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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.
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 instant pot beef stew recipe:
- Is this recipe gluten-free?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.
- Can I add additional herbs to this if I wanted to?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!
- Can I add frozen peas to this recipe?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.
- I don’t own an Instant pot, how can I make this?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.
- How do you suggest serving beef stew?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
Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe originally published September 2017, updated with new post, new images, and oven directions February 2022.
Yield: 5-6 servings
Irresistible Instant Pot Beef Stew
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
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!
Ingredients
- 1¾-2 pounds beef (chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-2 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 EACH: tomato paste and sugar
- 1 (1-ounce) packet ranch seasoning mix*
- 2 tablespoons: Worcestershire sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch*
- 1¼-1½ cup low sodium beef broth*
- 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!
Update 10/17: Some readers mentioned the instant pot displaying a 'burn' notice. This occurs when there isn't sufficient liquid in the pot. After resting the recipe, I've upped the liquid to 1½ cups. If you made this without any issues, I suggest keeping the recipe with 1¼ cups. For first-timers, I suggest using 1½ cups of broth.
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Beef By Diet Comfort Foods Dinner Fall Fall Favorites Instant Pot Lunch Under 500 calories Winterbeef stew comfort food instant pot Mississippi pot roast pot roast ranch seasoning stew
originally published on Feb 14, 2022 (last updated Jul 9, 2022)
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78 comments on “Irresistible Instant Pot Beef Stew”
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Samia — Reply
Can I make this in a slow cooker? How long should it be cooked for in that?
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Marzia — Reply
I’m sure you could, but not too sure if the slow cooker would need additional liquids due to the longer cooking time. If you decide to try it, I’d love to know how it went 🙂
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Stephanie — Reply
Could you put all the ingredients together then freeze them to throw in the instapot later? How much do you think that would increase the cook time?
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Marzia — Reply
Hmm, not sure how much the frozen mix would change the cooking time as I’ve only tested the recipe as written. Would love to know how it went if you decide to try it, Stephanie!
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Marlene — Reply
I’m planning on making this today. When you suggest in direction 1 the option of searing the meat, do you mean sear it and then put in all in as stated in the 2nd part of the directions? (Hope that makes sense) Also I plan on leaving out the mushrooms because my husband and I dislike them. Do you think that will change the flavor a lot? Thanks!
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Marlene — Reply
Wonderful flavors! It all came together nicely. This was my 1st instant pot recipe & it was so easy!! I made it with my own mashed potatoes recipe & the hubs loved it.
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Marzia — Reply
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Marlene! So sorry I wasn’t able to get back to your other message earlier but glad it all ended up working out for you 🙂
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Mandy — Reply
Making this tonight and I couldn’t find pearl onions anywhere. Can I substitute regular chopped onion? Also, is 35 min on meat/stew setting the same thing as 35 min on manual high pressure?
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Marzia — Reply
Hi Mandy! Yes, you can definitely replace it with regular chopped onions but I wouldn’t use 2 cups. More in the ballpark of about 1- 1 1/4 cups would probably work better. And yes, from what I understand 35 minutes is the same on meat/stew setting and the manual high-pressure setting. Hope you enjoy the stew! 🙂
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Marigold — Reply
Hi! I see I must have missed the note about adding the cornstarch at the beginning. I will try it again and perhaps add the cornstarch at the end as a slurry. Thank you. It really does have a wonderful flavor!
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Patti M — Reply
I have a question. This is my first recipe using my instant pot. I keep getting the burn message when it’s preheatng and building pressure. Do you know a possibile fix for this?
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Marzia — Reply
Hi Patti! I just saw your comment come through. I’ve actually updated the recipe just earlier today to up the broth to 1 1/2 cups if you’re a first-timer. Some people have mentioned having this issue, while others (like myself) did not. The additional liquid should prevent the ‘burn’ message from showing up! 🙂
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Amber — Reply
Wonderful!!!! The flavors are amazing and the beef was soooo tender! New family favorite! Thank you!
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Sai Pacho — Reply
Can i make this recipe without the pepperoncini and still taste good?
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Marzia — Reply
Yes, you can omit the pepperoncini if you’d like.
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Emily — Reply
What a great recipe! I made this last night for my family and it turned out so great. We took your suggestion and serve it with mashed potatoes AND a nice crusty French bread, both were a winner! It’s something I’m sure we’ll make several times this winter season (as much “winter” as we get in Texas anyways!) The meat was so tender it just melted in your mouth. And the flavor was excellent, better with each bite. I especially liked the little bit of zing from the pepperoncinis.
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Cheryl — Reply
This looks great…can’t wait to try it, especially since we are currently freezing in the Austin area! One tip I might suggest is adding just 1 T. cornstarch at the beginning, since the Burn often is caused by liquid that is too thick and cornstarch tends to congeal near the bottom of the mixture. Another idea is using potato starch, which I often see recommended in place of cornstarch. Bob’s Red Mill is a good source. (“Potato Starch can be used to replace cornstarch in most baking recipes. Potato starch powder tolerates higher temperatures than cornstarch, making it an excellent thickener for sauces, soups and stews.”) Hope that helps.
Glad to hear Houston is healing nicely from Harvey. Happy New Year!
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Marzia — Reply
Thank for the tip, Cheryl! I’ve never used potato starch in place of cornstarch before but I’ll definitely have to give that a try now! 🙂
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Lauren — Reply
Probably a silly queation- butwhen you say 3 stalks of celery do you mean 3 sticks or 3 actual stalks (as in 3 bundles) Can’t wait to make this tonight! Just got an Insta pot for Christmas and this will be my first recipe.
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Marzia — Reply
3 sticks of celery. Hope you enjoy your IP and this stew!
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Lauren — Reply
I made it exactly as the recipe. The whole family loved it. Beef was tender, all of the veggies were cooked perfectly and none of them were mushy.
Full of flavor.
I even made the garlic mashed potato recipe that is attached. It was so awesome together.4.5
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Debbie — Reply
I made this tonight and it was fabulous. I added 2 cups of broth, no mushrooms or pearl onions. I seared my meat on the stove top because I seen that so many said they got the burn screen while making this. I have read that sometimes after searing in the pot that if you don’t get all the residual meat dripping off the bottom it will cause the burn screen. I also added potatoes and onion
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Betty ross — Reply
To brown the meat on sauté button ,it doesn’t have that button
On my one touch xl. What do i use?-
Marzia — Reply
I’m actually not familiar with that particular model. I suggest checking the manual to see if your pressure cooker has the functionality and how you’d go about using it. You could also just brown the meat in a skillet (on the stove) and transfer to the pressure cooker as well, if you’d like.
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shari cleveland — Reply
you can use the chicken button to saute
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Chelsie — Reply
This was soooo good! Just a question has anyone tried adding potatoes to it? I wonder if I would need to modify the recipe?
4.5
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Marzia — Reply
Glad to hear you enjoyed the stew! Haven’t tried making it with potatoes myself, but I do think it could work. I think the potatoes would require some additional broth to help cook all the way through. I’m not sure how much more it would need but based on the additional broth you’d also need to play around with the cornstarch a bit. If you decide to give it a go, I’d love to hear how it went!
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Sheri L — Reply
I made this tonight for dinner & it was so deliciously flavorful! Served it on top of mashed potatoes. So yummy! Thanks for sharing!
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Lori — Reply
I have made this twice. I do have a instant Pop, but I have a mini and this recipie does not fit in my mini. I make it in the oven. We love it!! Thanks!!
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Michelle — Reply
Whole family loved it!! Thank you for the awesome recipe!!!
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Laura — Reply
The BEST recipe I’ve made in my Instant Pot (or crockpot), ever! I used chuck roast cut into 1” pieces, sprinkled with lots of black pepper, onion and garlic powder prior to sautéing. I elected to use a packet of whole Hidden Valley Ranch and a large yellow onion cut into rings as well as two tablespoons minced garlic and 2 cups halved baby potatoes. I just got done eating and my mouth is watering just thinking about making this again!
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Any — Reply
Stupid question but I’ve never worked with pearl onions… do I need to peel them before I put them in the pot??
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Marzia — Reply
Not stupid at all; yup, you’ll want to peel them. An easy way to do it is to trim the root ends of the onions then blanch them in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Transfer them to a bowl of ice water and when they’re cool enough to touch, just pinch the onions skin and the onion should pop right out (or you can peel the skin with a paring knife.) You can also check the freezer section of your grocery store to see if they sell pearl onions next time if you’d like (they’re cleaned and ready to go.) I found them at mine and it’s a LIFE SAVER! Hope that helps! 🙂
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Lori — Reply
Made this for dinner tonight along with your instant pot garlic mashed potatoes. I didn’t have pepperoncinis so I left them out. I couldn’t find pearl onions so I just chopped up one large onion. I did not brown the meat. Just added it all to the pot. I used a 14.5 oz can of beef broth which is just over 1.5 cups of liquid and I still got the “burn” warning. But I accidentally hit the release valve and it released pressure for a second and the burn warning went away and it started cooking. So much flavor! I wanted to eat it alllllllll! Even my picky kids (ages 4, 2 and 1) liked the “chicken” (beef) haha. I don’t have a “rotation” yet but making one tonight and this recipe is going in it! Thanks!
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Karen — Reply
Want to make the stew for my card club, but can I add beef for stir fry along with my stew meat ?
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Janet Johnson — Reply
I made this tonight for supper and will be making again. It’s a uniquely flavored beef stew and easy to make. I didn’t use mushrooms (no one will eat them) so added additional beef broth to make up for the liquid the mushrooms would release during cooking. Also, due to reviews mentioning the “Burn” warning from the IP, I didn’t add the 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch with the beef broth when ingredients were all going into the IP. I didn’t see the value of thickening the stew while it cooked since cornstarch is flavorless. After the stew finished the 10-15 minute natural release I quick released, removed the lid, initiated the saute’ feature and thickened the stew at that time. It worked perfectly. I served the stew over wide egg noodles with a side of homemade focaccia bread. Thanks for a unique recipe. The peperoncini is the key ingredient.
4.5
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Susan — Reply
I have a mini-duo Instant Pot – any tips for cutting down the ingredients to fit in my pot? Thanks – Susan.
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Mia — Reply
Made this last night and it was a big hit! The only change I made was to leave the cornstarch out until after pressure was released. I’ve heard sometimes thickeners added too early could cause the BURN message, so I took some of the hot broth, made a slurry with the cornstarch, then added it back in and put the pot on SAUTE for a few minutes to thicken. I might try it again with the smaller amount of water, but we are big fans of lots of extra sauce to moisten noodles.
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Kim — Reply
This was my first time making beef stew! This was so delicious! The meat was so tender. My family loved it! I’ll definitely be making this again!
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Jen — Reply
This is excellent and so easy!! Will be making this again and again!! Thank you!
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Deb Herdman - Australia — Reply
delicious recipe, ive made this beef stew twice big hit with the family each time , thanks for sharing
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Leigh — Reply
This makes a delicious beef stew! The pepperoncini adds a little bit of heat. We added fingerling potatoes. The flavor is incredible and the balance of meat & vegetables is perfect. Great recipe!
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