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Home / Recipes / Dinner / Instant Pot / Instant Pot Irish Stew

Instant Pot Irish Stew

1 hr 25 mins
| 7 Comments |
5 from 6 votes
Jump to Recipe 03/16/21 | Updated: 03/16/21 | by Nora
Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew Image Pin

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day πŸ€ with this quick and easy Instant Pot Irish Stew! It’s hearty and filling for the perfect comfort food dinner.

Made with Guinness beer, plenty of carrots and potatoes and either beef or lamb stew meat, it’s a wonderful meal to make on a cold day.

close up photo of spoon in Irish stew

I’ll be honest: I actually I don’t like beer. UNLESS it’s Guinness in a hearty Irish Stew, that is. This is a pretty straight-forward recipe for your instant pot, not much different from my Instant Pot Beef Stew, to be honest.

The biggest difference between Irish Stew and regular beef stew is that I use Guinness instead of red wine for the gravy. Also, I’ll often make my Irish Stew as a lamb stew, but you can absolutely use beef (I also use beef in my Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew and in my Dutch Oven braised Guinness Beef Stew!).

I’m sure my way of making this Instant Pot Irish Stew is not 100% purist and traditional, but it’s perfectly easy and delicious.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for instant pot Irish stew with text labels
Ingredients for Instant Pot Irish Stew: Onion, garlic, celery, potatoes, carrots, stew meat, Guinness beer, beef broth, cornstarch, tomato paste, salt, pepper and oil.

Ingredient notes

  • Meat: The instant pot is great at tenderizing meat, so you can absolutely go for cheap stew meat here. If you’d rather dice up some beef chuck yourself, that’s perfectly delicious, too. Beef or lamb stew meat work great here, although the lamb does tend to fall apart a little easier.
  • Celery: Feel free to use finely sliced leeks in place of the celery, if you prefer! My parents always make this with leeks and love it, so it’s a great option if you’d like to switch things up.
  • Potatoes: I prefer using waxy potatoes in this stew to help them keep their shape (I used Yukon gold). If you use starchy potatoes such as Russet, they will most likely turn into mush.
  • Guinness beer: Feel free to use a different dark beer you enjoy cooking with.

How to make Irish Stew in the Instant Pot

Making stew in the instant pot makes the meat fork-tender! It’s also much quicker than making it in the crock or on the stove, and SO easy, too.

  • beef stew meat in instant pot
    1
  • female hand pouring beer into instant pot
    2
  • female hand stirring irish stew in instant pot
    3
  • overhead view of closed instant pot
    4

1 – Brown the meat:

Set the Instant Pot to sautΓ©. Heat the oil, then brown the meat (season as it cooks).

2 – Start the gravy:

Stir the onions and garlic into the meat and cook for 1 minute. Then add the tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute.

Pour the Guinness over the meat, scratching the browned bits off the bottom of the pot (make sure you catch them all or you’ll get the burn warning). Simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

3 – Cook the stew:

Switch off the instant pot. Add the beef stock to the stew. Stir in the vegetables. Close the instant pot and set the valve to β€œsealing”. Press the β€œstew” button.

4 – Finish:

Once the pot is indicating it’s done with cooking, do a natural pressure release for 15-20 minutes (just unplug your pot and leave it alone).

Then manually release any remaining pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions and open the lid.

5 – Thicken

pouring cornstarch slurry into beef stew

Set the instant pot to sautΓ© and stir in the cornstarch slurry. Simmer until thickened. Alternatively, you can blend 1 cup of the stew and stir it back in.

overhead view of beef stew in instant pot

Recipe tips

How do you make stew meat tender?

Pressure cooking the stew helps a lot with tenderizing the meat without having to cook it for seventy hours.

The one thing you have to take care off when using a pressure cooker is to allow the stew a natural pressure release for 10 minutes after cooking. I know it’s annoying and we all want to rush this step – but it’s crucial to allow the meat fibers to relax.

That way, your meat will be tender and delicious.

close up photo of irish beef stew in instant pot

What cut is best for stew?

For a beef stew, I love diced chuck roast. It gets tender and flavorful when cooked right. But cheap packets of diced stew meat are perfectly fine here, too.

For a lamb stew, I will usually go for diced shoulder.

How can I thicken my stew after cooking?

While the stew won’t thicken in the pressure cooker (the liquid cannot cook away because the lid is always closed), you can thicken the stew to your taste after cooking using one of the following methods:

  • blend 1 cup of the stew and stir it back in
  • make a slurry of 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water, set the instant pot to sautΓ© and stir the slurry into the stew. Simmer until thickened.

The second method is my preferred one (because I don’t want to mess around with the blender etc while my family is hungry), but you can use either.

What to serve with Guinness Irish Stew

We love this over mashed potatoes (or Colcannon, for extra decadence!). Or with a simple, traditional soda bread on the side.

And if you don’t like soda bread, a No Knead Bread is tasty, too!

two bowls with irish beef stew on marble surface

Watch the recipe video

PSΒ If you try this recipe, please leaveΒ a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along onΒ Pinterest,Β FacebookΒ orΒ Instagram.Β Sign up for my email list, too!

Printable Recipe Card
overhead view of white bowl filled with mashed potatoes and instant pot Irish stew
Save Recipe Saved!

Instant Pot Irish Stew

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day πŸ€ with this quick and easy Instant Pot Irish Stew!Β It's simple to make with just a few ingredients and comes out incredibly flavorful.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 6 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 20 mins
Cook 45 mins
IP Extra Time 20 mins
Total 1 hr 25 mins
Servings 6 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

For the meat

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 Β½ pounds diced beef stewing meat OR lamb stewing meat
  • salt & black pepper to taste

For the gravy

  • 1 medium yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
  • 3 medium sticks celery sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 (11 or 12-oz) bottle Guinness beer
  • 1 cup beef stock

For the vegetables

  • 1 pound waxy potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
  • 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into chunks

To thicken

  • 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

Instructions
 

  • Brown meat:
    Set Instant Pot to sautΓ©. Heat oil, then brown meat in 2-3 batches (season as it cooks). Once browned, remove from pot and set aside on a plate.
    beef stew meat in instant pot
  • Start gravy:
    Add onions, celery and garlic to pot and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute. Pour Guinness over meat, scratching any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
    female hand pouring beer into instant pot
  • Cook stew:
    Simmer (on sautΓ© setting) until beer has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Then switch off instant pot and stir in beef broth, potatoes, carrots and browned meat. Close lid and set valve to "sealing". Press "stew" button.
    female hand stirring irish stew in instant pot
  • Pressure release:
    Once pot is indicating it's done with cooking, do a natural pressure release for 15-20 minutes (just unplug your pot and leave it alone). Then manually release any remaining pressure and open the lid.
    overhead view of closed instant pot
  • Thicken stew:
    Set instant pot to sautΓ© and stir in cornstarch slurry. Simmer until thickened. Alternatively, blend 1 cup of stew and stir it back in.
    pouring cornstarch slurry into beef stew
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Notes

Ingredient notes

  • Meat: The instant pot is great at tenderizing meat, so you can absolutely go for cheap stew meat here. If you’d rather dice up some beef chuck yourself, that’s perfectly delicious, too. Beef or lamb stew meat work great here, although the lamb does tend to fall apart a little easier.
  • Celery: Feel free to use finely sliced leeks in place of the celery, if you prefer! My parents always make this with leeks and love it, so it’s a great option if you’d like to switch things up.
  • Potatoes: I prefer using waxy potatoes in this stew to help them keep their shape (I used Yukon gold). If you use starchy potatoes such as Russet, they will most likely turn into mush.
  • Guinness beer: Feel free to use a different dark beer you enjoy cooking with.

Recipe tips

  • Do not skip the natural pressure release, as it helps to tenderize the meat.
  • While the stew won’t thicken in the pressure cooker (the liquid cannot cook away because the lid is always closed), you can thicken the stew to your taste after cooking using one of the following methods:
    • blend 1 cup of the stew and stir it back in
    • make a slurry of 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water, set the instant pot to sautΓ© and stir the slurry into the stew. Simmer until thickened.
  • Meat cuts: For a beef stew, I love diced chuck roast. It gets tender and flavorful when cooked right. But cheap packets of diced stew meat are perfectly fine here, too. For a lamb stew, I will usually go for diced shoulder.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 308kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 28gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 215mgPotassium: 1012mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 5232IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Irish

Recipe first published on 02/28/2019. Updated and republished on 03/16/2021 with new photos, video, better text and minor improvements to the recipe.

More St. Patrick’s Day recipes

  • Boxty: Irish Potato Pancakes
  • Bacon Braised Cabbage
  • Sausages and Onion Gravy: Bangers and Mash!
  • Homemade Shepherd’s Pie

More Instant Pot recipes

  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Instant Pot Pork Chops and Rosemary Potatoes
  • Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes Dinner
  • Loaded Instant Pot Potato Soup

P.S: For more stew recipes, check out our collection of homemade beef stew recipes!

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About NoraΒ 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me! Β Β Learn more.

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Comments

  1. Barbara Jae says

    August 28, 2021 at 5:48 am

    What size Instant Pot did you use for these recipes? I have the 3-quart mini and I know you can’t just cut the recipes in half.

    Reply
    • Nora says

      September 25, 2021 at 5:36 pm

      I use a 6 quart instant pot, Barbara. Unfortunately, I don’t own a mini and have never looked into recipe conversion. Sorry I’m not of more help!

      Reply
  2. Sharisa says

    March 28, 2021 at 8:14 pm

    Do I just have to double the ingredients if I have 3lbs of meat?

    Reply
    • Nora says

      March 28, 2021 at 11:39 pm

      Sharisa, doubling the ingredients would max out the instant pot capacity, so that would unfortunately not work.

      Reply
  3. Shelby says

    March 17, 2021 at 3:04 am

    5 stars
    This was SO GOOD. The Guinness gives it such a deep flavor! The recipe doesn’t specify how much time to put on the instant pot but it does say cook time 45 mins. I subtracted the 10 mins to cook the veggies and reduce the beer for a total of 35 mins in the IP. Turned out great. It’s freezing here in Colorado (we just had a blizzard!) so this was perfect. I’ll definitely be making this again and again!

    Reply
  4. Debba says

    March 17, 2021 at 1:14 am

    The STEW function doesn’t require a time to be set? I’m guessing it should be 45 minutes, from the summary above the recipe card, but the card doesn’t instruct to set the timer for cooking. Or, at least, I can’t see it. FYI

    Reply
    • Nora says

      March 17, 2021 at 10:26 pm

      Debba, the stew function defaults to 35 minutes. That’s how long you need to cook it for. If you don’t have a stew function, just cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.

      Reply

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me β†’

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