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Learn how to make the perfect instant pot beef stew in less than an hour and it tastes just like a Mississippi pot roast! The flavors of this meal make it taste like it’s been slowly simmered all day long. Serve it on a bed of egg noodles, with hot crusty bread, or over mashed potatoes!
A ladleful of instant pot beef stew on a chilly evening is actual perfection.
I have made this beef stew more times than I can count. Sometimes I’ll serve it with my cheddar mashed potatoes. Other times it’s over noodles, rice, or even crusty bread with a side salad. And honestly, is there a wrong way to eat stew? Nope. There isn’t.
This recipe started as a comfort food solution for busy days where you still want a warm and hearty home-cooked meal. So on days when you just don’t want to deal with cooking, you can easily pop all ingredients in the pressure cooker and let it cook itself. On days where you can spare an extra five minutes for dinner, sear the beef before you make beef stew. Either way, you’re left with tender chunks of beef and soul-warming gravy! Watch how the flavors dance on your tongue.
This homemade beef stew is straightforward. If you can dump a bunch of ingredients into the instant pot, you can make this meal. But if you don’t own an instant pot, I’ll show you how you can cook this nice and slow in the oven.
This is hands down the best stew I have ever tasted, let alone made! I threw in 2 cups of chopped golden potatoes rather than pouring over garlic mashed potatoes but will try it that way too!
Ingredients for instant pot beef stew:
- Beef: You’ll want to use a large chuck roast for this that’s cut into 1½ inch pieces.
- Seasonings: You’ll need salt, black pepper, as well as a packet of ranch seasoning. If you happen to have homemade ranch seasoning on hand, just swap the packet for 2 tablespoons of homemade seasoning.
- Butter: We’ll use a couple of tablespoons of butter to sear the meat in before we cook it off.
- Garlic: I press the garlic cloves through a garlic press. But you can also mince them if you’d like.
- Mushrooms: I like to use mushrooms in the stew as it’s just another additional serving of veggies. Quarter larger mushrooms and half the smaller ones so that they cook in the same amount of time.
- Pearl Onions: These make the stew a bit fancier and cut down on prep time! I find them cleaned and ready to go in the frozen vegetable section of most grocery stores. If you remember to defrost them the night before, perfect. If not, simply place them in a colander and run them under cold running water for a few seconds before adding the drained onions to the stew.
- Celery: I keep these in about 1-inch pieces so that they don’t cook down too much.
- Carrots: Same as the celery, I peel and chop the carrots into 1-inch pieces.
- Pepperoncini: This is an unusual ingredient in my stew but it’s something that I love to add as pepperoncini work beautifully with beef. They cut through some of the fattiness and just meltdown. Make sure to use mild or tamed pepperoncini here so that you just get the tang without all that heat.
- Tomato Paste: Adds color and richness to the stew.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds umami flavor to the stew along with the other mushrooms.
- Cornstarch: Is a thickener for the stew instead of flour. I make a cornstarch slurry with the beef stock and add it right in with everything else.
- Beef Broth:Is the cooking liquid. I suggest using low-sodium beef stock or broth for this recipe so that it’s not too salty but the end. We’ll need a bit more liquid if you’re making the stew in the oven and a little less if you’re making it in the pressure cooker.
- Potatoes: These are optional. Usually, I prefer to serve the stew with mashed potatoes, so I omit the potatoes from the recipe. When I serve with rice, I’ll add some potatoes. You can use red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe. I suggest chopping the potatoes into roughly the same size pieces as the beef.
How to make the best beef stew in the instant pot:
- For the best flavor, sear the meat. You want to start by seasoning the beef stew meat with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper. Set the pressure cooker on saute mode and toss in the butter. When the butter melts, you’re going to sear the stew meat in batches until it develops a crust on the outside. Remove the plate and repeat with the remaining meat. This step is optional when you’re making beef stew in the instant pot but it does provide additional flavor to the stew and only takes a few minutes!
- Combine the ingredients. In a glass measuring cup, stir together the beef broth and cornstarch until it dissolves. This works best if the broth is cold or at room temperature. The ingredients won’t really combine if you have warm broth.
- Pressure cook it all. Place the beef, mushrooms, pearl onions, celery, carrots, pepperoncini, tomato paste, sugar, ranch seasoning, Worcestershire, cornstarch broth mixture, and garlic in the instant pot. Cover with the lid and make sure the pressure cooker is on the sealed setting. Cook for 35 minutes. Once the stew is cooked allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes before doing a quick release. This allows the flavors to bloom further and the meat to relax.
- Check your gravy. When you open the instant pot, check to see if the gravy is thick to your liking. If you find it’s a little thin for your taste, you can dissolve another tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water, set the stew on the sauté setting, and when the stew is bubbling, stir in the slurry and allow it to thicken up.
FAQs about this recipe
My beef stew recipe is entirely gluten-free if the ranch seasoning doesn’t contain gluten. You’ll also want to make sure you use a Worcestershire sauce that is certified gluten-free.
Yes, fresh parsley, thyme, dried rosemary, or a bay leaf or two would add additional flavor to this if you enjoy a stew that‘s heavy on the herbs!
I find if you add the peas in with all the other ingredients, they do become a little mushy and lose their vibrant green color. If you were to add them, I suggest adding them once the meat is cooked, venting, and then pressure cook for 0-1 minutes.
Most instant pot recipes can also be prepared in the oven or on the stovetop. I’ve tested the recipe at 325ºF in the oven and it takes about 3 ½ -4 ½ hours to cook the meat through. You will need a bit more broth if you make this in the oven. I found I needed roughly 2 cups of stock to make sure that there was still plenty of gravy to enjoy at the end.
I like to serve this over a batch of homemade cheddar mashed potatoes. But roasted garlic mashed potatoes would also work well. You can also serve this over rice or with a loaf of homemade no-knead bread and a salad. Buttered egg noodles also work well!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Hearty Poblano Beef Stew
- Ridiculously Tender Beef Tips with Mushroom Gravy
- Chile Colorado
- Instant Pot Korean Beef Bowls
- Ranchers Texas Chili con Carne
Irresistible Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1¾-2 pounds chuck roast cut into 1½-2 inch pieces
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms halved or quartered
- 14- ounce bag ~ 2 cups pearl onions
- 3 stalks celery cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup pepperoncini thinly sliced (mild)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ounce packet ranch seasoning mix or homemade
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch or more
- 1¼-1½ cup low sodium beef broth see notes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- OPTIONAL: season the beef with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the butter in the instant pot on the saute setting. When the butter melts, sear the beef in batches, remove it to a plate.
- COMBINE: In a large measuring cup, mix the beef broth with 2 scant tablespoons of cornstarch until it dissolves.
- PRESSURE COOK: Place all the ingredients in the pressure cooker and select the meat/stew setting. Time the recipe for 35 minutes. Once the stew is cooked allow it to rest in the pot for 10-15 minutes before venting and releasing the remaining steam. This gives the meat a chance to really soak up all those flavors.
- SLURRY: If you feel the gravy is thin, dissolve the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch with a little water and add that in with the instant pot on the saute setting. Adjust salt and pepper to preference. Serve with rice, mash
Notes
- RANCH: If you use homemade seasoning, you’ll need 2 tablespoons.
- OVEN DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 325ºF. You will need to up the amount of broth in the recipe to 2 full cups as more liquid is needed for the oven. Follow steps 1 and 2. Place all the ingredients in a 5-quart dutch oven and bake for 3½ – 4½ hours, stirring once every hour. You can uncover the stew during the last 10 minutes to give it a little color if you’d like, I usually don’t. Keep extra broth on hand just in case the stew thickens too much!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Excellent stew! We used the Instant Pot and doubled the recipe because we bought the stew meat at Costco (nearly 4 lbs). The beef was so tender and flavors were so delicious. I also love that this is gluten free. The time to prepare is more like 1 hour 45 minutes when you include prep time, time for pressurization and then the 10-15 minutes of depressurization/cool down.
I followed the recipe, somewhat left out potatoes, used sweet onions cut into eighths, added sun dried tomatoes with basil and frozen peas. I seared meat as you said first then cooked mine in a crock pot.
DELICIOUS !!!
I followed the recipe but cooked mine in a crock pot, plus added peas.
DELICIOUS
Fabulous recipe! Very easy. I had to substitute chicken broth for the beef broth and a whole onion, quartered. But apart from that, I made it as written. The flavor was delicious! My carrots were enormous so, I think I might cut back a little and add potatoes as suggested. My husband suggested maybe a can of tomatoes too as a variation. Lot’s of possibilities, but excellent as written. A definite keeper!
I made this several weeks ago and I can’t stop thinking about it! Even though I couldn’t get it to thicken up, it was delicious. Since it was kind of soupy, I didn’t make anything else to go with it but it was so good, I didn’t care. Re-reading the post, I think I know where I went wrong so I’ll be trying this again soon!
A well-named recipe….irresistible indeed! Made it two weeks in a row and may go for a third. The second time through just for kicks I used 1 1/4 cups broth and 1/4 cup of the pepperoncini liquid from the jar and it gave it a little extra zing (but not too much) that was even more irresistible! The huge flavor you get for the little effort it takes to put together really is outstanding.
Can I put this in a crockpot? I don’t have an Instant pot or an oven running that long runs up my electric bill lol
Hi Sarah! Though I haven’t tested this in a slow cooker/crockpot, I do think it could work. I do suggest browning the meat as you’ll want that additional flavor for sure. I would cook this on the low setting for 5-7 hours or until the meat has softened. I would also give it all a stir everyone 1 1/2 hours or so to make sure things are running smoothly. Hope that helps!
I want to use a crockpot. His long on high will do it? Thanks.
This was so good! I made 5lbs of stew meat from Costco. So tender and delicious. I also added Zucchini. I doubled all the ingredients and it almost didn’t fit in the instant pot. I did natural release for 27 mins because there was so much in the pot. I served it over slightly buttered egg noodles and toasted up some bakery bread and cut in small slices. I would definitely make this again. I put in a small can of tomato sauce in stead of the paste and sugar. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
Made this tonight and the only thing I would change is to make enough for leftovers!! I wasn’t sure the sauce would make a good gravy but it was delicious over mashed potatoes and of course a little over the meat as well. I’ve removed other similar recipes from my Pinterest board and will repeat this one for sure!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and always turns out perfect! My favorite beef stew recipe. Thank you for sharing.
We love this recipe! I was just wondering if you have the nutritional values for it? My husband would seriously fix this every week all year long! Absolutely delicious!!
Very disappointed, you went so fast that I couldn’t understand what the was recipe was, you covers the caned goods with your hand.
Dump and GO Instant Pot Meatball Soup, where is the recipe?
This is hands down the best stew I have ever tasted, let alone made! I threw in 2 cups of chopped golden potatoes rather than pouring over garlic mashed potatoes but will try it that way too!
I love my Instant Pot even more now… if that’s possible!
And I’m definitely following Little Spice Jar! ♥️
Hi Marzia,
I’m sorry you live in hot Houston, but trust me, I’m living in freezing Flagstaff, AZ. (7000+ feet) current temp 33 degrees and was looking for something warm to eat when I stumble upon your Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe on Pinterest. Just what I needed after a month of hospital food since my open heart surgery.
Now, two bowls later and a happy old man, I have to say DELICIOUS! Currently I’m on oxygen, so any meals I can make in the IP are welcomed, don’t trust using the stove (fire).
Thank You!
Dominick
Best stew I’ve ever had! I added some shiitake mushroomS along with the Bella’s and some thyme. Also I made this with the suggested mashed potatoes. Soooooooo good!! This had already been added to our favorites. My fiancé loved it too!
Hi Kylie! I’m so glad to hear you guys enjoyed it! Love that you added shiitake mushrooms!
This is truly one of my favorite recipes of all time!!! Has anyone tried to Make ahead and freeze it?
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Amanda! It’s fine to freeze!
This is seriously the best stew ever!!! What’s even better is it is almost whole 30 approved. Take out the sugar and it’s pretty close. We love it! My question is this: do you by chance know how many calories there are per serving or per cup? I appreciate any and all help. Thanks!!!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Benjamin! I don’t have the nutritional information calculated, but if you plug the URL of this page into myfitnesspal it will automatically calculate the information for you 🙂