Instant Pot Beef Stew
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Loaded with flavorful chunks of meat + potatoes that come out amazingly tender. Truly the BEST beef stew recipe ever!
Featured Comment
I wish I could say I made this in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, but I didn’t.
Because as I’ve mentioned before, we’re starting to get that brisk weather in Southern California. About 60 degrees cold (basically not cold at all). So my routine hasn’t changed at all.
I’m still in my no-shame sweatpants with a cozy bowl of comfort here. Loaded with tender chunks of meat and potatoes that just melt in your mouth. I’ve had 4 bowls already with crusty bread, so I should probably leave the house at some point to work this off.
tips and tricks for success
- Sear the meat. Browning the beef first is key here. That dark crust on the stew meat cubes will create such richer, deeper flavors in your stew (plus, the browned bits at the bottom of the pot are all lovely bits here, adding so much flavor).
- Potatoes and carrots should be cut in larger pieces. We want our vegetables to be cut a little larger here as they will cook down quite a bit in the Instant Pot (or else they will be overcooked, fall apart and turn to mush).
- Add wine. The recipe calls for 4 cups beef broth but you can substitute a little bit of the broth for red wine (about 1/4 cup), deglazing the bottom of the pot and letting it simmer for about 5 minutes. Pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon or merlot are all great options.
what to serve with beef stew
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Beef Stew: Frequently Asked Questions
We have a stovetop version here!
Yes! Here is our favorite slow cooker beef stew recipe.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Baby Dutch yellow potatoes are readily available in most major grocery stores but you can also substitute Yukon gold potatoes, fingerling potatoes, yellow potatoes or quartered red potatoes.
The beef stew is thickened with a flour slurry (flour mixed with water but in this case, we are using the stew broth). Depending on the desired consistency, you can use 1-4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. The key here is to add the slurry slowly until the mixture starts to thicken.
Beef stew is very much freezer-friendly. You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 pound baby Dutch yellow potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 4 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 4 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup frozen petite peas
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Melt butter; working in batches, add beef and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in beef broth, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Stir in potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, caraway seeds and bay leaves until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 30 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup stew broth.
- Select high sauté setting. Bring to a boil; stir in flour mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more beef broth as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Stir in peas until heated through, about 30 seconds.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Would this work with chicken and chicken broth? Have a family member who does not eat red meat.
This really is damn delicious! Thank you!
Really delicious stew, the family went back for seconds. I peeled and chopped up 6 regular white potatoes (instead of the baby Dutch potatoes) and they kept their shape and cooked throughout. For beef broth, I used one Campbell’s Beef Broth 900 ml box and added in 4 tablespoons of beef Bovril. Substituted the tomato paste for 4 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes. Used regular paprika instead of smoked. Used 3 bay leaves for a stronger flavour. I put all of the meat in at the same time and added in one diced onion and sauteed it all together. To make it easy for thickening rather than trying to dig out the liquid from around the vegetables, I simply mixed water and cornstarch in a cup and slowly stirred it into the stew when I added the peas at the end. It worked perfectly.
Our favorite beef stew yet! So delicious and easy to make. We skipped the tomato paste and added a can of diced tomatoes instead, and added a bit more flour for thickening. We also always add a packet of onion soup mix – so good! Served with crusty bread and butter. Thanks for an easy and delicious dinner! We will definitely be making this again!
Excellent recipe! Added shallot, green beans, and a little corn. I used a nice chuck roast, carefully separated, trimmed, and cubed. The overall flavor was delicious, and each bit a tender delight. Rani really nailed it in their comments: ‘Beautiful to prepare and tastes like a [beef stew] should taste. All great ingredients. Classic indeed’.
Thank you for this ‘can’t miss’ recipe!
Thank you. It turned out perfect.
This was indeed “Damn delicious”. Thank you so very much for this recipe. My husband and I loved it. Followed it exactly, caraway and all. Keeping this in my recipe file to make again and again…. Allow me to say that there are times when I follow a recipe from the internet and it was a total waste of time and money spent on ingredients, NOT this recepie.”, Not yours. Your stew is sumptuous and no strange tastes. Beautiful to prepare and tastes like a stew beef should taste. All great ingredients. Classic indeed. Thank you again.
Very Best Always,
XO,
Rani
I left out the salt, celery and potatoes, diced the carrots and served it tossed with buttered pasta, and a pinch of salt. Used the Instant Pot for the stew. Everyone loved it. Easy recipe, thanks!
Your recipe looks delicious. Especially like the addition of caraway seeds yum. Question.. Do you have to sauté the beef or could you dump and go? Would it change the cooking time?
Thanks kindly
Oh man…so so good. Meat and veg so tender and thickened broth so flavorful.
Wow. This is the best stew I ever ate. I was a little skeptical (no onions? smoked paprika, and caraway seed??) but I’ve made enough Damn Delicious recipes to trust your judgement! So I followed the recipe to a T. I was lucky to have a beautiful chuck roast to start with, which I cut up for stew meat, but the broth was the real star. All the flavors melded beautifully, it was hard to stop eating. YUM. This is my stew recipe from now on.
Hello, I made this today with a few changes. Instead of potatoes I used cauliflower and I added corn and mushrooms. Did not have tomato paste so I used a can of diced tomatoes and almond flour for the roux. Delish!
I made this today with a few changes. Instead of potatoes I used cauliflower and I added corn and mushrooms. Did not have tomato paste so I used a can of diced tomatoes and almond flour for the roux. Delish!
Oh i re-read it:
Stir in potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, beef BROTH…hard to see on limited phone screen lol ty!
Super yummy & was a hit at our house!
Made this this weekend and it was so easy and so tasty! I only used 2 tbsp of flour and also added mushrooms when I added the peas.
Very tasty
You can’t front on this one.
This is the best beef stew I ever made!!!
I have the 3 qt instant pot so I cut the recipe by 1/4.
•3 cups broth and 1 lb meat; adjusted ingredients accordingly.
•1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic in place of tomato paste.
•I added the flour and stirred after I added the vegetables before the broth.
•Did not use caraway seeds, bay leaf not parsley.
I’m trying this today. I noticed you said to add the onion but I don’t see the onion listed in the ingredients. Just giving you a heads up.