This amazing Instant Pot beef stew has tender beef in a rich, flavorful broth with potatoes, vegetables, and herbs.
Pressure cooker beef stew is the easiest and fastest way to make beef stew. Pressure cookers do a fantastic job of tenderizing meat and concentrating flavor.
This means you can make a richly flavorful and hearty stew with tender stew meat, creamy potatoes and perfectly cooked carrots in a fraction of the time it takes to make stew on the stove or in the oven.
This Instant Pot beef stew recipe cooks the stew meat first, then adds potatoes and carrots for a shorter amount of cooking time. This means everything in the stew will have exactly the right texture. This is truly the absolute best beef stew!
Looking for more warm and comforting beef recipes? Try Crock pot beef and barley stew or slow cooker beef and broccoli.
Looking for vegetarian instant pot stew? Instant Pot Vegetable Stew with mushrooms, potatoes and carrots is incredibly flavorful, and honestly, just as satisfying as beef stew.
Veggie lovers can also try slow cooker vegetarian stew, which is a healthy slow cooker stew made from bell peppers, zucchini, chickpeas, fire roasted tomatoes and a pinch of Italian flavor.
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Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
Beef: You can buy a chuck roast and cut 2-inch chunks of stew meat, or buy pre-cut stew meat. If you can't find chuck roast, then substitute bottom round roast, top round or rump roast.
Stew meat should have some fat marbling for flavor, but not too much fat or the stew will be oily. You can trim off most of the hard white fat on a cut of beef chuck before cutting the meat. If you've bought pre-cut stew meat, it should already be trimmed.
Potatoes: I recommend golden potatoes (like Yukon gold) for stew because they hold their shape and have a creamy, buttery texture. The next best choice is red potatoes, which also hold their shape fairly well. I like the smooth texture of peeled potatoes, but you can leave the peel on if you like.
Russet potatoes don't work as well in stew because they become more watery and grainy and fall apart.
Carrots: Carrots cook fairly quickly in a pressure cooker (like in this 3-minute recipe for Instant Pot potatoes and carrots). However, stew carrots should have a texture that practically melts in your mouth, so it's okay to cook them longer than usual.
Cut carrots into pieces that are 1-inch long, or you can substitute baby carrots for convenience.
Beef broth and water: Add 1 can of beef broth + 1 cup water. This is enough liquid because the meat and vegetables will release moisture as they cook and your Instant Pot will lock in that moisture (it won't evaporate as the stew cooks).
All-purpose flour + tomato paste slurry: Whisking flour and tomato paste with the hot stew broth creates a slurry that thickens the stew. This is an easy way to thicken stew and build rich flavor.
Optional - frozen peas: If you'd like a green veggie in the stew, stir in a cup of frozen peas when the stew is complete.
How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew
Making this Instant Pot beef stew recipe takes times but is worth the effort!
Step 1: Cut a chuck roast into stew meat. The pieces can be about 2-inches long or slightly smaller. Trim off thick white fat as you go.
Step 2: Season the stew meat & brown it in small batches. You can do this in the Instant Pot or in a separate skillet.
Step 3: Add a drizzle of broth to deglaze the pot. Then saute and soften the onion.
Step 4: Add beef broth, water and thyme. Add the meat back to the pot.
Step 5: Cook the stew meat for 25 minutes on high pressure. Optional: skim oil off the top of the broth.
Step 6: Whisk together a slurry of tomato paste and flour. Whisk in ½ cup of the hot stew broth. Slowly pour the slurry back into the stew, to thicken and flavor the broth.
Step 7: Add potatoes and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes on high pressure.
Step 8: The stew is ready! Add salt to taste and fresh herbs like thyme and parsley.
For detailed instructions and ingredients amounts, see the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
Sear the meat: Browning meat creates flavor by caramelizing the exterior of the meat and locking in flavor and juices.
- Dry meat browns better than moist meat, so pat the stew meat dry with paper towels before browning.
- Season the meat generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat a little bit of oil in the Instant Pot or in a skillet first.
- Brown the stew meat in 2 or 3 small batches. If you try to brown too many pieces at once there will be too much moisture and the meat won't brown well.
If you don't want to dirty another pot, then brown the meat in the Instant Pot. This works fine if you do it in several batches and are careful not to let the juice from the meat or bits of meat burn to the bottom of the pot. Too much browning or burning on the bottom of the pot can cause a burn notice when the stew is cooked.
If you don't mind more dishes, then it can be easier to brown the meat in a separate skillet. I like using a wide cast iron skillet on the stove. After the meat has browned, add a little bit of broth to the skillet and scrape up any bits of cooked meat. You want those flavorful bits in the stew!
Deglaze the pot: If browning the meat in the Instant Pot, make sure to deglaze the pot before cooking the stew. This means adding a few tablespoons of liquid and scraping up any bits of meat or darkly browned matter that have stuck to the pot. This helps add flavor to the stew and also helps prevent a burn notice when the stew cooks.
Cook the meat first, then add potatoes and carrots: In this pressure cooker recipe, the stew meat is cooked first (25 minutes) then the potatoes and carrots are added and stew cooks for 10 more minutes. This means everything in the stew will have exactly the right texture.
FAQ
A pressure cooker is a better method for cooking beef stew. Pressure cookers tenderize meat and build flavor in a fraction of the time it would take to bake stew in the oven.
However, if you really want to make this recipe in the oven, follow the recipe instructions and combine all of the ingredients (except the flour and tomato paste) in a Dutch oven. Bake at 350F for about 3 hours with a lid, or until the meat is tender. In the last 30 minutes, whisk in the flour and tomato paste slurry. Some of the liquid might evaporate while the stew cooks; check it periodically and add more liquid (¼ cup at a time) to keep it from drying out.
This recipe has only been tested in an Instant Pot, and will turn out best using a pressure cooker.
If you'd like to use a slow cooker, consider making slow cooker beef and barley stew. The starch in the barley naturally thicken the stew.
If you'd like to try making this recipe in a slow cooker, brown the meat and onion in a separate saute pan, then add it to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients (except the flour and tomato paste) plus add an additional 1 cup of water or beef broth. Cook on low for about 8 hours. In the last 30 minutes, add the flour slurry.
This recipe thickens the stew with a slurry of all-purpose flour whisked with tomato paste and hot beef broth. This is my favorite thickening method because it's easy and reliable method that builds flavor in the stew.
Many recipes use cornstarch to thicken stew. Cornstarch is first whisked into cold water, then added at the very end of the recipe. For this stew, you could combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir this mixture into the stew after it has cooked and the broth is still hot.
Beef chuck is the best cut of meat for this recipe in terms of flavor, texture and affordability. Stew meat should be rich in collagen, which slowly breaks down as the meat cooks and becomes tender. Shoulder cuts, like beef chuck, are rich in collagen.
Other options for beef stew include sirloin or short ribs.
Browning the stew meat is not absolutely required, but it does help make the meat more flavorful. It also leaves bits of meat seared onto the pot, which are also flavorful. These bits need to be loosened with broth and scraped off the bottom of the pot to avoid a burn notice.
This is a matter of personal preference, there is no absolutely "best" potato for stew. I like golden potatoes because they hold their shape and don't dissolve into the stew. The texture is buttery and creamy.
Serving Suggestions
This is a hearty, satisfying one-pot meal. A loaf of French bread can be served with beef stew and you can serve a simple green salad on the side.
If you'd like to stretch the recipe to feed more people, serve the stew with egg noodles or over rice.
Storage and Reheating
Beef stew will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can be reheated gently on the stove or in the microwave.
This stew can be kept in the freezer for 3 to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then slowly heat on the stove. Add ½ to 1 cup of water as the stew reheats as needed to loosen the broth.
Print📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
This Instant Pot beef stew recipe cooks the stew meat first, then adds potatoes and carrots for a shorter amount of cooking time. This means everything in the stew will have exactly the right texture. This is truly the absolute best beef stew!
Glance through the step-by-step photos in the blog post before starting the recipe. The photos will make the lengthly instructions seem easy to do!
Total Instant Pot cooking time: 15 minutes to reach pressure + 35 minute cook time + 15 minutes or so of release time = 1+ hour
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: stew
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 1 ½ to 2-inch chunks (or buy pre-cut stew meat)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion (about one medium onion)
- One 14.5 oz can of beef broth (approx. 2 cups)
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound golden potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 to 4 carrots, cut into 1-inch long pieces
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Instructions
- Pat the meat dry so it browns better. Season the meat with salt (1 teaspoon). Add a light dusting of black pepper if you want.
- Press the saute button and heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the Instant Pot.
- Brown the meat in 2 or 3 batches, in an even layer that isn’t too crowded. Brown one side of the stew meat for 2 to 3 minutes, then flip the meat and brown 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Once a batch of meat is browned, set it aside on a plate or in a large bowl.
- If the bottom of the pot starts looking dry or dark brown, add the second tablespoon of oil before browning another batch of meat.
- When all of the meat is browned and on a plate, drizzle a tablespoon or two of broth into the pot and use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up all of the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Any bits of meat left stuck to the pot might cause a burn notice later.
- Add the onion to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes to soften.
- Add the broth, water and thyme. Add all of the meat (and the juices) back to the pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Wait about 5 minutes before releasing the steam.
- If the top of the broth seems oily, you can skim some of the oil off with a spoon.
- In a small bowl, whisk the tomato paste and flour until very smooth.
- Scoop ½ cup of the hot liquid out of the pot. Whisk it into the flour and tomato paste.
- Pour the slurry into the pot, whisking to blend it into the stew broth.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot.
- Secure the lid and cook for 10 more minutes on high pressure. When the cooking time is done, wait about 10 minutes before releasing the pressure.
- Add salt to taste. If desired, add more fresh thyme and fresh parsley.
Notes
Some white fat left on the raw meat adds flavor and makes the meat tender, but too much will make the stew oily. Trim off thick layers of white fat on the outside of the chuck roast. You can also trim off some of the hard, white fat as you cut the roast into stew pieces.
If you don't mind more dishes, then it can be easier to brown the meat in a separate skillet. I like using a wide cast iron skillet on the stove.
Baby carrots can be used instead of sliced carrots for convenience.
If your are using gold or red potatoes, peeling is optional.
If I use only 2 pounds of stew meat, I usually add closer to 2 pounds of potatoes to bulk up the stew. If I use 3lbs. of stew meat, I only use 1 pound of potatoes.
Beef stew will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for 4 to 6 months.
This recipe was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Jenny
This is the only way to make beef stew. The meat is always tender and the broth is so silky and rich.