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!
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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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This is the best stew recipe! I have only made stew twice, ever, and this is the second recipe I tried. I will never use another! I love the richness of the broth and it thickened nicely. The seasoning loading was absolutely perfect. I only adjusted salt/pepper. I made mine with cubes of chuck roast and the pieces cooked up perfectly tender. Very comforting on a cold night with some crusty bread. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
What is the nutritional count?
I just made it with smoked deer looks amazing
I added onion because why not and it was excellent!! I’ll definitely make this again!!
Made this tonight
Family love it
Did change it
By using powder potato to thinking
Instead of flour
Thanks
This was excellent. Didn’t have the rosemary, but I guess we didn’t miss it. Also didn’t have the frozen peas, but was delicious without those two my husband said save this recipe.
This is a very good recipe. I found that 30 min was the perfect cooking time to achieve tender beef chunks and soft but not mushy vegetables. I used Italian herb blend, red potatoes, and beef bone broth. Will make again.
Lovely flavours but I found 4 cups of stock was way too much, if I was to make this again I would reduce stock by half.
This has become a staple in our house! The meat cooks perfectly every time and melts in your mouth. I like to add some frozen roasted corn kernels at the end with the peas and serve with flakey biscuits. A perfect dinner on a chilly evening. Thank you for the great recipes!
Delicious stew! Mine did not thicken… any idea why? I followed the recipe guidance. Can’t wait to try this again. 🙂
Great recipe this is my second time making it. I think cooking the vegetables that long makes them too soft for my taste. So this time i did not put veggies in with the meat. I did a quick release at 25 minutes, added the veggies and cooked for another 4 minutes. Perfect.
I was inspired to make beef stew for the first time today. I trusted this site because I always make your blueberry lemon french toast casserole for my kids. I have NEVER cut raw beef in my life, but I did it because the ingredients seem wholesome and accessible. Let me tell you, this came out PERFECT. The meat is so moist; the carrots add just the right amount of sweetness, and the broth is hearty. Thank you!
It’s been cold and rainy so my thoughts went to beef stew. I found you and decided to try my insta pot. I never imagined this way to make homemade stew could be so good. It turned out fantastic and so fast. Thankyou for such a great recipe!
This is the only beef stew recipe I will make! Besides being extremely easy it’s damn delicious! The only thing I add is a little bit of corn after it’s done cooking and I use arrowroot to thicken to keep it gluten free. This beef stew makes me look forward to cold weather! Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Made this for dinner. Best beef stew. Had to have a small bowl now it’s so good.
Just tried this beef stew recipe and wow, it’s a game-changer! I followed the steps exactly and the beef came out super tender. It’s amazing how all the flavors come together so perfectly in the Instant Pot. Served it with some crusty bread and the family couldn’t get enough. This is definitely going into our meal rotation. Thanks for sharing such a delicious and easy recipe.
I make beef stew at least once a month. I used to do it with a manual pressure cooker until I finally purchased an electric pressure cooker 10 years ago. I didn’t have any potatoes so I substituted with a medium Japanese White Daikon, which absorbs flavor just as well as a potato. I also added a can of fire roasted tomatoes with all of the juices. Delicious! I like the flour-roux method better than my cornstarch method.
i added onion 😉
I have a very old recipe that I usually use for stew, but the family was looking for something new. My house is full of meat lovers. This recipe didn’t disappoint. A lot of “new” flavors from my typical stew that everyone loved. I added a few extra minutes to the pressure cooker to make the meat shred.
This really was damn delicious. It was only my second time using an Instant Pot and I am now sold on it. The beef was really tender. It was perfect. It did take me about 45 minutes to wash and cut up the veggies and gather spices, cut up the beef. I have been cooking for 40+ years and the only way this would be a 15 minute prep is if everything was bought already washed and cut-up. I buy my stew beef from Costco and it’s a mix of sizes. It took 15 minutes, alone, to trim and cut the beef.
Family loved it and it’s great with crusty bread. Thank you.