Instant Pot Beef Stew
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This Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe is easy enough to be a mid-week dinner or fancy enough for dinner guests. What would typically take all day in the slow cooker, only takes a little over an hour from start to finish. You’ll take a short cut by using stew meat (no prepping raw meat!) and Yukon gold baby potatoes (no peeling!).
Or try our amazing Crock Pot Beef Bourguignon instead.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Complex Flavor – the red wine, stock, soy sauce, and tomato paste work together to create a velvety sauce/broth that is full of complexity.
- One-Pot Wonder That’s Nutritious – Thanks to grass-fed stew meat (or chopped grass-fed chuck roast from our favorite meat source) and all the vegetables included–onion, carrots, celery, garlic, potatoes, and peas–you’ll churn out a pretty darn nutritious and satiating one-pot-wonder.
- Leftovers are the Bomb – Instant Pot Beef Stew leftovers can be reheated over low heat in the Instant Pot, stove, or microwave, but you may need to add a little extra broth to thin it out again.
- Freezer Friendly – Freezing instructions are included below in the recipe, like all our freezer-friendly meals.
Ingredients Needed
You truly have a one-pot wonder with this meal. It’s filled with good-for-you protein and veggies, and the sauce has tremendous depth of flavor. Here’s what you’ll need from the store or your pantry…
Cooking Notes:
- All-purpose or whole wheat flour – I use white whole wheat. (See gluten-free option in Cooking Notes)
- Red wine – recommended: Pinot Noir
- Lower sodium beef broth – sub: lower sodium chicken broth
- Lower sodium soy sauce – see gluten-free option in Cooking Notes.
- Stew meat – you can also use a chuck roast cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes.
- Yukon gold potatoes – no peeling involved when you use these. Also why we use them in our Instant Pot Potato Soup.
How to Make Beef Stew in Instant Pot
Saute the Aromatics & Flour
Turn on the Saute function. Heat the oil until shimmery. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery until softened, about 7 minutes. Season lightly with the salt and pepper, to taste, as they cook. Add in the thyme and red pepper, too. Stir in the garlic the last 30-60 seconds.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. This roux helps to thicken the stew as it cooks.
Make the Sauce
Stir in the wine, broth, tomato paste, and soy sauce until smooth, scraping the brown bits off the bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off the Saute function. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
Add Rest of Ingredients
Season the beef liberally with salt and pepper on all sides and nestle into the cooker. Stir in the bay leaf and potatoes. (Do not add the peas yet.)
Pressure Cook
Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes, with a 10 minute natural release and then quick release of the pressure. (Note: It may take 15+ minutes to come to pressure before the cook time will begin.) (See more details in the box below.)
Serve
Discard bay leaf. Stir in the peas. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve with Crockpot Cinnamon Applesauce, Autumn Chopped Salad, Sweet Potato Cornbread and Double Chocolate Brownies for a delicious meal!
Make It a Freezer Meal
We specialize in making freezer meals, and this is a great one to freeze for later! You can prepare Instant Pot Beef Stew for the freezer in two different ways–either uncooked or fully cooked.
Method 1 (Uncooked): Follow Steps 1 and 2 in the recipe. Let the sauce cool and then add to a one gallon freezer bag or pressure cooker-shaped container with lid. Season the beef liberally with salt and pepper on all sides and add to the bag or container, along with the bay leaf and potatoes. (Note: Make sure the potatoes are completely submerged in the liquid to avoid browning.) Seal, toss gently to combine, and freeze in the shape of the Instant Pot. Tip: Set the freezer bag in a bowl in the freezer for a few hours to help it freeze in the shape of the pressure cooker.
Method 2 (Fully Cooked): Fully cook and cool the stew. Add to a one gallon freezer bag or pressure cooker-shaped container with lid, seal tightly, and freeze in the shape of the Instant Pot. Tip: Set the freezer bag in a bowl in the freezer for a few hours to help it freeze in the shape of the pressure cooker.
FAQs
While researching and writing our second cookbook, From Freezer to Cooker, we honed in on the perfect cook time for beef stew in the Instant Pot.
We found–whether your meal is fresh or frozen–it needs to cook for 30 minutes at high pressure with a 10 minute natural release. After that, quick release the rest of the pressure. This is long enough to cook the meat until tender and make sure your sauce melds together.
Be sure to also account for the time it will take for the Instant Pot to come to pressure before the cook time officially starts. For a fresh meal, this will take about 15 minutes. For a frozen meal, it can take 20-25+ minutes.
If you don’t have pre-cut stew meat, no worries. You can cut up a chuck roast and it will work fine.
Yes, you can use russet potatoes. However, you will want to peel them. When you use Yukon potatoes, you don’t have to peel them.
Absolutely. Beef stew does well freezing and thawing. We recommend freezing the cooked and cooled soup into small portions.
Instant Pot Cooking Times Chart
After testing hundreds of Instant Pot recipes, we have honed in on the best timing and methods for cooking different types of meals in the Instant Pot.
More Easy Instant Pot Dinners
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Instant Pot Beef Stew
Comforting and delicious Beef Stew comes together quickly in the Instant Pot. The beef and vegetables melt into the velvety sauce making this meal worthy of guests or a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 1–2 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1–2 cups sliced carrots
- 1–2 cups sliced celery
- salt and ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup flour (I used white whole wheat)*
- 1/2 cup red wine (recommended: Pinot Noir)
- 2 cups lower sodium beef broth (sub: lower sodium chicken broth)
- 1/4 cup lower sodium soy sauce*
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- About 1 1/2 – 2 pounds stew meat (or chuck roast cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 – 3 cups)
- 1 cup frozen peas
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- Turn on the Saute function. Heat the oil until shimmery. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery until softened, about 7 minutes. Season lightly with the salt and pepper, to taste, as they cook. Add in the thyme and red pepper, too. Stir in the garlic the last 30-60 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the wine, broth, tomato paste, and soy sauce until smooth, scraping the brown bits off the bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off the Saute function. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Season the beef liberally with salt and pepper on all sides and nestle into the cooker. Stir in the bay leaf and potatoes. (Do not add the peas yet.)
- Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes, with a 10 minute natural release and then quick release of the pressure. (Note: It may take 15+ minutes to come to pressure before the cook time will begin.)
- Discard bay leaf. Stir in the peas. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Freeze For Later:
Method 1 (Uncooked): Follow Steps 1 and 2 in the recipe. Let the sauce cool and then add to a one gallon freezer bag or pressure cooker-shaped container with lid. Season the beef liberally with salt and pepper on all sides and add to the bag or container, along with the bay leaf and potatoes. (Note: Make sure the potatoes are completely submerged in the liquid to avoid browning.) Seal, toss gently to combine, and freeze in the shape of the Instant Pot. Tip: Set the freezer bag in a bowl in the freezer for a few hours to help it freeze in the shape of the pressure cooker.
Method 2 (Fully Cooked): Fully cook and cool the stew. Add to a one gallon freezer bag or pressure cooker-shaped container with lid, seal tightly, and freeze in the shape of the Instant Pot. Tip: Set the freezer bag in a bowl in the freezer for a few hours to help it freeze in the shape of the pressure cooker.
Prepare from Frozen:
Method 1 (Uncooked): Saute the frozen meal in the IP for 5 minutes to release some liquid. Follow Steps 4-5 in the recipe. (The frozen meat will cook the same amount of time as from fresh.)
Method 2 (Fully Cooked): Saute the frozen meal in the IP for 5 minutes to release some liquid. Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes with a quick release of pressure. If not fully warmed through, cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Notes/Tips
- Gluten-Free Version: Use coconut aminos or gluten-free Tamari soy sauce in place of the soy sauce. Do not add the flour at the beginning of the recipe. Instead, thicken the stew by using arrowroot powder right after Step 4 (before Step 5). To do so, in a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons arrowroot with 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Stir this into the stew. (It will thicken up shortly.) Then, follow Step 5.
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- All-purpose or whole wheat flour – I use white whole wheat. (See gluten-free option in Cooking Notes)
-
- Red wine – recommended: Pinot Noir
-
- Lower sodium beef broth – sub: lower sodium chicken broth
-
- Lower sodium soy sauce – see gluten-free option in Cooking Notes.
-
- Stew meat – you can also use a chuck roast cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes.
-
- Yukon gold potatoes – no peeling involved when you use these. Also why we use them in our Instant Pot Potato Soup.
Where We Get Our Beef: We both have been getting our grass-fed, grass-finished beef from ButcherBox for years.
Made this for dinner this evening and it was delicious! I chopped the carrots, celery, and onion ahead of time, had all the other ingredients measured and ready so it came together easily. I didn’t have frozen peas but I did have some button mushrooms and bell pepper. I chopped & sauteed them in a little butter, and added them when the stew was finished. Comfort food at its finest!
Oooh! I love the idea of mushrooms and bell pepper to this. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review with your revisions Liz!
We love this recipe but sadly it doesn’t make enough for our family and guests. Is there a way to make it on the stovetop so it can be doubled? I don’t think doubling it would fit in my 6qt instant pot.
Hi Anne. We haven’t tested this on the stovetop. We have a Beef Bourginon recipe in our second cookbook, From Freezer to Cooker, that is most like this recipe and can be doubled in a large crock pot. I’m glad your family loves it.
This recipe is simple and incredible. It is delicious and hearty, and fills my home with a heavenly aroma. My family raved about it. It is definitely a new favorite for us!
Love to hear this Mysti. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
This recipe is absolutely going in my recipe binder! So delicious, easy, and makes THE BEST leftovers. Thank you for posting!
I’m a big fan of Beef Stew leftovers as well. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Charity.
I made this recipe the other day but unfortunately since I have a 8 quart IP I got the burn notice. 😟 I tried a few times to redo it without any luck. I ended up canceling it and placing my IP to slow cooker mode for another few hours so I didn’t waste the meal. It actually still turned out well. Any suggestions if doing in a 8 quart IP? Should I have just added more beef broth?
Thank you for this feedback, Melissa. Darn it, I’m sorry that happened–but glad you were able to salvage it with the slow cooker setting. When our testing team tested recipes for our last cookbook, people who owned 8 qts would regularly report burn notices for certain thicker recipes (marinara sauce being the biggest culprit). From what we learned, it really does come down to adding in more liquid–making it brothier/thinner. If you try it again, I would add in another 1 cup of broth and splash of red wine and soy sauce and see how that does. Note: If it’s not thick enough at the end, you could alway stir in a cornstarch slurry (mix together 1-2 T water to 1-2 T cornstarch (make sure it’s equal parts) and stir into the hot soup at the very end). You may have to season more with salt and pepper at the end, too. I hope that helps!
Please let me know if you test this and how to turns out! I’d love to share about it in the recipe notes.
Thank you for your quick response and suggestions! I did stir it beforehand and when I got the burn notice opened it and scrapped the bottom to try again. I will definitely let you know if I try the recipe again with those adjustments!
Thanks, Melissa! I need to invest in an 8 quart soon and try to test out some work-arounds for these issues. I really appreciate the feedback.
Whitney Reist, one of our team members who is also a trained chef, suggested making sure you stir it really well before pressure cooking too. She wondered if that could have been the issue to begin with?
Can I add an extra 1/2 of broth to replace the wine? I’m making meals for a new mama who requested no alcohol in the meals.
Yes, absolutely. No problem.
First time I made this it went perfect and tasted great so I made 2 more and followed freezer instructions. I’m now standing in my kitchen after following all cook from frozen instructions with a half frozen blob in my instant pot. I guess I’m looking for backup dinner plan tonight.
Tim, I’m so sorry to hear that. This is a very well tested recipe and has been made many times from frozen. I find that if something goes wrong like that it’s usually because my ring isn’t in place properly. Once a ring gets stretched out it often needs to be replaced. Again, I hate that you had that go wrong. I sure hope you don’t throw it out! Try again.
Can I ask if you’re using an 8 quart Instant Pot? That might also make a difference, since this was tested in a 6 quart. The 8 quart requires more liquid to come to pressure (1 1/2 cups at least), so you may need to saute the frozen block longer to create more liquid in the bottom first.
This was really yummy but I wasn’t sure when to add the flour.