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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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I made this recipe last fall and my family loved it. I read all the reviews and followed instructions to insure I didn’t have the burn problem. Recipe went fine and we loved the soup. (Except my four little children picked out the mushrooms, they are crazy). Lol
Just tried it again tonight and I got the “burn” issue this time. I even added 2 cups broth from the beginning and 1/2 the meat (because meat prices are so crazy right now).
I had to let out the pressure 1/2 way through, which took forever, like over 15 minutes. I added 2 more cups of broth, scrapped the bottom and started all over again.
I wonder if my problem is that I am using an 8qt instant pot and the liquid is more on the heat element than on up-top. So frustrating because a “quick and easy” dinner has now taken over two hours.
Ugh, so weird that it happened to you once out of the two times you made this! From what I’m reading, it seems like you browned the meat. For next time, I suggest using the full 2 cups of stock but, but using 1/4 – 1/2 cup to deglaze the pan right after you remove the meat and scraping it down really well using a wooden spoon while the pot is on the saute mode. Then, add the cornstarch to the remaining broth before carrying on with the recipe. I find that if you have even a little bit of something stuck on the pot, it gives you the burn notice. Experienced this with another recipe, and since then, I’m just extra careful to scrape everything down! I hope that helps.
AWESOME recipe! I have made Mississippi Pot Roast in the Instant Pot and this was a very similar recipe, but I just love that is is stew. I served it over mashed potatoes and it was a BIG HIT at my house! As for the “burn notice” I would advise people to “de-glaze” the pot after they saute the meat. We just used a little bit of the beef broth and that always helps to NOT get it stuck! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! This one is a keeper!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! And that’s a great tip, thank you for sharing! ?
This was a great recipe. I did need to add extra beef broth because of the burn signal on the instant pot, but it came out fine and was delicious.
If you use about 1/4 cup plain broth to deglaze the bottom of the insert and scrape the bits you won’t have a problem.
Could I freeze after making and reheat? Loved the recipe and would love to be able to have it more often!
Yeah, I think that should work out just fine!
What is your opinion of adding water chestnuts to this? I love them and think they’d maybe be good but not sure how they hold up in the IP?
How about leaving out the ranch dressing — due to lactose intolerance? Thinking it will be fine ?
I had plenty of fluid but kept getting the burn signal. Didn’t make sense to me. I scraped the bottom of the pot and that seemed to make a difference – either cornstarch or from browning the beef. Next time I will add the cornstarch at the end as some have suggested. I also added small potatoes. Very tasty!
Absolutely fabulous!
Could I use a 3.5lb chuck roast? Would any ingredient amounts change and would the time change?
That’s double the quantity of meat, so I would suggest doubling all the other ingredients as well so the ratio of meat to veggie stays the same. You may need a larger IP to fit it all, like the 8 qrt. If you’re going for just more meat, then you just want to be sure there’s enough liquid to cover the roast otherwise the pot may not come to pressure. I don’t think the cooking time would change, however I’m not sure as I’ve never made a double batch. I would suggest just testing the meat with a knife and if it goes through easily, it’s done! If not, I’d give it an additional 5-10 minutes under pressure! 🙂
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!
delicious recipe, ive made this beef stew twice big hit with the family each time , thanks for sharing
This is excellent and so easy!! Will be making this again and again!! Thank you!
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!
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.
I have a mini-duo Instant Pot – any tips for cutting down the ingredients to fit in my pot? Thanks – Susan.
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.
Want to make the stew for my card club, but can I add beef for stir fry along with my stew meat ?
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!
Stupid question but I’ve never worked with pearl onions… do I need to peel them before I put them in the pot??
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! 🙂