Make the best Beef Stew in your Instant Pot with tender beef tips, carrots, potatoes, and green peas. It will become your favorite one pot comfort meal that you can make in one hour!
If you love delicious comforting meals, like Beef Stew, but don’t want to cook it for hours on the stove, you should try making it in a Pressure Cooker. You will have the same flavorful stew with tender beef tips but you can make it in just one hour!
Pressure cooking is a wonderful technique to make meals faster than what you would typically cook on the stove. Check out my post for Instant Pot Recipes for Beginner for more recipe ideas, like Instant Pot Lamb Shanks, Instant Pot Bolognese, Instant Pot Pot Roast, Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs, Instant Pot BBQ Chicken, Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Recipe. The cooking time is reduced while also keeping the meat tender and flavorful.
This Beef Stew is a great example of how you can make a delicious comforting meal in a shorter amount of time! It’s similar to my Dutch Oven Beef Stew and Easy Chicken Stew Recipe but takes less effort to make. Also, I love to serve it with my Easy Dinner Rolls or Sandwich Bread Recipe.
Why you will love it
- Easy to make. All you need to do is just chop the veggies and sear the meat. A pressure cooker will do the rest of the job.
- Quick. You can make this recipe in one hour, comparing to 3 hours cooking in a Dutch Oven.
- Delicious. You will have the same flavors as you would when slowly cooking this stew. Plus, the meat comes out beautifully tender and just melts in your mouth!
How to make Beef Stew in Instant Pot
First, we need to prepare the meat. If your beef tips are too big, cut them in 1×1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. (Photos 1-4)
Now we can brown the meat, which will bring the most flavor to the dish. To do so, press the “Sauté” button and add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.
When it’s hot, add half of the meat and brown of all sides for a few minutes. It’s important to keep some space in between of the meat and not to overcrowd. (Photos 5-6)
NOTE: The reason we need to brown the meat in batches, is because if you overcrowd the pan/pot, the meat will start releasing its juices and will boil instead of browning. When you keep some space in-between, they will get a beautiful crust that will give the most flavor.
NOTE: Also, when you brown the meat, try not to stir it too often. Just put the pieces in a single layer, leaving space in between, and don’t touch them for a couple of minutes until they are browned, then flip and sear on the other side.
When the beef tips are browned, transfer them to a plate and set aside.
Add the chopped onions and cook them for 5-8 minutes, until they are soft and translucent. Add minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Then add tomato paste and stir for another minutes. (Photos 7-12)
Now we can turn the “Saute” function off and add the rest of the ingredients (seared beef tips with the juices, chopped potatoes, carrots, beef broth, and bay leaves). (Photos 13-17)
Close the lid and make sure that the venting knob is set to “Seal”. Cook on manual high pressure for 35 minutes. When done, naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.
Press the “Sauté” button again and bring it to boil. Add frozen peas and cook for a few minutes. (Photos 19-20)
Gradually add cornstarch slurry (mixed water and cornstarch) until you get the desired thickness of the broth. (Photos 21-22)
Tips for best results
- Make sure you sear the meet before adding other ingredients to ensure the most flavor.
- Because we cook the meat for quite a long time, you want to cut your veggies (potatoes and carrots) into larger pieces, so they don’t get too soft while cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
I usually buy already pre-cut beef tips at my local store. You also can purchase a whole piece of boneless chuck roast and cut it into 1×1-inch pieces.
I prefer to use Russet potatoes, as they keep their shape better. Yukon gold is another good option. Also, I prefer not to peel the potatoes so they don’t get mushy.
Beef stew is perfect for meal prep and freezes very well. After it’s cooled off, put it in an air-tight container or a zip-lock bag and freeze it for up to 3 months. To thaw, just put it in the fridge overnight, then reheat in a pot or a sauce pan.
Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef tips cut in 1×1-inch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 large Russet potatoes diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- First, we need to prepare the meat. If your beef tips are too big, cut them in 1×1-inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Press the “Sauté” button and add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.
- When the oil is hot, add half of the beef tips and brown on all sides for a few minutes. It’s important to keep some space in between of the meat and not to overcrowd.
- NOTE: The reason we need to brown the meat in batches, is because if you overcrowd the pan/pot, the meat will start releasing its juices and will boil instead of browning. When you keep some space in-between, they will get a beautiful crust that will give the most flavor.
- NOTE: Also, when you brown the meat, try not to stir it too often. Just put the pieces in a single layer, leaving space in between, and don’t touch them for a couple of minutes until they are browned, then flip and sear on the other side.
- When the beef tips are browned, transfer them to a plate and set aside.
- Add the chopped onions and cook them for 5-8 minutes, until they are soft and translucent. Add minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.Then add tomato paste and stir for another minutes.
- Now we can turn the “Saute” function off and add the rest of the ingredients (seared beef tips with the juices, chopped potatoes, carrots, beef broth, and bay leaves.
- Close the lid and make sure that the venting knob is set to“Seal”. Cook on manual high pressure for 35 minutes. When done, naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.
- Press the “Sauté” button again and bring it to boil. Add frozen peas and cook for a few minutes.
- Gradually add cornstarch slurry (mixed water and cornstarch) until you get the desired thickness of the broth.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you sear the meet before adding other ingredients to ensure the most flavor.
- Because we cook the meat for quite a long time, you want to cut your veggies (potatoes and carrots) into larger pieces, so they don’t get too soft while cooking.
I have a bag of mini mixed potatoes. Would those work well with the recipe if I cut them in half or left them whole? Or should I just stick with rustic potatoes?
Hi Andrew! It’s hard for me to say in you need to cut your mini potatoes or not, because I cannot see their size. Also, different varieties have different cooking time. Russet potatoes are hearty and are perfect for the Instant Pot. Golden and red potatoes might come out a bit mushy, so I would suggest you to use Russet potatoes.
Was delicious! I’m not a fan of peas so I did frozen corn instead and added a few dashes of Worcestershire. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Jessica! I also love adding Worcestershire sauce, it adds a nice tough to the dish 😉
Can I use “beef stew meat” instead of beef tips? Or will it be too tough, thanks
Hi Erika! Yes, you can use beef tips. If you are concerned they will be tough, you can just cut them in smaller pieces, so they cook faster.
What size Instant Pot is this recipe for? I couldn’t fit everything into my 3-qt. My potatoes and carrots were mushy after 35 minutes. Meat was tender, good flavor.
Hi Marilyn, The Instant Pot I use is a classic 6 Qt. 3 Qt will be too small for this recipe. The vegetables should come out soft but not mushy. Try to cut them in bugger chunks next time. Hope that helps.
Outstanding! Easy to follow. The only thing I did was add little mini potatoes since that’s all I had.Was great the in Laws and family loved it thank you.
Thank you, Maureen! I’m go happy you and your family loved it!
I’m just wondering, if we add the potatoes and beef together and cook for 35 mins, won’t the potatoes be extremely soft (mashed). Normally if I make a recipe with potatoes, after about 15 mins it gets soft so I’m thinking that 35 mins will be too much cooking time?
Hi Zahe! The potatoes will be soft, but I wouldn’t say mushy. I cut them in quite large pieces, so they don’t overcook.
One recipe says 35 minutes then as you scroll down it says 20. Can someone clarify? I did 35 minutes to be on safe side but its still in instant pot
Hi Brianna! Thank you for letting me know! Yes, it should be 35 minutes! I just fixed the mistake. Hope you enjoyed the recipe!
can i prepare the beef in advance (earlier in the day?)
Looks so good! The soup season is finally here and I’m so excited! Love fall 🙂
Can there be anyone who doesn’t love stew. This beef stew looks so perfect. A big bowl of hearty stew and crusty bread is all I need right now. So delicious!
It is the perfect recipe for an Instant Pot. The instructions are as easy as cooking in a pressure cooker, and the result is absolutely amazing!
I love the use of the instant pot for this tasty looking recipe!
Love the combination of Ingredients in this stew recipe. So flavorful. I will try this version on my IP.
This is one of the reasons that I wish I had an Instant Pot. This recipe sounds so good I’ve already called my daughter and asked to borrow hers. I told her I’d share the beef stew. My mouth is watering looking at your photos .
I finally just got an instant pot! I’m so excited to try this beef stew recipe!
If there’s any recipe that is made better and quicker in an instant pot it has to be beef stew. It’s one of our favourites when the weather turns cool.
This was great! Thank you for the recipe, it was super easy and tasty! Will make again