This Instant Pot beef stew recipe is the easiest, most satisfying and tender beef stew you’ll make! It’s loaded with fall-apart-tender beef, hearty carrots, and potatoes simmered in a savory rich red wine gravy. Ready in about an hour, dinner is on the table fast!
Why We Love this Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
While we love our crockpot beef stew, sometimes we’re in a rush in the morning and forget to start it in time. That’s where we turn to this instant pot beef stew! With rich, deep flavors simmered quickly thanks to the pressure cooker, this stew is perfect for busy nights when you want a comforting, homemade meal without the wait. Check out what makes it such a tried and true family favorite:
- Quick and Easy: The Instant Pot cuts cooking time dramatically, making it perfect for weeknights when you need dinner fast.
- Loaded: Every bite is packed with tender beef, perfectly cooked vegetables, and a rich, savory broth.
- One Pot: This is a one-pot recipe, so clean-up is as easy as it gets.
- SO Tender: The beef becomes incredibly tender in the Instant Pot, almost melting in your mouth.
If the pressure cooker isn’t your thing, check out our easy stovetop beef stew recipe. Another classic is our crockpot vegetable beef stew!
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this instant pot beef stew recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Stew Meat: We use beef stew meat in this recipe. It’s an inexpensive cut of meat that should be readily available at your local grocery store. If you’re not a beef fan, check out our easy recipes for instant pot chicken stew and crockpot chicken stew!
- Olive Oil: Avocado oil will also work well.
- Potatoes: We use yukon gold potatoes, but you can use any type of potatoes you prefer.
- Carrots: We use baby carrots to keep it easy, but you can also use regular-sized carrots. Just make sure to peel and cut them into similar sized small pieces so they cook evenly.
- Onion: We prefer to use a yellow onion as they are a little sweeter.
- Italian Seasoning: You can use a mix of dried basil and oregano if you don’t have Italian seasoning.
- Red Wine: Or sub with more beef broth.
- Cornstarch: To help thicken the gravy.
How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew
Have everything ready to go in advance so you can add it to the instant pot when it’s time to do so. Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.
- Season the beef. Take the beef out of the refrigerator and season it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Sear the meat. Set the instant pot to sauté, heat some of the oil, and add half of the stew meat. Make sure not to crowd the meat. Sear both sides of the meat, about 3 minutes on each side, and then place the cooked stew meat on a plate. Add the remaining oil and repeat with the second batch. Remove all meat from the instant pot and set aside.
- Add the broth. Add the broth to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of beef and to deglaze the bottom of the instant pot.
- Add the meat and other ingredients to the pot. Add the stew meat back to the instant pot along with the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, remaining broth, and red wine to the instant pot. Stir until well combined.
- Lock the instant pot and set the cook time. Lock the lid on the instant pot and set the valve to seal. Set the cook time for 30 minutes on high pressure.
- Release the pressure. Let the instant pot naturally release the pressure for 10-15 minutes. Leave the instant pot completely sealed and closed and let the pressure naturally release.
- Make the slurry. While the pot is natural releasing, make the slurry. To make the slurry, whisk the cornstarch with a little broth in a small bowl.
- Add the slurry to the stew. Quick release any remaining pressure, turn the instant pot on to sauté and pour in the slurry. Stir to blend. Continue to sauté, stirring often, until the gravy has thickened.
Cook’s Tips & Variations
- Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking it. If you have time, let the stew meat come to room temperature before cooking. This will create more tender beef.
- Add frozen peas. If you like your stew with peas, add a cup of frozen sweet peas to the stew when you add the slurry.
- Use any kind of potato you have. I used Yukon golds in this recipe, but often use red potatoes and any other kind of potatoes will work, too. If you purchase the baby potatoes, you only need to rinse them and can add them directly to the instant pot without cutting them.
- Omit the potatoes. You could skip the potatoes in the stew and serve this over mashed potatoes or with egg noodles instead.
- Deglaze the bottom of the instant pot. Make sure not to skip deglazing the bottom of the instant pot. This is a super important step to make sure you don’t get the dreaded burn notice.
- Swap out the red wine. If you don’t want to use red wine, you can use beef broth instead.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Fresh bread. Slices of fresh bread and butter would be a perfect complement to this meal. If you’re in the mood for something more rustic, try our classic cornbread recipe which would also be nice here.
- Over egg noodles. As noted above you can omit the potatoes in the stew and serve it over egg noodles instead.
- With mashed potatoes. Again, you can leave out the potatoes and serve mashed potatoes instead! Try the best mashed potatoes or sour cream mashed potatoes recipes – these would be so good with beef stew!
- Sprinkle a little fresh parsley over each bowl. If you like, chop up some fresh parsley and sprinkle it over individual bowls of stew when serving.
Storing, Reheating and Freezing
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.
- Freezing: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge for a few hours prior to reheating.
Yield: 6 -8 servings
Best Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
Instant Pot Beef Stew is a one-pot meal and the instant pot does all of the hard work! Fork tender beef with vegetables in a thick delicious gravy all ready in a little over an hour!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stew meat
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 pounds gold potatoes, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups beef broth, divided
- ½ cup red wine, or more beef broth
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Take beef out of the refrigerator, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Optional: Let stew meat come to room temperature before cooking, this will create more tender beef.
- Set the instant pot to sauté, heat one tablespoon of oil and add half of the stew meat making sure not to crowd the meat. Sear both sides of the meat, about 3 minutes on each side, remove the stew meat to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and repeat with the second batch. Remove all meat from the instant pot and set aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of broth to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of beef and to deglaze the bottom of the instant pot. This is an important step. If any pieces of meat are left stuck to the bottom of the instant pot, you can get the dreaded burn message while cooking.
- Add the stew meat back, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, 3 cups of broth and wine to the instant pot. Stir until well combined.
- Lock the lid on the instant pot, set the valve to seal. Set the cook time for 30 minutes on high pressure. (Keep in mind it will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure.
- Let the instant pot natural release the pressure for 10-15 minutes. This means do not open the instant pot once it finishes the cooking time countdown. Leave the instant pot completely sealed and closed and let the pressure naturally release.
- While the pot is natural releasing make the slurry. To make the slurry, whisk to combine 4 tablespoons cornstarch with the remaining 4 tablespoons broth in a small bowl.
- Quick release any remaining pressure, turn the instant pot on to sauté, and pour in the slurry and stir to blend. Continue to sauté, stirring often, until the gravy has thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve warm with a hunk of bread and a little fresh parsley on top, if desired.
Notes
Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.
Freezing: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge for a few hours prior to reheating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 412kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 112mg, Sodium: 741mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g
I made this delicious recipe and it turned out so beautifully! I followed the recipe closely except* I added one 8 oz can of tomato sauce before pressure cooking then after pressure cooking completed I added 3/4 cup Quaker quick pearled barley and one cup frozen green beans. I set it to low sauté and placed a lid on for ten minutes. A m a z i n g!
Amazing recipe, can’t wait to try this in the Texas Winter and not our current Summer! I used shoulder steak from a steer we had processed and made sure to add the bone in the pot. Only two changes I did was omitted the celery and added mushrooms and deglazed the pot with the wine to cook it down. The peas tip was perfect as well. It is really good and it was enough that I can freeze it for another meal.
Also naturally gluten free!
Tasted great! Very easy too.