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Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot beef stew is so quick and easy to make, it’s the perfect weeknight meal! Tender beef and vegetables in a delicious gravy – it’s so good!

instant pot beef stew

The Instant Pot is so great for quick and easy meals that take way longer to make on the stovetop.

I love making stews and chilis in my Instant Pot, because they are basically dump and go meals that are ready to eat in a fraction of the time it would take on the stove.

instant pot beef stew

This Instant Pot beef stew is no exception.

It takes only 10 minutes to prep all the ingredients, another 10 minutes to brown the beef, and 10 minutes of pressure cooking time.

pressure cooker beef stew

And the beef and vegetables are so tender and delicious when cooked in the Instant Pot. The beef will be falling apart after just 10 minutes of cooking time.

You will love this Instant Pot beef stew. It’s so easy and delicious!

easy beef stew

How do you make Instant Pot Beef Stew?

Instant Pot beef stew is very easy to make.

Simply brown the beef, saute the onions and garlic for a couple minutes to soften them, then add the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook for 10 minutes.

After the pressure cooking is finished you can thicken the stew a bit and it’s ready to eat.

easy beef stew

How can I thicken my beef stew?

This beef stew is thickened after it’s finished cooking.

Once the pressure cooking time is complete, let the Instant Pot release naturally for 10 minutes, and then quick release the pressure.

pressure cooker beef stew

You can then thicken it with a corn starch slurry using the saute function. After 2-3 minutes it will be thickened slightly.

It will continue to thicken as it cools, so don’t worry about it if it doesn’t seem very thick while still in the Instant Pot. It will thicken up more as it cools down.

homemade beef stew

What’s a good side dish for beef stew?

We like to have some kind of bread alongside beef stew.

These dinner rolls are great with it, or some fresh crusty bread.

Biscuits are great with stew too. We love these buttermilk biscuits, these drop biscuits, or these homemade cream biscuits.

homemade beef stew

How to make Instant Pot Beef Stew:

  • Make sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the Instant Pot before you start pressure cooking. If you skip this step you might get the “burn” warning on the Instant Pot, so be careful to scrape up everything.
  • You don’t want to cut up the carrots and potatoes too small or they will be overdone. Cut them into fairly big pieces (no smaller than 1″ pieces) for this stew.
  • I have an 8 quart Instant Pot Duo, but this recipe should work well in a 6 quart Instant Pot as well, just make sure it’s not filled past the 2/3 fill line.

Here are some more great Instant Pot recipes for you:

Yield: serves 4

Instant Pot Beef Stew

homemade beef stew

Instant Pot beef stew is so quick and easy to make, it's the perfect weeknight meal! Tender beef and vegetables in a delicious gravy - it's so good!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound stewing beef
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 onion, diced large
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup beef stock
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2-3 carrots (8 oz), sliced
  • 3-4 button mushrooms, quartered
  • 1-2 potatoes (12oz), peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1/2 tablespoon water

Instructions

  1. Press the saute function on the Instant Pot, and add the oil to heat up.
  2. Season the stewing beef with the salt and pepper and add it to the Instant Pot in a single layer. Let it brown for 2-3 minutes, then flip it over to brown the other side for another 2-3 minutes. It will not be fully cooked.
  3. Remove the beef from the Instant Pot and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes until they are slightly softened.
  4. Add the beef stock and turn off the heat on the Instant Pot (hit cancel). Scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot, making sure to get them all, as leaving food on the bottom of the pot can lead to the burn warning during pressure cooking.
  5. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste.
  6. Add back the beef, along with the carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, thyme, and marjoram, and stir to combine everything. 
  7. Place the bay leaf on top.
  8. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, turn it to the locking position, and make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
  9. Pressure cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and then will start counting down the cook time.
  10. When the cook time is complete, let the Instant Pot natural release the pressure for 10 minutes, and then quick release the remaining pressure.
  11. In a small bowl, stir together the corn starch and water.
  12. Press the saute button on the Instant Pot, pour in the corn starch slurry, and stir to combine. Add the peas, and then cook for 2-3 minutes until the stew has thickened and the peas are heated through.

Notes

The cook time includes browning the beef, pressure cooking time, the time for natural release of the Instant Pot, and thickening the stew afterwards.

Source: Adapted from Complete Canadian Diabetes Cookbook.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1/4

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 236Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 413mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 11g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.

Marg

Saturday 23rd of January 2021

Made this tonight, did not have the quick pot, so cooked it like old times, had lots of time????, turned out great with a nice flavor.

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