Easy Beef Stew in Instant Pot

Your favorite cozy comfort food, fast enough to serve on a weeknight! My Instant Pot Beef Stew is so delicious and done in only an hour.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword beef stew in instant pot, easy beef stew, instant pot beef stew, quick beef stew

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 35

Pressure Release Time 20

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 543kcal

Author Isabel Laessig

Equipment

6 qt. Instant Pot

Ingredients

2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil see note 1
3 lbs. chuck roast cut into 1" cubes
1 tsp. sea salt plus ½ tsp. more while cooking
½ cup red wine
1 cup beef broth or water
1 lb. carrots peeled and cut into 1 ½" lengths
2 cloves garlic finely minced
15 oz. tomato sauce
½ tsp. black pepper
1 large onion chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme

For cornstarch slurry

¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Instructions

Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in the Instant Pot over medium heat/saute mode set to medium until the oil is hot. While the pot heats, season 3 lbs. chuck roast or bottom round roast cut into 1″ cubes with 1 tsp. fine sea salt.
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 3 lbs. chuck roast, 1 tsp. sea salt
Add ⅓ of the beef cubes in a single layer and sear until well-browned on one side, about 3 minutes.
Flip the beef and repeat on the other side. Remove browned beef to a bowl, and continue cooking until all beef is browned.
Add 1 finely chopped large onion and 2 cloves finely minced garlic to the Instant Pot. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. dried thyme and ½ tsp. sea salt.
2 cloves garlic, 1 large onion, 1 tsp. dried thyme
Stir in one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce. Saute until the onion mixture softens, about 5 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen up any browned bits and stir them in – that’s flavor!
15 oz. tomato sauce
Pour in ½ cup red wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 1 minute.
½ cup red wine
Add the beef back to the mixture with any juices in the bowl. Stir well, then pour in 1 cup beef broth and 1 lb. peeled 1 ½″ length carrots, and stir.
1 cup beef broth, 1 lb. carrots
Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode on the Instant Pot).
Once the fifteen minutes is up, let the pressure come down naturally for about 20 more minutes. Carefully remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
Whisk ¼ cup water and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry, then stir the slurry into the stew.
¼ cup water, 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Stir in ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper and more salt to taste. Serve, and enjoy!
½ tsp. black pepper

Notes

Don't over-crowd the pot! You may need to brown the beef in batches. Crowding the pot will result in the beef not browning correctly, leaving it tough and steamed instead of nicely seared.

You can skip searing the beef to save time, but the flavor will suffer.

Because you're cooking this stew in an Instant Pot and can't open it up to stir, don't add any thickening agents like flour or cornstarch until after it's fully cooked. If you add them too early they'll burn on the bottom of the pot.

You may need to add more oil if you're using particularly lean cuts of meat.

You can quick release the pressure after 15 minutes of depressurizing, if you're in a hurry. I recommend simply letting it naturally release for however long it needs for the best texture.

If you don't add wine, you'll need to add an equal amount of liquid so the stew isn't too thick. I recommend more broth.

Nutrition