There’s not much more comforting than a bowl of savory beef stew! This Instant Pot beef stew is so satisfying and delicious, you’ll be surprised at how quick and easy it is to make!
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We are preparing for a big snowfall this weekend. I live in North Carolina, and while we typically get a little snow every year, when the forecast begins to call for multiple inches of snow, it becomes big news.
Of course, everyone knows to stock up on milk and bread when there’s a chance of being snowed in. Whether or not you actually eat milk and bread is irrelevant. It’s what you’re supposed to do, and the empty shelves at the grocery stores are indicative at how good we are at following protocol.
I picked up milk, because we go through a lot of milk on the regular anyway. And then yesterday, I spent a couple hours baking plenty of bread. I staggered all the mixing/kneading/rising/baking, so the process actually did not take very long.
A handful of ripe bananas, peanut butter in the cabinet, and recipe testing rolls in the Instant Pot called for…
- Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaves
- Healthy Homemade Banana Bread
- Instant Pot Whole Wheat Everything Rolls (recipe coming soon)
Now that we have the obligatory bread and milk taken care of, I plan to make another pot of beef stew in my Instant Pot to get us through the snow days. My kids raved about the stew the first time I made it, so I know it will be the perfect dinner to serve after a day playing outside.
(While we are talking about cold days and snow, make sure that you have this homemade rich and creamy hot chocolate mix on hand too!)
Comforting Instant Pot Beef Stew
This Instant Pot beef stew is FULL of savory, filling ingredients. The hearty vegetables and melt-in-your-mouth beef are served in a silky, rich broth making the whole dish ridiculously comforting and cozy.
I often feel like a broken record saying this, but the Instant Pot makes the process simple and almost effortless. Being able to brown the meat and cook everything together in one pot is super convenient. And not having to babysit the stew as it cooks frees you up to take care of other important tasks– whether that’s washing dishes or relaxing is totally up to you.
If you haven’t joined the Instant Pot craze yet, first off, what are you waiting for?! Just kidding. Kind of.
(The Instant Pot 6qt DUO is on sale now $30 off! I also have and love a PLUS which is on sale $40 off!)
But really, at this point Instant Pots have proven their worth time and again, and are continually a best-selling item Amazon, etc. If you want to learn more about Instant Pots, you can check out these super helpful posts:
- Getting Started with the Instant Pot
- Comparing the DUO & ULTRA
- BEST Instant Pot Accessories
- Top 15 Must-Have Instant Pot Recipes
The beef stew cooks in three stages. First you brown the meat, then the stew cooks on high pressure, and finally you add a cornstarch slurry to thicken the broth.
I highly suggest serving the stew with bread or rolls because you’re going to want to enjoy every last drop and bread is perfect for sopping up the last of the broth in the bowl.
(One-hour French bread would be perfect with this!)
The last thing to note is that we really enjoyed a little extra broth in our stew, but if you want less broth you can reduce it by a cup, no problem.

Comforting Instant Pot Beef Stew
Description
There’s not much more comforting than a bowl of savory beef stew! This Instant Pot beef stew is so satisfying and delicious, you’ll be surprised at how quick and easy it is to make!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs stew meat
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 tbsp ghee or oil
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2–3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” chunks
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tsp whole dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté. Sprinkle the salt and pepper evenly over the stew meat. When the Instant Pot reads “HOT”, add 1 tablespoon ghee, then half the stew meat. Brown the first batch of stew meat for two minutes on both sides. Remove and set on a clean plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of ghee to the pot, then the second half of the stew meat. Brown for 2 minutes on both side. Add the second batch of browned meat to the first.
- Pour the wine into the Instant Pot and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up any pieces that were stuck. Return the meat to the Instant Pot, then add all the vegetables, the broth, and the herbs. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to sealing, and set the cook time to 35 minutes on high pressure.
- When the cook time is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. Discard the bay leaf. Stir together 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water, then pour the slurry in the pot. Return the Instant Pot to Saute, and let the stew simmer for 3-5 minutes until the broth thickens.
- Serve the stew with parsley, and add extra salt to taste.
Notes
We really enjoyed a little extra broth in our stew, but if you want less broth you can reduce it by a cup.
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Wow! So delicious and so simple. Easy to make. Thanks.
★★★★★
Delicious meal from simple ingredients!
★★★★★
My family and I LOVED this stew recipe. I normally make stew in a crockpot and add in a packet of overly salted premixed “stuff”. Today I decided to try this instant pot method and recipe and all of the flavors were so lovely together! I added half of a large rutabaga and 4 ribs celery and did not add mushrooms. I also only had a little over a pound of beef and even with my changes, it turned out so delicious. My family noticed the difference from my usual crockpot stew and liked this instant pot recipe a lot better. This will be my new go to way to make stew now. The beef was fall apart tender too!
★★★★★
So easy and so good!!! I thickened the gravy a bit…
★★★★★
If I half the recipe would the cook time stay the same?
Yep!
Any suggestions for substituting Dry Red Wine?
You can’t taste it in the final product, it just adds to the richness and depth of the stew. You can find one/two cup bottles atost grocery stores.
If you would rather not use it, you could use the broth to deglaze and add a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.