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.
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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Notes
Nutrition
Love Instant Pot Recipes? Check out my Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice!
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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I’m an instant pot noob. I used natural release. it was at 30 minutes when i finally got impatient….everything was mush 🙁
I suggest pulling the plug on natural release sooner than that 😅
Hey Bob, that was disappointing for you, but I want to tell you that I have made this numerous times throughout the last couple of years, and I agree it is too long for the veggies to cook. What I do is cook all the ingredients EXCEPT the carrots and potatoes for 18mins, quick release, add them and cook for another 17 mins and do the slow release. I cut the carrots quite thick, as well using yellow potatoes, good size quarters. It’s perfect every time.
Made this stew tonight. Unfortunately I got the Burn message, added another 1/2 c beef broth and it burned again. Finally took the stew out of the IP
and cooked it on top of the stove. I was frustrated having to do this but, I have to say the stew was delicious! I will make it again and add more broth to begin with.
Hi, I’m here, because I am again cooking this absolutely delicious stew, which I have done for the last couple of years, and looking at people’s experiences. I have worked it all out so as to achieve perfect results every time. I used to get the burn message too, and there are two reasons for this. Sautéing in the Instant Pot and stirring in the tomato paste. I now saute the meat on the stove, and I add the tablespoons of tomato paste after everything is stirred in, BUT just allowing the paste to stay where it falls (no stirring) – (also garlic from a jar sinks to the bottom & will bring up the burn setting). As I mentioned to someone else, cooking everything except potatoes and carrots for 18 mins, quick release, add them, cook for another 17 mins, slow release. Perfect. I have made a few other preferential changes too, but I love this recipe.
Beware, tomato paste is the #1 perpetrator of the instant pot burn message.
(I made this statistic up)
Keep it well away from the bottom of your pot! I recommend either stirring it in on the top layer only or leave it on the top and stirring it in once the cooking cycle is complete.
whats the best way to freeze this? I have a vacuum sealer if that helps
I would just divide it into single-serving freezer-safe containers (any type) and freeze. I wouldn’t do anything special. :)
Hi, Beth! I was just wondering what size Instant Pot you used for this recipe? Thank you for sharing your fabulous recipes.
Hi Anne, this was the 6 quart IP. :)
I made this as my first experience using my instant pot duo nova. I was terrified, haha! I only cooked it for 25 minutes and it was perfect. I did not add mushrooms but will consider it in the future, I have just never done mushrooms in a stew before. I was fine waiting for it to natural release after the cook time, like I said I was scared and didn’t want to quick release!
Unfortunately I don’t have an instapot or a slow cooker!
How can I make this with just a plain old pot? Thanks! Looks great.
You could probably simmer it on the stove top over low heat or do it in a Dutch oven in the oven, but without testing it I, unfortunately, can’t recommend a cook time for either method.
I’ve made this a few times and it always turns out delicious, warm, thick and cozy!!! I tend to add whatever veggies I have in the house (carrots, celery, mushrooms, peas, zucchini) and fresh herbs (if I have them). Such a delicious dish!
I’ve made this many, many times over the last, maybe two years now, and still love it. Friends ask for the recipe all the time as well, which is why I’m back commenting as someone else just did this rainy stormy eve ( I think I already did comment once before!) Reading some of the comments here, though, I wanted to add that I’ve had a couple of times where I had the food burn by sauteing the meat in the Instant Pot even though I made sure to scrape, and, as I like the vegetables more al dente, I’ve come up with solutions that work great EVERY time. Now I brown the beef with the flour and butter stove top while I prepare all the spices and liquids into the Instant Pot, as well a diced onion instead of pearl, and no mushrooms… ‘cos, eew… When everything is in the pot, together with the scrapings from the stove top, I dollop the tomato paste on top without stirring it in (as that too can trigger the burn setting) and set it for 17 mins. While that is cooking, I chop the potatoes (usually halving baby ones with skin on) but sometimes quarters of yellow flesh) and the carrots – cutting at that side angle, leaving them medium thickness. After the first 17 mins is up, I quick release and mix in the veg, and set the pot again for 18 mins and allow a slow release when it’s finished cooking. I find this recipe doesn’t freeze very well, so cook for family/friends or have it for breakfast lunch and dinner (well maybe not breakfast) for two days. Works perfectly for me.
delicious
How to convert to a slow cooker recipe? I don’t have an instapot.
Here’s a link to the slow cooker version: Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew
Hey Team Budget Bytes! You used to have a “Beef and Barley Stew” up that my husband was a MASSIVE fan of. I don’t see it around anymore – any chance I could get a copy?
Yep, I’ll email it to you at the address you used to register this comment. :)
Just made this. I’m new to instapot so I was excited to see you had some recipes. My husband raved about this stew. We will definitely have it again. So easy to make.
Seems so amazing and delicious
Every time I say I’m making beef stew, hubby asks if we can have something else. But he looked at me after one bite and said, “this is delicious! Make it this way every time!” I did make one change; I didn’t have tomato paste, so I subbed 2 T. ketchup. Yum! So good! Thanks for a fab recipe!