Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Beef Stew

This easy, healthy Pressure Cooker Beef Stew is so delicious and comes together so quickly, that it would make a great weeknight dinner. Using an Instant Pot makes it fast, and using your own spice mix makes it healthy.

What Makes This Pressure Cooker Beef Stew So Great

• Better ingredients. A long time ago, I used to make beef stew in my Instant Pot with a packaged stew seasoning. Then I started to wonder what was in the mix and decided to make my own. It not only resulted in a much tastier beef stew, but a much healthier one at that.
• Simple. Not only is this Pressure Cooker Beef Stew crazy delicious, but it's super easy to make as well.
• Quick. I absolutely love my Instant Pot, and this recipe is made in less than 30 minutes thanks to pressure cooking. Seriously, who's ever heard of a tender, delicious beef stew recipe that was done that quickly? And now that you've heard about it, I'm sure you're going to want to make it time and time again.
• Changes. Now if this Pressure Cooker Beef Stew recipe looks familiar, it's because it's an old recipe of mine but I decided to revamp it a bit. And let me tell you, the changes make this easy beef stew recipe that much better.

How to Make Beef Stew in Your Instant Pot

So there's a trick to getting this right. Normally, I'm all in favor of throwing everything into the pressure cooker and cooking it in one go.

You can't do that with beef stew--or at least, not without overcooking your vegetables or undercooking your meat.

So for this recipe, what works is to cook the beef separately, and then add the vegetables in a separate cycle.

So here are the full instructions on how to make this delicious Pressure Cooker Beef Stew:

1. Throw everything into the Instant Pot except for the mushrooms and carrots.

2. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and release pressure quickly.

Click here to read more on QPR vs NPR in my detailed post.

3. Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook for 2 mins at High Pressure and let it release pressure naturally.

4. If you want a thicker gravy, turn your Instant Pot on to Sauté, and once it's hot and the sauce is bubbling, make a cornstarch slurry and mix in, allowing it to thicken.

Watch a Video on How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew

Will using QPR (Quick-Release) make my Meat Tough?

I see this posted all the time in groups--don't use QPR it will make the meat tough.

• Cooking Time. So the real culprit here isn't QPR per se. It's that Natural Pressure release time counts as cooking time. Those 10 minutes that you let a pot rest without releasing pressure? It is cooking time.
• Ambient Heat. The liquid in the pot is still hot. There's ambient heat. The food continues to cook during that time.
• Shortcuts. If you QPR your meat, you're shortcutting the cooking time.

I've written a very thorough and nerdy post for those of you who want to learn more about when to use QPR vs. NPR for your Instant pot that you might want to check out.

Rest assured, by using this Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe, you will have the most tender beef you've ever eaten. Just follow the recipe as written.

How Do I Make this Beef Stew in a Slow Cooker?

I made this Pressure Cooker Beef Stew in the Instant Pot because I was in a hurry, but this will work well in the slow cooker too.

• Pour and Cook. Add everything into the slow cooker except the corn starch and water slurry. In a pressure cooker, vegetables take longer to cook and break down. In contrast, slower cooking breaks down meats faster and makes them very tender. So you can put everything in at the same time.
• More Water. Increase water to about 1-1.5 cups. This is because you will lose some of the water to evaporation. In a pressure cooker, since it is totally sealed, you lose very little water to evaporation. This is why you always need to use less water when converting a recipe to pressure cooking.

Can I Make Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Low Carb?

Indeed you can. You would make the following changes:

• Use turnips or radishes instead of potatoes. If using turnips, cut them into 2-3 inch cubes. If using radishes, leave them whole.
• Reduce or skip carrots. You can use frozen green beans instead. By using frozen beans, you will ensure they don't get overcooked in the time it takes for the other vegetables to cook.
• You can also use frozen cauliflower along with the other vegetables.
• Either skip the cornstarch slurry all together, and let the stew be a little thin, or use Xanthan Gum. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to thicken the stew. Do not make a slurry with it! You will have a sticky, mucilaginous mess on your hands. Just turn the Instant pot to Sauté, sprinkle the gum evenly, and then stir until thickened.
• You can also add a cup or two of riced cauliflower in with the veggies. This will cook down and can sometimes help to thicken the gravy or sauce. You do not need to change cook times if you do this.
• Eat it plain or serve it over shirataki noodles.

How To Thicken Beef Stew

• Corn Starch. If you want a thicker beef stew, make a cornstarch slurry with one tablespoon of cornstarch and four tablespoons of water and mix in, allowing it to thicken.
• Flour. You can also mix a tablespoon of flour into four tablespoons of water and then add it into your cooked, hot, beef stew and stir until thickened.
• Xantham Gum. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to thicken the stew.
• Cauliflower Thickener. I don't usually like thickeners so I often use 1 cup of cauliflower which cooks down and thickens the gravy. If you're doing this, cook it along with the meat.

Want More Stew Meat Recipes?

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• Love beef stew? This Beef Daube, or French-style beef stew, is an elegant yet familiar dish that is oh so delicious!
• This Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe might be the best beef stroganoff you’ve ever had! Best of all, it’s low carb!
• This Caldo De Res recipe gives you real Mexican beef soup flavor in less than an hour!
• Put a little Indian twist on dinner tonight with this Dutch Oven Beef Stew!
• Have some leftover beef stew meat? Check out my 16+ Easy Stew Meat Recipes That Aren't Just Beef Stew for more delicious recipes to cook!
• Instant Pot Bo Kho- a Vietnamese take on this popular dish.

With a Pressure Cooker Beef Stew this easy and this unbelievably delicious, you're bound to want to make this on a weekly basis! Make sure to share this recipe with your friends on Pinterest and Facebook so they can enjoy it as well!

Originally published November 13, 2019

Don't forget to check out my other Best-selling Instant Pot Cookbooks!

Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.