Instant Pot Beef Stew

Warm up with this hearty Instant Pot beef stew! This beef stew is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food that will definitely become one of your favorites! The meat becomes so tender and the gravy is so deeply flavored. 

This one pot Instant Pot beef stew is perfect for feeding a crowd, it’s made really quickly in the Instant Pot but tastes as if it has been simmering for hours. It’s also great for meal prep, as the flavors get richer when the stew sits for a day or 2.

If you’re looking for a beef stew recipe that you can bake in the oven, head over to my Oven Beef Stew recipe! You might also like to try Hawaiian style Beef Stew, made on the stovetop.

Instant Pot Beef Stew Ingredients

To make this warming beef stew, you will need:

• Beef chuck roast (well marbled – fat trimmed) for really tender meat, or beef stew meat.
• All purpose flour and vegetable oil, if you decide to sauté the beef cubes first.
• Potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and garlic.
• Tomato paste, bay leaf, rosemary, beef broth, salt and ground black pepper.

How to Choose Meat for the Beef Stew, and How to Cut It?

The best cut that you can get for this beef stew is chuck roast that is well marbled, trim the fat but don’t over do it as that’s what will keep the meat tender. If you use stew meat, that is ok but be aware that the meat won’t turn out very tender even if you cook for longer.

Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, and remove the fat or gristle that is easy to trim.

How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew

• Start by prepping the meat, and the vegetables. Cube the meat, and peel and chop up the vegetables.
• In a ziploc bag, add the beef along with salt, pepper and flour. Give the bag a good shake so that the beef is well coated in flour. If you choose not to use flour, then just season the meat with salt and pepper.
• Press on SAUTE in the Instant Pot, and wait until it’s hot. Add vegetable oil, and brown the beef cubes until they’re browned but not cooked through. Remove from the Instant Pot and set aside. You might have to do this in batches as an overcrowded Instant Pot will make it difficult to brown the beef. Also feel free to skip this step and just add all the ingredients in the Instant Pot (without the flour), and pressure cook.
• Deglaze the pot with water, then add the beef and the rest of the ingredients (potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, tomato paste, bay leaf, rosemary, and beef broth). Stir to combine, then cover with the lid.
• Make sure that the vent is on sealing position, press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK and set at 20 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then cook for 20 minutes. Once the cooking is finished, quickly release the steam. 
• Discard the rosemary sprig and bay leaf, and thicken the sauce (this is optional) by combining 2 tbsp of cornstatch with 1 tbsp of water and mixing this in the sauce. Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE, and as the stew starts to boil it will thicken. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley leaves and serve.

Tools You Will Need to Make This Instant Pot Beef Stew

• An Instant Pot (this is the one that I have and love!)
• A sharp knife – every kitchen needs a really good chef’s knife and this is the one that I have been using for years!
• Wooden spoon

How Long Does It Take for the Instant Pot Beef Stew to Be Ready?

The ingredients take around 10 minutes to prepare, then browning the meat will take around 10 more minutes. Allowing the Instant Pot to come to pressure will take around 10 more minutes, and it will cook for 20 minutes.

To open the lid, thicken the sauce, and serve will take you about 10 more minutes. So about 1 hour in total.

Remember that cooking beef stew over the stovetop takes hours, while in the Instant Pot it will be ready in just 1 hour.

Success Tips

• Pat meat dry with kitchen towels before coating it in flour and seasoning.
• Do not skip browning the meat, this extra step gives the beef a lovely flavorful crust so it results in a much better flavor and it’s totally worth it.
• After browning the beef, deglaze the pot and scrape every little bit from the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon. This will prevent you from getting the BURN message, and give your stew a better flavor.
• Meats usually call for natural release, but for this recipe I just cook on high for 20 minutes then do a quick release. However, I don’t open the lid right away as I wait for the liquids to stop boiling.
• When you thicken the gravy with a cornstarch slurry, make sure that you do it right away before the liquids cool down. It also helps to let the Instant Pot heat the liquids up by pressing on SAUTE setting.
• If you don’t have corn starch available, use flour, arrowroot, potato starch, or even tapioca instead.
• Make sure that you choose the right cut of meat for the best results.
• You can add peas at the end of the cooking process if you like (fresh or frozen).

I highly recommend that you follow this recipe, and brown the beef as it gives an extra depth of flavor. But you can skip this step if you don’t have much time, and just put all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot then pressure cook for 20 minutes (leave out the flour in this case).

How to Freeze This Instant Pot Beef Stew?

This beef stew can be frozen in portions for up to 3 months. I recommend not adding any potatoes though as they don’t freeze well. Once you thaw the beef stew, you can boil some potatoes and add them in to the reheated stew.

I also have a fantastic lamb stew made with Guinness beer, so make sure to check it out! Instant Pot chicken stew is a creamy and delicious meal too.