Instant Pot Beef Stew

A good, stick to your ribs stew recipe is one of those must haves for the family cookbook. This Instant Pot beef stew is a thick, hearty perfectly seasoned meat & potatoes style meal served in a bowl. With the pressure cooker doing most of the work, this easy 30 minute recipe is guaranteed to warm you up from the inside out. 

Nothing soothes my soul than a hot bowl of stew on a cold Winter night. 

Not just any stew either, it’s got to be one of my favorites- a hearty serving of beef stew.

A true stew, chock full of chunks of tender beef & vegetables in a rich thick broth. None of the watered down stuff for me!

Unfortunately for me, this often means it’s relegated to Sunday dinners.

A day when I tend to have more time to spend in the kitchen babysitting pots on my stovetop.

Some things truly just need time to cook, bubbling away the majority of the day, to truly be good.

To really develop the deep, rich flavors that make an otherwise ordinary dish superb.

A good beef stew is one of those dishes.

Why Pressure Cook It?

In theory I could throw everything I need into the bowl of my crockpot and let it slow cook all day on low, and the resulting stew will be good.

But still lackluster, and on the blander side of things.

For whatever reason those notes don’t develop like I really need them to when I make it with that method.

And sure, on Sundays I can still make it the old fashioned way- allowing it to simmer for hours while I check on it every so often & give it a gentle stir every hour or so.

I can’t always count on that kind of time, even on Sundays, and I don’t want to only enjoy my favorite stew a handful of times during the colder months.

Thankfully that’s where the Instant Pot comes into play and really saves the day.

In a little over an hour (from start to finish) I’ve got a rich, robust beef stew ready to serve with minimal effort on my part.

Since there’s no babysitting this version either, I’m free to check homework, pack lunches, and do anything else to stay on top of our weeknight routine in the meant time.

Ingredients Needed

• stew meat – while most stew meat comes in uniform chunks, you may need to cut them down to size- roughly 1″ is best
• onion – white or yellow, but not read
• celery
• carrots – the recipe calls for baby carrots (again, convenience) but you can absolutely sub peeled & chopped carrots
• beef broth – store bought or homemade will both work
• tomato paste 
• baby potatoes – just like the carrots, you can sub the regular sized potatoes- just wash them and chop them first
• red wine – if you don’t like cooking with actual wine, you can find ‘cooking’ wine in your grocery store near the cooking oils and vinegar
• garlic 
• Worcestershire sauce – don’t skip it! may seem trivial but it adds a depth and richness to the broth you won’t want to miss
• thyme – the recipe calls for ground thyme, but thyme leaves will work too

How To Make

Set the Instant Pot to saute mode, and add in the olive oil.

Liberally salt & pepper your stew beef while the oil heats up.

Once the oil’s hot, add in the beef and allow it to sear on all sides stirring occasionally.

Hit cancel, turning the sauté function off.

Add in all of the remaining ingredients, except the can of peas, and stir them evenly to combine.

Set the lid on the pot, turning to close, and make sure the vent is set to the sealing position.

Cook the beef stew on high pressure for 28 minutes.

Remember the cooking and countdown won’t actually start until the pin pops and the pot comes to pressure.

This may take 20-25 minutes.

Once the timer beeps to let you know the cooking’s done, let the soup sit while the pot naturally releases pressure for 10 minutes.

Carefully turn the valve to release the remaining pressure.

I like to use a long handled wooden spoon to avoid and steam and potential hot water spray.

Once all the pressure’s been released, open the lid, and gently stir in the drained can of peas.

Ladle the hot soup into bowls, and serve with a hunk of crusty bread!

What To Use When You Don’t Have Stew Meat Handy

Stew meat is pretty easy to find at most grocery stores, usually. 

Recently though, I’ve found that’s not always the case.

I won’t be deprived of my stew though, so that didn’t deter me.

Instead, I got creative and found alternatives.

These cuts of meat will all work, just cut them into roughly 1″ chunks before using in the recipe.

• chuck roast
• eye round roast
• pot roast

These are all tougher cuts of meat, on the leaner side, which makes them ideal for a slow cooked stew.

How Long Does It Actually Take To Make?

So if you’re new to this type of cooking, the Instant Pot isn’t actually ‘instant’.

Above all else, it’s a pressure cooker.

That means it takes time to build up that pressure before the timer begins counting down and the actual cooking process begins.

This beef stew will take roughly 20-25 minutes to come to pressure before the cooking timers clicks on and begins counting down.

After that, you have the actual 28 minutes of cook time.

The biggest bonus being there’s no babysitting, and it’s a set it and forget it meal.

TIPS & TRICKS

• If you want to flesh the stew out more, you can stir in a drained can of corn kernels with the peas
• Green beans would also work in the same fashion
• If you don’t have tomato paste, a can of rotel tomatoes makes a great substitute
• Make sure to fish out the bay leaf before serving

Other Stew Recipes You Might Also Enjoy:

This Instant Pot beef stew is a thick & hearty meat & potatoes style meal in a bowl that’s guaranteed to warm you up from the inside out. 

Looking for other savory stews to keep you full & fueled this Winter?

Try these:

• Philly Cheesesteak Stew
• Spicy Cabbage & Pork Stew
• Crockpot Chicken Parmesan Stew

If you’ve tried this INSTANT POT BEEF STEW or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!