Instant Pot Beef Stew [Recipe + Video] (2024)

Instant Pot Beef Stew with tender chunk of beef, veggies and a decadent gravy makes a warm and comforting family meal any day of the week.

One of the most comforting meals a family can sit down to is a good and hearty Instant Pot Beef Stew. Tender chunks of beef with potatoes, carrots and peas in a rich and flavorful gravy type soup. The gravy is so delicious and begs to be paired with a nice and warm loaf of Instant Pot No Knead Crusty Bread.

Warm and comforting meals like this and other ones such as myInstant Pot Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy [Homemade] and my really bring a family together and begs for dinner time conversation.

With the help of your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, Instant Pot Beef Stew becomes an under 30 minute meal! You can choose to sear the beef in the pot first, or make it a dump and push start recipes. It is your choice. Searing the meat first does add more flavor, but a dump and push is seriously delicious too. After all, this is my go-to slow cooker recipe, which I have made for many years.

A good stew starts with seasoning the cubes of beef with fragrant and delicious seasonings. So, I know you are going to ask about my fantastic electric pepper grinder, so here it is: Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder. It has made my life easier.

I prefer to either anAsian Potato Starch or Bob Mills Potato Starch, rather than flour, as I love the flavor it gives when coating meat and shrimp. If you don’t have any, go a head and usecornstarch.

Potato Starch Coating on Chicken Instead of Slurry

• When using the pressure cooker, more liquid than normal is needed, so the sauce often times needs to be thickened. With my “starch protection method,” the starch on the meat adheres to the meat nicely and allows the pot to come up to pressure with the little amount of liquid in the pot. As the release of the potato starch is slow, you will not get a burn notice.
• As the meat cooks and releases liquid, it also releases the starch and therefore thickens the sauce without gumming up.
• Best of all, with the nice and thickened sauce, you don’t have to worry about making a starch slurry after pressure cooking.

Pro Tip:Coating beef, pork of chicken with potato starch before cooking under pressure, ensures extra juicy meat. It also saves you the step of having to make a slurry to thicken the liquid in the pot.

When searing meat, you want to make sure to use an oil, which has a high heat index. For a recipe like this Instant Pot Beef Stew, I like to use an oil that adds to the overall flavor of the recipe. For pressure cooker beef stew I like to use either avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil.

Why Use Potato Starch?

• Potato starchis a wonderful way to ensure that your meat says nice and juicy during pressure cooking.
• For searing or browning the meat, a coating of potato starch really helps to seal in the juices. It also helps as you will know when the chicken skin is perfectly sealed as the chicken will release from the bottom of the pot.

Pro Tip: As the meat begins to sear, it will stick to the pot. With the potato starch coating, once the meat has effectively seared in the pot, it will easily release from the bottom of the pot without any much sticking indicating that there is a good crust on the meat.

As onions release quite a bit of liquid, they can be used in the first step of deglazing the pot.

Can Cornstarch be Subbed for Potato Starch?

• Yes. I like potato starch here because it seems natural since fresh potatoes are being used, so there is no off flavor.
• But, cornstarch is fine to use and you will still have a wonderful result. I like Bob’s Red Mill Cornstarch best. It’s super cheap to use and I can get it delivered right to my front door!

We like to buy chuck roast when it is on sale and then cut it into cubes. It is so economical and there are so many This Old Gal fantastic recipes, which cook in under 30 minutes. We divide up the meat into one and two pound packages and when we are ready to cook, whalaa, cubed beef stew meat.

Recipes using Cubed Chuck Roast:

• Pressure CookerLechón Asado {Cuban Pork with Mojo}
• Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff (Pressure Cooker)
• Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends + Video!
• Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
• Pressure Cooker Japanese Beef Curry Stew {Instant Pot}

Pro Tip: There are so many, many more, so remember to stock up on chuck roast when it goes on sale!

Cremini mushrooms are simply a juvenileportobello mushroom. They have a bit of an earthy taste. The plain white “button” mushrooms don’t really add any flavor. Cremini mushrooms are older than the white mushrooms and are firmer.

How to Freeze Beef Stew

After cooking the beef stew, divide it into portion size amounts and use a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System or other freezer safe, air tight receptacle. Place packages in the freezer for another day.

Instant Pot Beef Stew is easy to reheat and can be brought to the office for a delicious, warm and hearty lunch. It can be heated back up in a Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, Crockpot Lunch Warmer or microwave, so keep a lot in your freezer.

The water content in the onions, celery and meat will be different for everyone. Some people may experience a sticking problem after searing the beef. If the beef is sticking badly to the bottom of the pot, do not panic, there is a simple solution. It’s called deglazing.

What to do if Meat Sticks to Pot

As the water content of each vegetable and meat will vary, some people might have sticking issues when searing the meat. This can also happen if the potato starch has not been rubbed in enough or not enough oil is used.

The simple solution is to add the red wine or Shaoxing wine and Worcestershire sauce right after searing the meat and before adding the onions and celery and deglaze the pot now. I’ve written the recipe below on the recipe card to have you deglaze the pot before continuing to the next step.

If the meat does loosen up, then you can delgaze the pot after adding in the veggies, as you see me do on the video.

Red apples add just the right amount of sweetness to the pressure cooker beef stew and also help to thicken the sauce.

Substitute for Apples

• If you do not have apples available, try using 1/2 cup of applesauce.

Pro Tip: To keep the apples from turning brown, place them in a bowl and cover with water and vinegar or lemon juice.

For the beef broth,my Pressure Cooker Beef Bone Broth [Instant Pot] is fantastic to use. A premade beef broth or my stand by, Better than Bouillon Beef Base. We always have a jar of the BTB Beef Base in the fridge and then just mix it up with water and instant, high flavorful beef broth!

Instant Pot Beef Stew is an all American, stick to your ribs meal, but there are so many variations to stew. MyPressure Cooker Beef Stew with Root Vegetables is another delicious stew made with various root veggies. You can always add those to this recipe as well.

Optional Veggies For Beef Stew

• Parsnips
• Green Beans
• Turnips
• Rutabaga

You can use more vegetables or less if that is your preference.

Pro Tip: If using red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut them into quarters. Russet potatoes do not do as well cooked in liquid. Save those for steaming as in my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (Pressure Cooker) recipe.

Some people love peas, others don’t. I do and I like to add extra peas.

Why Frozen Peas?

• It only takes a few seconds for the frozen peas to defrost in the hot beef stew.
• With frozen peas rather than canned peas, the peas will retain their nice green color and have a nice snap to the bite. Yum.

Watch the video below as I walk you through every step and detail of this recipe. I’ve given you a ton of information above, but sometimes a live visual of the process helps so you can follow along. I have my own cooking show on my YouTube Channel, so be sure to check it out and subscribe!

Watch my video and then scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card.

Tips and Tricks for Instant Pot Beef Stew

1. Meat shrinks so cut it into slightly larger than bite size pieces.
2. Use a spatula that won’t melt on a hot setting.
3. Potatoes, mushrooms, carrots and peas can be modified to the amounts you want.

You are going to want to eat your Instant Pot Beef Stew with a spoon to make sure you get lots of the delicious soupy gravy.

We like to make Apple Dumplings for this recipe and in the recipe card below, I will show you how. OMG, yes! Get your Granny Smith Apple ready!

Can Bison or Deer Meat Be Used?

Yes, absolutely!

I’ve made this for years in my slow cooker, but seriously, after preparation and the pot coming up to pressure, only a 5 minute cook time? Yeah, pretty amazing.

What conversations at your dinner table were inspired by eating Instant Pot Beef Stew together? Who slurped up the gravy? Come on, raise your hands.

More Instant Pot Comforting Recipes to Make:

• Pressure Cooker Chinese Simmered Chicken [Instant Pot]
• Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine Pasta + Video
• Low Carb Brussels Sprouts Alfredo Sauce + Video
• Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken

These recipes will make you feel warm all over and inspire conversation.

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
• J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
• Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder

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Here is your handy printable recipe:

Instant Pot Beef Stew with Apple Dumplings