (sans the tomato sauce) and it really tasted like it had cooked all day! Making it again today for a friend whose family just moved yesterday. Got the instant pot for Christmas–it’s fabulous! A God-send for a busy home schooling family. Forget to start dinner, or even think about it, until 4? No problem! You can still eat by 5 or 5:30. I can’t wait to try rice in it now that I’ve read your post. Excited to see what other recipes you have, thanks!!!
Stephanie Manley
I am a big fan of the instant pot. I have done roasts in here, and short ribs. I have always been happy with this kitchen appliance.
Christine B.
It’s 6 degrees in Franklin, N.C. I was looking for recipes for my new Instant Pot, and found your site; I may never look at any other site again. I love everything you have posted and can’t wait to eat the beef stew I’m preparing now.
Thank you.
Christine B.
Stephanie Manley
Aww, you are very kind. I am glad you came and checked this out. I will have to do more recipes for my instant pot.
John
I received my Instant Pot for Christmas and I wanted to make a stew as my first meal. I made your recipe tonight, and it was fantastic. My whole family really enjoyed it, and I have to say it was probably one of the best stews I’ve ever had. Thank you for the recipe….
Stephanie Manley
Oh this looks great 😉 Don’t you love a good beef stew?
Doc Haineday
Great recipe. Made it for my kids last night. Thank you!
Stephanie Manley
I am glad you enjoyed it. Did you use an Instant Pot?
Doc Haineday
I did. Thanks!
Stephanie Manley
I think this is an amazing kitchen appliance that suffers from poor marketing. I get a lot of great use of my Instant pot.
Barb
After cooking, pressure release naturally?
Stephanie Manley
Yes. It takes just a bit of time.
Melissa
quick release for veg and then natural for second?
Shelly
I was afraid of the Instant pot 😉 and after having it for a couple of weeks I decided it was time to use it. Thanks for an easy recipe!! I didn’t use potatoes or chicken broth – I added mushrooms and beef broth.
Stephanie Manley
It is an awesome cooker isn’t it?