Instant Pot Beef Stew

4.75 from 68 votes

This Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe is an easy, comforting dinner that's quick to put together in the pressure cooker. Make it for dinner tonight - so yum!

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Extra Time25

Total Time1 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: servings

Calories: 330kcal

Author: Nora from Savory Nothings

Ingredients

For the meat:

2 tablespoons oil
1 ½ pounds beef stewing meat cubed; use 2 pounds for big eaters
2 tablespoons flour

For the gravy:

1 medium yellow onion cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic sliced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
4 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup dry red wine OR use more broth
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce OR soy sauce
1 teaspoon maple syrup OR hone OR sugar
salt and pepper to taste

For the vegetables:

½ pound waxy potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
4 large carrots peeled, ends trimmed and cut into chunks
4 large celery sticks trimmed and thickly sliced
8 ounces brown button mushrooms cleaned and quartered
½ cup frozen peas no need to defrost

Instructions

Brown the meat: Set instant pot to sauté and heat oil in it. Add beef, season with salt and pepper and stir. Sprinkle flour over the meat and stir well. Cook until browned.
Start the gravy: Add onions and cook until starting to soften. Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until herbs are fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Pour wine into the pan, scratching the browned bits off the bottom (make sure to catch all bits or burn warning may get triggered; browning can be done in a skillet on the stove instead). Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, salt and pepper.
Cook: Add browned meat, potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms to the instant pot. Stir very well. Close lid on the Instant Pot and set steam valve to "sealing". Press "meat/stew" button. Once cooking time is up, allow a natural pressure release (just leave the instant pot alone until it's safe to open).
Finish: Once pressure has released, release lid. Stir well and check for seasoning and consistency. Set Instant Pot to sauté and add peas. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Thicken with a slurry of 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2-3 tablespoons water, if desired.

Notes

Ingredient notes

Onion: Feel free to leave out the onion if you’re not a fan, or replace with a teaspoon of dried onion powder.
Red wine: Use a dry red wine, like a Pinot Noir, a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon. If you don’t cook with alcohol, just use more beef broth instead.
Beef: For a beef stew, I prefer diced chuck roast. It gets tender and flavorful when cooked right. But any old stew meat will be fine.

Recipe tips

Do not skip the natural pressure release, as it helps with tenderizing the meat.
You can technically skip browning the meat if you’re short on time, but it will have an impact on the final taste.
Feel free to add the vegetables only for the last 15 minutes of cooking if you strongly dislike soft vegetables. (Switch off instant pot, release pressure manually, open lid/stir in vegetables, replace lid and seal, bring back up to pressure and pressure cook for another 15 minutes, do 15 minute natural pressure release, then manually release remaining pressure).
To thicken stew at the end, make a slurry of 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water, set the instant pot to sauté and stir the slurry into the stew. Simmer until thickened. Or blend 1 cup of the stew and stir it back in.

Nutrition