While checking the sale flyers for my grocery stores last week I noticed that Whole Foods had beef stew meat on sale for $3.99/lb. and I was ALL OVER that. I was finally able to swing by yesterday, the last day of the sale, and pick up some of the beef, along with all the other ingredients to make this amazing Instant Pot Beef Stew.
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Why Use an Instant Pot?
My Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew is pretty hard to beat, but I wanted to try making a stew in my Instant Pot because A) it’s a lot faster and B) I can do all the steps, including browning the beef, in one pot which means a lot less dishes to clean. YAY!
Do I HAVE to Use an Instant Pot for this Beef Stew?
Ever since the Instant Pot took the cooking world by storm there have been several other multi-cookers to hit the market. You don’t have to use an Instant Pot for this. You can use any other cooker that has both a sauté and a pressure cooking feature, or just use a plain old pressure cooker and do the browning through deglazing steps in a skillet before transferring everything to the pressure cooker.
OR if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use a slow cooker just as I did for my Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew.
Flavor Profile
This recipe starts similarly to the Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew, but I played around with the vegetable mix, using less potatoes and adding in mushrooms and pearl onions. I also skipped the Dijon and added just a little tomato paste for a more traditional beef stew flavor. This Instant Pot Beef Stew turned out so tender and amazing that my boyfriend said, “Is this healthy? Because I could this every day.” Noted! :)
Instant Pot Beef Stew
Servings 6 (10 cups total)Ingredients
- 1 lb beef stew meat (cubed) ($3.99)
- Salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 2 cups beef broth* ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.06)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.13)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.10)
- 14 oz bag frozen pearl onions ($2.97)
- 8 oz mushrooms ($1.90)
- 1 lb carrots ($0.99)
- 0.75 lb potatoes ($0.84)
Instructions
- Place the stew meat in a bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the flour and stir to coat.
- Place the butter in the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté function. Heat the butter until it is melted and sizzling, then add the stew meat. Brown the meat on all sides. Don’t stir too often as this will prevent the meat from achieving a nice brown, crispy exterior. The flour may coat the bottom of the pot and that is okay, just don’t let it burn.
- Pour the beef broth into the pot and stir to dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Once dissolved, add the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, tomato paste, rosemary, and thyme.
- Wash and quarter the mushrooms. Peel and slice the carrots into one-inch sections. Wash the potatoes well, peel if desired, then chop into one-inch cubes. Add the pearl onions (no need to thaw), mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes to the Instant Pot. Give all the ingredients in the pot a good stir.
- Close the lid on the Instant Pot and close the steam valve. Press the “meat/stew” button, or set the cooker to 35 minutes of high pressure. After 35 minutes of high pressure, allow the cooker to naturally cool and release pressure.
- Once the pressure has released, open the steam valve then carefully open the lid. Give the stew a good stir, taste, and adjust the salt if needed. Serve hot with crusty bread.
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Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Liquid Measuring Cup
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Beef Stew in an Instant Pot – Step by Step Photos
Place one pound of stew meat in a bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add 2 Tbsp flour and stir until the meat is coated in the flour.
Add 2 Tbsp butter to the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté function. Heat the butter until it is melted and sizzling, then add the stew meat (and any leftover flour from the bowl). Brown the meat on all sides. Be sure not to stir the meat too often because this can prevent it from forming a nice brown crust. You do not need to cook the beef pieces completely through at this point. Just get a nice brown color on the outside.
Add 2 cups beef broth and stir to dissolve all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Once everything is dissolved off the bottom, add 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp dried rosemary, and 1 tsp dried thyme.
Wash and quarter the mushrooms. Peel and slice the carrots into one-inch sections. Wash the potatoes well, then cut into one-inch cubes. Add the frozen pearl onions, mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes to the pot. I totally forgot to get a photo of the pearl onions for anyone who is unfamiliar, but here is a link to the pearl onions that I bought. They are small, sweet onions about the size of large grapes. Give everything a brief stir to combine.
Close the lid on the Instant Pot, close the steam valve, then press the “meat/stew” button. This will set the cooker to 35 minutes of high pressure. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get up to pressure, then natural pressure release will take another 15 minutes or so. (Yes, I did paint that “5” on this photo because apparently the numbers on the display flicker at a speed faster than our eyes can see, but slower than my camera shutter. :P )
After the pressure naturally releases, open the steam valve then carefully open the lid. This is what you’ll see. Give it a good stir.
And then it will look more like beef stew! It may seem a bit watery at first, but as the temperature comes down from “molten” to just “really hot” it will thicken a bit. It’s always a good idea to give the stew a final taste and adjust the salt if needed.
And that’s how easy it is to make Instant Pot Beef Stew (or any other multi-cooker beef stew). I highly recommend a good crusty bread to go along with it. I added a touch of parsley for color, but the flavor of the stew is just fine on its own.
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Can you cook dumplings in the stew at the same time?
That would probably overcook the dumplings. I’d suggest cooking the stew first, then switching to the sauté function to keep the stew simmering, and then add the dumplings.
I loved this recipe!!! I am not used to cooking red meat and this instant pot made it so easy for me! The beef was so moist and delicious. My husband and son loved it. I especially loved how inexpensive the ingredients were. Some advice I would have for those who are new to the instant pot or cooking in general, would be the question I had when I made it (due to inexperience) After I put the potatoes and veggies in the instant pot, I noticed that the broth didn’t cover everything. Don’t worry! It’s supposed to be that way. When it’s done it all going to level out. I will definitely be making this again.
will this fit in a 3qt duo mini or do you think i need to cut the recipe in half? thanks!
I made this for the first time about a month ago and it turned out so good! We’re having it for dinner again tonight. Thanks for sharing!!
I’ve made this stew twice (double batch which JUST hits the max fill line in the IP) and my husband and I love it! So flavourful, especially the next day. Husband won’t eat mushrooms, so added green beans instead. Thank you!!
This was totally yummy! Everyone in the family loved it. I didn’t have beef stock so I used chicken stock, but it was fine. I will be making this again.
New to instant pot. Made this as our first dish. Huge success as my husband and two boys loved it. Thanks in search for more great recipes for the instant pot. Yum,,,
If I double this recipe, do I need to adjust the cook time? Thanks!
First, make sure you don’t exceed the maximum fill line in the pressure cooker. With more ingredients in the pot it will likely take longer for the pot to come up to the proper heat and pressure (and longer to depressurize), but once it’s at the correct pressure the cooking time is the same.
I’ve made this a few times. I replaced 1/2 cup of the beef broth with red wine and it tastes just like Julia Child’s beef stew!! Thanks for the recipe!
Can I double the recipe and cook it all at once? Do I need to make any adjustments to the recipe or cooking time? Is it too much for the IP?
I don’t know that it would all fit without going over the maximum fill line. If you were able to fit it all without going over the maximum fill line, it would probably take longer to come up to pressure, and longer to depressurize, but the actual cook time once it’s up to pressure (the time you set the cook timer for) would be the same.
You WILL need an 8qt to double this recipe. I just barely barely fit everything at the maximum line.
Thanks for updating with that info!
I’m new to the Instant Pot game and only purchased one about three weeks ago. Love it! Anyhow, this recipe was a HUGE hit. I’m vegetarian but made this for my non-vegetarian husband last night. He LOVED it. I rely on him to be taste tester and adjust seasoning at the end – and he said it was perfect as is/no adjustments needed. I did follow your tip and made the broth from Better than Bouillon. Thanks so much for such a fab recipe!
I made this stew tonight and we enjoyed it. I doubled the recipe as that’s the amount of beef I had.
I will bookmark this stew and make it again.
Thanks
Betty
Did you have to adjust the time since you doubled?
I have to say this is the best beef stew I have ever made! The flavor is incredible and the meat came out so tender. I will be making this beef stew again and again. I love my Instant Pot!
This is a household staple! Hands down fav IP recipe. Super yummy with yams. Question. I want to make it for my birth team post baby at my home birth coming up soon. They request a hearty meal. This fits that! Could I freeze it after coming, and how would I go about about reheating? I need something I can prep ahead of time and freeze… that’s simple for someone to dump in and press a button. Not to cook on the spot, because we can’t predict birth… and my b husband can’t cook ;)
You can freeze and reheat this, but keep in mind that the vegetables will break down a bit more and the stew will get thicker. If that’s okay with you, you’ll probably enjoy it. :) I would suggest freezing in single serving portions for easy reheating. You can either reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove (over medium low, stirring often).
We are at about 7000 ft altitude, so I added35 min x 1.3 = 45 min. We will see
Just came to chime in about adjusting time for pressure differences. A pressure cooker will control the pressure inside the container so adjustments are unnecessary.
Incorrect. Pressure cookers add pressure above atmospheric pressure. At higher altitude atmospheric pressure is lower, so cooking time must be increased to account for that. The usual increase after 2000ft above sea level is 5% for every 1000ft.
Just came to chime in about adjusting time for pressure differences. A pressure cooker will control the pressure inside the container so adjustments are unnecessary/detrimental