Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ready in an hour from start to finish, this Instant Pot Beef Stew tastes like it's been simmered all day long! Weeknights just got a little bit yummier. :)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil divided
- 1.5 lbs stew beef
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 medium white or yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1.5 tsp dried thyme
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 medium russet potatoes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup red wine
Optional
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cold water
Instructions
Equipment Needed
- Cutting Board and Knife
- Wooden Spoon
Directions
- Set the instant pot to the sauté mode and add 1 tbsp oil. Toss the beef with salt and pepper and add to the pot once the oil is hot. Once the beef has browned remove from the pot. Add 1 tbsp oil to the pot, chop up the onion and celery, then sauté in the hot oil until the onion has become translucent.
- While the beef then onions and celery are frying, chop the carrots, potatoes and press the garlic. Scrape the onions out, then deglaze the pot by pouring in 1/2 cup beef broth and scraping all of the blackened bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Shut off the Instant Pot.
- Toss the seared beef with the onions, celery, rosemary, thyme and garlic, then dump back into the pot with the 1/2 cup juices. Without stirring, add the carrots, potatoes, diced tomatoes, red wine, then remaining beef stock.
- Attach the lid securely then turn the steam valve to the sealed position. Using the Pressure Cook setting or Manual (depending on your model), cook for 25 minutes at high pressure. Allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 15 minutes, then very carefully, quick release the remaining steam. Once all of the steam has been released it's safe to open the lid, stir the stew and serve!
Optional
- If the stew is thin it can easily be thickened. Mix the cold water and cornstarch, then stir into the stew. Turn the instant pot on to Sauté and cook while stirring until the stew thickens, a couple of minutes.
Notes
Expert Tips
- I buy stew meat, which is beef already cut into larger chunks. You can also choose a nice marbled steak and cut it into bite sized pieces, if you prefer.
- I always start by sautéing my beef and veggies because I believe it brings out so much more flavour. If you are super short on time, you can save yourself about 10 minutes by simply tossing everything together and skipping the sauté step, however, if you have the 10 to spare, I highly recommend you sear them.
- It's important to get all of the bits off otherwise you run the risk of getting the dreaded BURN error. When this happens, your Instant Pot Beef Stew won't reach high pressure. You'd have to empty the contents, wash your pot, then try again. Annoying right? Let's make sure all the bits have been removed ;)
- Make sure the steam release valve has been set to the sealed position - other wise your pot will not be able to get to full pressure, meaning your stew will not cook!
- It's not a good idea to add any sort of thickening agent to the instant pot before it's gone through its pressure cycle. This is why we don't add the cornstarch until afterwards, if the stew is not thick enough once cooked.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!