Instant Pot Beef Stew
by Chungah
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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
Video
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
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.
Equipment
Did you make this recipe?
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I cooked my first beef stew in my new Instant Pot. It was amazing. This recipe is a keeper. It was very flavorful. Thanks for making the recipe so easy to follow.
New to the Insta pot world and tried this for the 1st time. Wow easy and very tasteful. In our house if you try something new and like it we call it a keeper. Will definitely make this again and from start to finish 1 hour.
Awesome!
Very good stew. I was worried the vegetables would be mush but they weren’t. Meat was wonderfully tender. Next time I make this, I will use a large skillet on the stove top to brown the meat. I had to do several batches in the instant pot and it took too long.
So good, thanks for the recipe! It was delicious and easy, I’ll definitely make this stew again! By the way, I can’t get enough of Butters.
Thanks, Manee!
Wow! I was somewhat skeptical about making beef stew in my electric pressure cooker, but even more skeptical about it tasting as good as my home recipe. Well, this is my new home recipe!! Thank you!!
Awesome!
Amazing! Just started using a pressure cooker. This was fast and easy. My husband said it was the best stew I’ve ever made! Thanks for the recipe.
Sweet!
Looks good!
THE BEST! You will not be disappointed. Have made this instant pot ref stew about 6 times – every time turned out perfect. Fall apart beef and so tasty. Would recommend this recipe every time.
Thank you Diane!
This was my first time using this recipe and it was really good. I’m new to my instant pot and the only complaint I have is the smell that lingers after I make something. I’ve emailed the company and they suggest using 2 different sealing rings, one for sweet and one for savory. Thought I’d pass that on. Thanks for a great recipe that I’ll come back to!
Thanks Lori!
Don’t worry about taste transfer- with the sweet/savory exception I haven’t had an issue. The ONLY trick that ever worked for me to get the smell out of the ring was hanging it in the sun (on a dollar store plant hanger!) but in the winter I haven’t bothered. No issues. Others use different cleaning tricks with lemons and all but I didn’t think they worked. Just some more food for thought on the topic!
How is it for leftovers?
It reheats very well. 🙂
Hi! I’ve had this recipe marked for ages and today I want to try and make it but I have double the meat and want to cook it all. Can you tell me what changes I need to make to double the recipe? I have the 6qt Instant Pot.
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I made this recipe but was not cooked after 35 minutes. Did like recipe said. Still cooking and not done.
Divine Beef Stew Recipe!
Have had my Instant Pot for a few days, and this was the second dinner dish I made. Normally I don’t cook because of a demanding job, but was home sick for several days with a cold.
What a healing comfort dish! This beef stew was just the way I imagined and hoped for it to turn out in taste and texture, with just the right thickness of stew broth too! I didn’t use caraway seeds and ran up a little short on rosemary, so subbed partly with fresh orgegano. Yum!!! I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe. It’s absolutely perfect as is.
So happy you liked it!
I will try this recipe soon. I just wanted to know with the Instant Pot can I use the slow cooker function instead of using a crock pot or the pressure cooking function?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
You can also always try this slow cooker beef stew recipe instead. 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2016/10/07/slow-cooker-beef-stew/
Loved this recipe! Curious tho…how would adding a bit of rice work for this recipe?
i’d like to make this for a group but am gluten free – as a substitute for the flour, could i use an all purpose gluten free flour, or just sub for cornstarch? and if so, how much (1:1?) thanks!
Hi Michele! Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This is my second time making this. The first time I made it, I did it exactly (with the caraway too), but found it too liquidy, so this time I cut the beef broth to two cups and it was perfect! So delicious!
Thank you Larissa! So glad you found a way to make it your own 🙂
The only reason I used corn starch instead was because I didn’t have flour on hand.
I’m a bit of a beginner with the Instant Pot. I read somewhere that it takes at least 1 cup of liquid before it comes to pressure. I noticed the brorh is added after the vegetables are sauteed.
Do the vegetables produce enough liquid (1 cup) while sauteeing them to allow the pot come to pressure? Just wondering
I have never made a comment on this blog, but I’ve been following for so long. CHUNGAH…..this blog is golden. I have never gone wrong with a recipe from you. I got an instant pot purely because you endorsed them, and I am so excited to see what instant pot recipe you have next!
I made this stew and it was wonderful. The only change I had to make was using corn starch instead of flour to thicken the broth.
On behalf of all the lurkers on damndelicious that have enjoyed your delicious recipes but haven’t commented yet, THANK YOU!
☝️ This! I’m a lurker and have gotten my coworkers on board with your blog. We are all in love and have yet to make something less than stellar from any of your recipes. Thank you! (Now off to the kitchen to make this recipe!)
Thank you so much for this sweet compliment Renee! We love it 🙂
Do you cook the peas prior to putting them in the IP, or do you put them in frozen?
No, they do not have to be cooked beforehand. You can add the peas into the Instant Pot in its frozen state.
Just made this for St Patrick’s day. Made it 99% to the directions with the exception of a bit more beef. All I can say is this is one of the best stews ever. IP has a huge following with a lot of sub par or untested recipes, this is spot on. We had so many people over that I had to make to twice. (Put the first batch in a slow cooker (CP) to keep warm). Taste and tenderness is excellent, all in about an hour vs 8-10 hours with a slow cooker.