Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Beef Stew is a healthy, easy, and comforting soup recipe to make in the pressure cooker.  Learn how to make a Whole30, gluten-free and dairy-free pressure cooker beef stew recipe that is full of the most tender beef stew meat and loaded with healthy vegetables!

Instant Pot Beef Stew – In Love!!

I might have fallen in love all over again with my Instant Pot the night this pressure cooker beef stew recipe was created.

Big chunks of juicy, tender beef stew meat…

Bite-sized pieces of carrots, potatoes, and celery…

Tons of herbal goodness in every spoonful.

And this Instant Pot Beef Stew was done in under an hour!

Yup, no simmering a pot on the stove for hours at a time.  You can have a big bowl of comforting beef stew ready to eat on a weeknight!

Easy Beef Stew Ingredients

On first glance it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients in this beef stew recipe.

But trust me when I tell you, it can come together SO quickly!

What are the beef stew ingredients?

• Beef stew meat – preferably organic or grass-fed.
• Garlic – what recipe is complete without garlic?
• Beef broth – make sure to get a low sodium kind or adjust the salt for a regular sodium broth.
• Herbs – thyme, rosemary, and sage were used in this recipe.
• Vegetables – onions, carrots, potatoes, celery and peas!
• Tomato sauce – this is the kind you get in a can.  (Tomato “passata” will work if you cannot find tomato “sauce.”)
• Tapioca starch – this helps thicken up the Instant Pot beef stew at the end!

How to Make Beef Stew

Now that you have all of your pressure cooker beef stew ingredients, it’s time to make it!

1. First, add a bit of oil or butter into a 6-quart Instant Pot with the beef stew meat.  Sear the meat for a few minutes.
   • This step helps to give the beef stew a certain depth of flavor.
   • If you have a larger Instant Pot, you should still be able to follow the instructions below!
2. Next, add a bit of beef broth and scrape the bottom of your Instant Pot.
   • This step is CRUCIAL to make sure you do not get a burn error!
3. Add all or your ingredients (except for 1/2 cup broth and starch!) and give your beef stew a good stir.
4. Cover your Instant Pot, set the pressure release valve to sealed and pressure cook your beef stew for 35 minutes with a NPR of 10 minutes.
5. Lastly, you will want to thicken up your beef stew recipe.

How to Thicken Soup & Stew

Once your Instant Pot beef stew is done cooking and has set for 10 minutes, it’s time to thicken it up.

But what is the best way to thicken up soup or stew?

The best, and easiest, way to thicken up a soup or stew recipe is to make a starch slurry.

• First, heat up 1/2 cup of broth, water, or milk.  (We use more beef broth in this pressure cooker beef stew recipe.)
  • Heating up the liquid is very important to make sure the starch dissolves properly!
• Next, add a few tablespoons of corn starch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot starch.
• Whisk the starch and liquid together.
• Add the starch slurry to the soup or stew while simmering until your desired consistency is reached.

If your Instant Pot beef stew isn’t quite as thick as you would like you can either add additional starch slurry (be careful as it can get gummy really fast!) or let it simmer until additional liquid has evaporated off.

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Recipe Variations

While this Instant Pot beef stew recipe is already gluten-free, dairy-free, Whole30, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free, there are a few changes you can make:

• You can make this beef stew recipe Paleo by using sweet potatoes and leaving out the peas.
• Change up the herbs by using oregano or basil, instead.
• Double the vegetables to make it even more nutritious.
• Try using beef bone broth to up your collagen intake.

Does this Beef Stew Freeze Well?

Yes!  Most soups and stews freeze extremely well and this beef stew recipe is no exception.

The best way to freeze soups and stews is to let them come to room temperature first, then place in an airtight plastic container.

Fill the container as close to the top as you can and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

Once the soup or stew is less than 40 degrees, place it in the freezer.

This Instant Pot beef stew recipe will keep well in the freezer for up to 6 months or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Instant Pot Beef Stew Video

Want more recipes like this Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe?

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5 from 2 votes

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Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Beef Stew is a healthy, easy, and comforting soup recipe to make in the pressure cooker.  Learn how to make a Whole30, gluten-free and dairy-free pressure cooker beef stew recipe that is full of the most tender beef stew meat and loaded with healthy vegetables! 

Course Dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword beef stew, instant pot beef stew

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 6 servings

Calories 373 kcal

Author London

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. beef stew meat lean
• 2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 3 ½ cups beef broth low sodium, divided
• 1 ½ - 2 tsp. salt to taste
• ¾ tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. thyme dried or fresh
• 1 tsp. rosemary dried or fresh
• ½ tsp. sage dried
• 1 sweet onion cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 lb. carrots cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 ¼ lbs. red potatoes cut into ½-inch cubes
• 4 stalks celery cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 8 oz. tomato sauce canned
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 Tbsp. tapioca starch
• Parsley optional
• New! Get this recipe in Meal Plan #4

Instructions

1. Set a 6-quart Instant Pot to the sauté function and add beef stew meat and butter or oil. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until meat is lightly seared.
2. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
3. Pour 3 cups broth into pot and scrape the bottom to loosen up any bits of meat. Add all of the ingredients except for ½ cup broth and starch. Give the ingredients a good stir, place lid and ensure the pressure release valve is set to sealed.
4. Set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 35 minutes. Once the timer goes off let the stew sit for 10 minutes before releasing the pressure release valve. (NPR 10 minutes.)
5. While stew is sitting, whisk together ½ cup broth that has been warmed up with 3 tablespoons starch to form a slurry that will help thicken the stew.
6. Set the Instant Pot to the sauté function for 3-5 minutes and add slurry. Sauté until your desired consistency is reached.

7. Serve with parsley, gluten-free bread or crackers and enjoy!  Get this recipe in Meal Plan #4.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

*If on a Whole30 diet, simply leave out the peas.

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Amount Per Serving

Calories 373 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Cholesterol 80mg27%

Sodium 646mg28%

Potassium 1640mg47%

Carbohydrates 38g13%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 32g64%

Vitamin A 13310IU266%

Vitamin C 29.4mg36%

Calcium 108mg11%

Iron 4.7mg26%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.