Learn how to make this homemade Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew which is made from start to finish in an electric pressure cooker. This really takes the guesswork out of making a hearty, flavorful beef stew and leaves with you tender, fall apart beef chunks in a thick, tasty brown sauce. Its healthy, can be made gluten free and simple!
Seriously, that luscious gravy gets me hungry every single time I look at that picture. If you read my last post, then you know that we made a life changing shift and moved to a small town called Auroville. This is actually the first real meal I cooked here. Because we both love a good beef stew. For us, it has to be thick, hearty, full of carrots, mushrooms and potatoes and tender, fall apart chunks of beef. And this easy instant pot beef stew is ALL OF that!
We are still setting up the kitchen and things are still in boxes. How long is too long to finish unpacking? Are we the only ones who has boxes that lie around unpacked for weeks? But my Instant Pot came with us in the car when we were moving. And it has kept us fed the last couple of days!
This recipe is incredible easy. I'd say the only tough part is browning the beef, which is something that you should get right. I prefer doing everything in the IP (use the saute function) even if I have to do it in batches, but you can always brown the beef in a pan and add it to the Instant Pot if that's easier for you.
Cooking Notes for Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
Here are some things you should know/ can help when you start making this recipe:
How to brown beef? Browning beef before you add everything else for a beef stew helps lock in the flavors. To brown beef, heat a little oil or butter to the pot and add beef chunks. Make sure not to overcrowd the pot or the beef will start to steam instead of browning properly. Sear the meat on high heat till its a light golden brown. The idea is to only sear and not cook the beef completely. I like to saute it in batches in the Instant Pot but you can always brown it in a pan if thats what you are comfortable with and add it to the IP or pressure cooker.
What vegetables can I use for Beef Stew? We love using carrots, mushrooms, celery and potatoes because they stand under pressure and don't completely disintegrate. But I love using beans and green peas too. Actually, any hearty winter vegetables will work.
How does the Instant Pot cook Beef Stew so quickly? Basically the Instant Pot or any other pressure cooker helps cook things faster and more evenly by creating pressure in a sealed environment. The steam that is created helps meat, lentils and other things cook much faster than a stovetop, slow cooker or oven.
How do you thicken up beef stew? I like to use flour to thicken up this easy instant pot beef stew, but if you want this to be gluten free, you can substitute the all purpose flour with cornflour.
If you are in the mood, serve these over my Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Seriously never going back to making this any other way. Because this easy instant pot beef stew is the shizzz!
More Meat Lovers' Recipes:
- Beef Bourguignon
- Kerala Mutton Stew (Ishtu) with Coconut
- One-Pot Mutton (Lamb) Kofta Curry
- Mutton Keema or Spiced Lamb Mince Curry
- Goan Prawn Curry with Coconut
Watch Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew Video Recipe (Step by Step)
Here’s the Instant Pot that I use in case you want to check it out: Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1
Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons Butter
- 500 grams Beef Chunks
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 cup Pearl Onions or regular Onion cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 2 Carrots thickly sliced diagonally
- ½ cup Celery chopped
- ¾ cup Mushrooms halved
- 2-3 Potatoes quartered
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 cup low sodium Chicken or Beef Broth
- 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour or Cornflour for GF
Instructions
- Turn on the Saute function on your and heat butter. Add the beef chunks so as not to overcrowd the pan. Sprinkle with salt and butter and brown the beef on high. You can do this in batches too. Try not to move the beef around too much so that they brown faster. Alternatively, you can brown the beef in a pan and add it to the Instant Pot.
- Add the pearl onions and garlic to the beef and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, more salt and ¾ cup chicken broth. Place the lid, turn the vent to sealing and set on meat/stew for 35 minutes. Once the timer goes off and the stew is cooked, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually. You can also let all the pressure release naturally if you have time.
- Whisk the flour in the remaining stock and add it to the stew. Switch on the saute function and let the stew simmer for 5 minutes or so till it thickens. Serve over mashed potatoes. Try this .
Notes
- How to brown beef? Browning beef before you add everything else for a beef stew helps lock in the flavours. To brown beef, heat a little oil or butter to the pot and add beef chunks. Make sure not to overcrowd the pot or the beef will start to steam instead of browning properly. Sear the meat on high heat till its a light golden brown. The idea is to only sear and not cook the beef completely. I like to saute it in batches in the Instant Pot but you can always brown it in a pan if thats what you are comfortable with and add it to the IP or pressure cooker.
- What vegetables can I use for Beef Stew? We love using carrots, mushrooms, celery and potatoes because they stand under pressure and don't completely disintegrate. But I love using beans and green peas too. Actually, any hearty winter vegetables will work.
- How does the Instant Pot cook Beef Stew so quickly? Basically the Instant Pot or any other pressure cooker helps cook things faster and more evenly by creating pressure in a sealed environment. The steam that is created helps meat, lentils and other things cook much faster than a stovetop, slow cooker or oven.
- How do you thicken up beef stew? I like to use flour to thicken up this easy instant pot beef stew, but if you want this to be gluten free, you can substitute the all purpose flour with cornflour.
Nutrition
Life in Auroville
It's been a week since we moved to Auroville and life is just like that. Lazy, quiet and a looong stretch! BTW, this is Leela, one of the two dogs who has adopted us already ❤️ She is adorable and loves sneaking up on my seat when I'm not looking.
Other Instant Pot Recipes you may like:
Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Instant Pot Chicken Potato Corn Chowder
Instant Pot Chipotle Chili
Decoratingdiva says
I made this last night. It was delicious. I omitted the potatoes as my family won’t eat them. I did use parsnips and varied the amounts of the vegetables. I also added about 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar. I didn’t have to thicken the sauce. My son who hates stew like this and I will definitely be making this again.
Richa says
So glad you and your son liked it. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Shaon Adnan says
Hey,
Awesome Beef Recipe I love Beef very much. This is my favorite food so sometimes I find new recipes on different blogs.Thank you very much for your recipe.
Jasmeen Kaur says
Do you think i can do the same recpie with lamb and i want to try tbis with dosa or idli. Do u think it will work.
Richa says
Hey Jasmeen, lamb will have a stronger flavour and may need more aromatics to go with it. I'm not quite sure if it work well. But if you give it a try, I'd appreciate it if you leave a comment here for other readers.
Cammy says
Curious about suggestions to serve with mashed potatoes....are you mashing potatoes that are already included in the recipe, or omitting those potatoes -- or using lots of potatoes.
Richa says
Hey Cammy, I made mashed potatoes separately to serve with the stew.
Kristae says
Hi. Would it still be tasty without a thickening agent? I’m not into flour or corn starch. Thanks
Richa says
The taste won't be any different. If you want, you try using potato starch instead which works just as well.
Carol says
Just made this and it's as tasty and tender as it looks! I trebled the recipe and opted to broil the meat cubes to brown them which was a real timesaver---10 minutes under broiler vs an hour in the IP in batches. Homemade crusty yeast rolls are a must. I have a new go-to stew recipe, thanks for sharing it!
Richa says
Thats such a cool tip! Thanks for sharing Carol - I'm sure its going to help all the other readers too.
Jenny says
Hi. This looks amazing. I was wondering if I could just use mushrooms for the vegetables, and leave out the rest? Thanks for any suggestions and comments.
Jenny
Richa says
Yes, you can but if you leave out the potatoes, just use a little less stock. I hope you try this Jenny!
Tracee says
I'm going to try this - but is it possible to do dumplings with it?
Richa says
It should be Tracee, but I've never tried adding dumplings so I won't be able to help you with the process. If you do, please leave a comment with your feedback so that other readers can try your version too.
Jess says
Would this work in a crockpot.?
Richa says
Yes, it should work in the crockpot.
Carolyn says
I can't wait to try making this!
Richa says
Thanks Carolyn!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
It's amazing how much faster things come together in an instant pot!
Richa says
Absolutely!
Food Curry says
Thanks for sharing this information...
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen says
These photos are beautiful, I can almost smell it!
Richa says
Thanks Lindsay!
Jennifer says
This looks delicious! Sorry if I missed it in the instructions, but if I wanted to double the ingredients, how much longer would I have to cook the stew?
Richa says
Hey Jennifer! You don't need to change the cooking time to double the recipe. The only thing might change is that the pressure cooker will take slightly longer to come to pressure, so just stick to the times mentioned.
Karly says
YUM. Nothing like a good hearty beef stew this time of year- I am absolutely loving this. Cannot wait to try!
Richa says
Yesss, so perfect for this weather!