Instant Pot Homemade Beef Stew

This easy recipe for Instant Pot Beef Stew makes this comfort food simpler and quicker to prepare than old fashioned beef stew while retaining all its deep flavor and tenderness. It’s a healthy dish to make during the wintertime using real ingredients such as root vegetables, stewing meat, and beef stock.

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Homemade Beef Stew is one of the best comfort foods to make during the cold winter months.

Often people stew their meat for hours to develop a concentrated beef flavor and tenderize the tough meat. I like to use a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot, in order to achieve the melt-in-your-mouth quality of an old fashioned beef stew, but in less than half the time.

This is exactly the type of result you will get when you make this Instant Pot Homemade Beef Stew.

It’s a beef stew that tastes just like the one you might have eaten growing up. The stew that took mom hours to cook so that the beef was as tender as possible. Using an Instant Pot makes this recipe easy and quick to prepare. And my recipe for Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup is just as simple!

Why This Recipe Works

Homemade Beef Stew can be made in a fraction of the time when using an Instant Pot.

This recipe uses all real ingredients. 

This dish is perfect for fall and winter – it’s the ultimate comfort food.

How To Make Beef Stew In An Instant Pot

Ingredients

• Stew Meat: to save time, you can buy pre-cut stew meat in the meat section of most grocery stores. I usually buy a chuck roast and cut mine myself, only because I like to trim it leaner than most store butchers do.
• Vegetables: potatoes, carrots, shallot, peas.
• Beef Stock: I use homemade beef stock for richer flavor, but store bought works, as well!
• Tomato Sauce
• Cornstarch: this helps thicken the stew. You can use all purpose flour if you prefer.
• Aromatics: garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley.
• Not Pictured: olive oil, salt and pepper.

The entire recipe and instructions can also be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can also print the recipe from the card, if needed.

Prep!

If you are cutting your own beef, you want to keep the pieces about 1-inch in size.

Mince the garlic and shallot. Whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of beef stock. Cut the carrots and potatoes into 1-inch chunks.

Create!

Season the beef with salt and pepper.

Turn your Instant Pot onto sauté. Once hot, add the olive oil and the beef cubes. Cook until just browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot and drain out any excess grease.

Add the shallot, garlic, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, beef stock, thyme, rosemary, and cornstarch mixture to the pot.

Put the lid on the pot, ensure the seal is closed and set to pressure cook on high for 35 minutes using the meat and stew function.

Once the stew is done cooking, let the Instant Pot do a natural release for 10 minutes (this means you’re just letting it sit for 10 minutes). Then, turn the valve to and do a quick release to release the rest of the pressure in the pot.

Carefully remove the lid and stir in the frozen peas.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, as desired.

Present!

Serve this stew in individual bowls with chopped parsley as garnish. It also pairs well with crusty bread and butter.

Tips and Techniques

• You can buy already cut stew meat from the grocery store to save time.
• Cut the potatoes and carrots into chunks about the same size as the stew meat for even cooking and consistency.
• Wait to season the stew with salt and pepper until after it’s done cooking.
• Store leftover stew in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Consume within 3-4 days.

FAQ’s

Can Beef Stew Be Made in a Slow Cooker?

Beef stew can absolutely be made in a slow cooker. You’ll want to brown the meat on the stove top first to seal in all the juices. Then, add all of the remaining ingredients, except for the peas, to your slow cooker and set to low for 8 hours. After the stew is done cooking, stir the peas in, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

Can You Freeze Beef Stew?

Beef stew can be frozen in freezer bags or airtight plastic containers for up to 3-6 months. Be sure the stew is cool before transferring it to containers to freeze. When reheating, you may need to re-thicken the stew with a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch whisked with 1 tablespoon stock or water.

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Instant Pot Homemade Beef Stew

This easy recipe for Instant Pot Beef Stew makes this comfort food simpler and quicker to prepare than old fashioned beef stew while retaining all its deep flavor and tenderness. It’s a healthy dish to make during the wintertime using real ingredients such as root vegetables, stewing meat, and beef stock.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American, Beef

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 42 minutes

Natural Release 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 2 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 371kcal

Author Lauren Vavala

Ingredients

• 1 pound stew meat (cut into bite size pieces)
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium shallot (finely diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 cup carrots (cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 cups potatoes (cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (whisked with 2 tablespoons of the stock)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 cup frozen peas
• chopped parsley (garnish)

Instructions

• Season the beef with salt and pepper.
  1 pound stew meat, salt, pepper
• Turn your Instant Pot onto sauté. Once hot, add the olive oil and the beef cubes. Cook until just browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot and drain out any excess grease.
  1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Add the shallot, garlic, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, beef stock, thyme, rosemary, and cornstarch mixture to the pot.
  1 medium shallot, 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup carrots, 2 cups potatoes, 8 ounces tomato sauce, 1 1/2 cups beef stock, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• Put the lid on the pot and set to pressure cook on high for 35 minutes using the meat and stew function.
• Once the stew is done cooking, let the Instant Pot do a natural release for 10 minutes (this means you’re just letting it sit for 10 minutes). Then, turn the valve to and do a quick release to release the rest of the pressure in the pot.
• Carefully remove the lid and stir in the frozen peas.
  1 cup frozen peas
• Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, as desired.
• Serve this stew in individual bowls with chopped parsley as garnish. It also pairs well with crusty bread and butter.
  chopped parsley

Notes

Tips and Techniques

• You can buy already cut stew meat from the grocery store to save time.
• Cut the potatoes and carrots into chunks about the same size as the stew meat for even cooking and consistency.
• Wait to season the stew with salt and pepper until after it’s done cooking.
• Store leftover stew in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Consume within 3-4 days.

To Make Beef Stew in a Slow Cooker:

Brown the meat on the stove top first to seal in all the juices. Then, add all of the remaining ingredients, except for the peas, to your slow cooker and set to low for 8 hours. Once the stew is done cooking, stir the peas in, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

* Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 571mg | Potassium: 1459mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5882IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 5mg