Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Two black plates filled with a hearty potato and beef stew.

4.75 from 8 votes

This delicious pressure cooker beef stew comes together in about 1 hour with deep flavors, healthy ingredients, and incredibly tender meat—leftovers taste even better.

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Courses

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Calories: 628kcal

Author: Mariska Ramondino

Equipment

1 Instant Pot Essential for quick and easy pressure cooking, giving you perfectly tender beef in no time.
1 Wooden Spoon For stirring without damaging your pot.
1 Large Bowl To set aside the seared beef while cooking the vegetables.
1 Kitchen Tongs To transfer the seared meat.
Measuring Spoons and Cups To accurately measure ingredients for the best flavor balance.

Ingredients

3 - 3 ½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast 1.36 to 1.59 kilo
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil divided
3 garlic cloves minced
1 yellow onion about 250 grams, coarsely chopped
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon anchovy paste*
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 sweet potatoes 725 grams, coarsely chopped
1 Russet potato 225 grams, coarsely chopped
1 small red beet 180 grams, coarsely chopped
Beet greens optional
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
½ cup water
Chopped cilantro for garnish optional

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Instructions

If you can, take the meat out of the fridge 30 minutes before prep time and let it come to room temperature.
3 - 3 ½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast
Then, dab the meat with a paper towel. Trim off any thick pockets of fat or silverskin.
Cut the meat into about 1 to 1 ½-inch cubes. Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper; set aside.
Salt and pepper
Turn on the instant pot or electric pressure cooker, press Sauté and adjust the button to the highest setting.
Cover the bottom of the pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
3 tablespoons olive oil
When shimmering, add half of the reserved meat and sear undisturbed for about 5 minutes until browned at the bottom. Meanwhile, cut the vegetables while keeping an eye on the meat.
Remove the meat using a kitchen tongue and transfer it to a plate.
Add the second half of the beef cubes. Sear undisturbed for about 4 - 5 minutes, or until browned at the bottom. Continue to finish up cutting the vegetables.
Then transfer the browned meat to the same plate containing the first batch of browned beef.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and onions—Cook and stir for 2 minutes until fragrant. Scrape any seared bits from the bottom of the pan while doing this.
3 garlic cloves, 1 yellow onion
Stir in the bouillon cubes, anchovy paste, molasses, and balsamic vinegar. Cook and stir for about two minutes to dissolve the bouillon cubes and let the flavors come together.
2 vegetable bouillon cubes, 1 tablespoon anchovy paste*, 3 tablespoons molasses, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Add the potatoes and beet. Stir to combine. If you plan to add the beet greens, then stir them in at this point.
3 sweet potatoes, 1 Russet potato, 1 small red beet, Beet greens
Add the seared beef and any collected juices from the seared meat.
Season with oregano, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons of salt and black pepper (about 15 turns with the pepper mill). Stir to combine.
1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
Add ½ cup of water.
½ cup water
Secure the lid and ensure the valve is set to lock/seal. Make sure the Keep Warm button is off.
Next, choose the Meat/Stew setting. It's a pre-programmed setting equivalent to cooking at High Pressure for 35 minutes (it will take about 7 to 10 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure).
When done, quickly release any pressure. If you want to keep the food warm, you can turn on the Keep Warm setting at this point.
Carefully open the pressure cooker when ready to serve.
Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if preferred.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Notes

*Note on anchovy paste: Don't have any anchovy paste; replace it with anchovy fillets. Each fillet is equal to about ½ teaspoon of the paste. So you'll need 6 fillets. Use the rest to make my umami-flavored Italian egg muffins.

Helpful Tips

While the beef is searing, save time by peeling and cutting the vegetables while keeping an eye on the meat.
We are only searing one side of the beef, and I've noticed that it does not compromise the stew's flavors. It should only take about 4 to 5 minutes to sear one side, but depending on how hot your pot gets, feel free to sear it a bit longer until you get a beautifully browned crust on the bottom of the beef.
Cut the root vegetables into larger chunks about 1 ½-inch in size. Otherwise, they will cook down too much and almost disappear.
Initially, the stew will have some liquid (from the meat and vegetables). But as the stew settles, it becomes thicker in texture.

Nutrition