Best Ever Instant Pot Beef Stew – This mouthwatering and easy to make Instant Pot Beef Stew is sure to become one of your favorite ever Instant Pot recipes! Tender beef is simmered in a super flavorful and hearty broth that’s packed with veggies!
Well, you guys, it is way past time for me to post another Instant Pot recipe! What better way to kick off comfort food season with a quick and easy beef stew? This tastes so amazing like it’s been simmering away for hours, but it really takes less than an hour and most of the foot work is done by our magical friend, the Instant Pot!
The last time we talked Instant Pot here, we talked about how I was liking it, and my first experiences. Well, I LOVE it and I’m completely addicted to the thing! I have a feeling it will be getting regular use year round because it’s almost always the fastest way to get dinner on the table, and it will keep me from having to heat up my oven once that scorching summer heat comes back!
If you haven’t seen my first two Instant Pot recipes, you must check them out! Everyone is loving this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice, and my Instant Pot Spaghetti and my Instant Pot Country Style ribs!
So, this beef stew recipe makes exactly enough to serve four people. Sometimes I can give or take a little on serving size, but this came out just right for four.
The good news is, there was plenty of room in my Instant Pot should I have wanted to double this recipe! It’s so tasty, and I think everyone likes stew so I’d gladly double this and serve it to company! Another win with stew is that it’s relatively cheap to make.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS WITH INSTANT POT BEEF STEW:
- Sear the meat first as directed in the recipe! Taking the quick stepto sear the meat instead of just tossing everything it produces a much more flavorful stew.
- Natural release for the best results. It’s best to always natural release anyway when you have really hot boiling liquids like this. I also prefer the natural method for the best texture in the meat.
- Don’t let this cool before adding the cornstarch/water. You want to add the cornstarch and cold water mixture while the stew is still nice and piping hot for the best thickening. If you like your stew extra thick, you can double the cornstarch mixture.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Pounds Beef Stew Meat
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1 Large Onion, Chopped
- 1 16 Ounce Bag Baby Carrots, Cut Into Slices
- 1 Pound Potatoes, Cubed
- 2 1/2 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 10 Ounce Can Tomato Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons Water
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to the instant pot and turn on the saute function. When the oil starts to sizzle add the meat and season with the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Cook the meat until Browned on all sides.
- Add the beef broth to the instant pot and use a spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, carrots, potatoes, and tomato sauce.
- Close the lid and steam valve on the instant pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Mix together the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and stir into the stew until thickened.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this recipe with a few minor adjustments. I only had 1 lb of beef and 12 oz of carrots available. And I always cut back on salt, so I used 1/2 tsp. It was delicious. The vegetables were soft, but I would not call them mushy.
Other than adding a bag of cooked peas at the end, this recipe needs no modification. Absolutely perfect. I’m on my 5th time making it, so I thought I’d drop a review! <3
Betsy
I tried your recipe left out the Worcestershire Sauce, the Italian Seasoning tasted great. However, the salt content was just too high.
My family absolutely loved this recipe. The overall flavor and texture of the meat are amazing. We added another tablespoon of cornstarch because we like really thick broth. Definitely keeping this recipe for the future.
I dredged the stew meat in flour, salt and pepper before sauteing. This is my favorite recipe. Comes out nice and thick and full of flavor. Served with Hy-Vee sour dough bread. Family loves this recipe!
You have to be really careful using a flour dredge when sauteing meat in the pressure cooker… tends to burn really easily when it come up on pressure.
Dredged my meat and it was not a happy thing. BURN! lol 3xs. Deglazed, scraped & added more stock to no avail. Gave up and abandoned. Do not dredge your meat in flour.
I am new to the instant pot so this helped me so much! I took other reviewers opinions into consideration for mushy veggies. I cooked the meat w onion, beef stock, seasonings and a bit of red wine for 25 min, then I cooked potatoes and carrots, 2 Tbs tomato paste for 5. Then added the corn starch mixture. It was perfect. 3 toddlers gave it a thumbs up! No mushy veggies. Thanks for writing this recipe!
This was the best! Normally stew isn’t my favorite. My kids and husband loved as well!
Excellent recipe. I followed as directed and it came out perfect. Meat was so tender. I made sure that I cut my carrots & potatoes larger due to reviews and they came out with a nice texture. I also added some celery as a preference. Perfect go to recipe and you can really add anything you want according to your likes. I added a cup of burgundy (cut out 1 cup beef stock), added a bay leaf. Since I like corn and peas in my stew, I heated those up separately on the stove and added at the end. I would use this recipe again.
This was great! Quick weeknight meal.
A good basic recipe but some changes are needed. Next time I will reduce the broth down to only 2 cups and instead of tomato sauce use a tablespoon of tomato paste from a tube. Also, I think the meat should be upped to 2 lbs. I increased the size of the vegetables because other reviewers say they turned to mush – that doesn’t help. I cut the meat and veggies in huge chunks and they were still too soft and falling apart. I used regular sized carrots (those baby carrots are nasty – do an internet search and you’ll see why) and cut them in half and they were still overdone. The problem is that the pressure time is too long. Next time I will reduce it to 29 minutes. I also think a bay leaf would help and one or two more cloves of garlic. Other than that, the instructions leave out adding the Italian seasoning, plus I browned the meat then removed it, then added the onions, sauteed them for 2 minutes then added the garlic and sauteed for 1 minute before returning the meat and adding everything else.
So literally you came up with a new recipe ??
Unless the recipe has been updated the first step says to add the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to the meat while browning it
It definitely is the best ever. Very flavorful and tender. Even my wife completely loved it. I will be making this easy recipe many more times.
How do you keep your instant pot from having a burn message after scraping everything off the bottom. I followed the directions and had to clear it twice before giving up and transferring it to a crock pot.
Use wine to deglaze the pot and add a little extra.
I always do the brown cycle in a cast iron skillet. Yes, the instant pot can do it, but it seems too much trouble to make sure every little bit is scraped to prevent burning.
11/10! This was delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing which says a lot as I usually add my own spin on recipes.
Quick, easy and delicious!