Photo: Joe Lingeman / Kitchn; Food Stylist: Brett Regot / Kitchn.
Cold weather means stew weather, and there truly isn’t a dish that’s much more comforting than beef stew. When cubes of beef, sweet carrots, and potatoes cook slowly together in a savory sauce, the resulting stew just makes you want to grab a hunk of crusty bread and dig in.
While there’s no denying that a pot of stew bubbling away for a few hours on the stovetop makes for an amazing-smelling kitchen, using an Instant Pot instead makes for a beef stew that can go from pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator to sitting down at the dinner table in just about an hour. Here’s how to do it.
Don’t Stew with Stew Beef
Braising turns tough cuts of beef into tender, succulent bites, but you want to skip the pre-cut stew beef when you’re at the grocery store or butcher. Oftentimes, stew beef is cut into irregularly shaped pieces and can have a lot of tough gristle that will never get tender. Picking up a piece of boneless beef chuck instead means that you can easily trim off all the unwanted parts first, then make sure the pieces are cut into uniform 1 1/2-inch pieces that will cook evenly and quickly in the pressure cooker.
Searing the beef cubes first creates all those tasty browned bits that make the finished sauce that much more delicious, but you don’t have to spend a lot of time searing the cubes all over. Searing just one side saves you time, so be patient with the process, sear in two batches, and let one side of the beef get nice and dark.
Photo: Joe Lingeman / Kitchn; Food Stylist: Brett Regot / Kitchn.
Stick with Large Veggies
Because this beef stew is made in the Instant Pot and we want everything to cook in the same amount of time, the carrots and potatoes should be cut into large pieces so that they don’t overcook and fall apart. Go with chunks that are the same size as the beef cubes, with the exception of the onion and garlic, which can be cut smaller since we want those to cook down as much as possible.
Photo: Joe Lingeman / Kitchn; Food Stylist: Brett Regot / Kitchn.
Making Beef Stew Gravy
We all know that one of the best parts of beef stew is the rich brown gravy. Since this stew is cooked in a sealed environment (and therefore the moisture gets locked in), you only need half a cup of broth and some Worcestershire sauce to get things going. Cook the stew for 25 minutes (yes, it’s that quick!) under high pressure and the veggies and meat will let out more liquid as they cook.
Once everything’s done cooking, add a slurry made with cornstarch and water and simmer with the Sauté function for a few minutes to thicken the sauce into a gravy. Using cornstarch keeps this beef stew gluten-free, and I find it’s easier to thicken the sauce at the end rather than start by searing beef that’s been tossed in flour (which usually requires more oil, and there’s also a risk of the flour burning during searing).
Serving Beef Stew
A big handful of frozen peas stirred into the beef stew at the end adds a note of sweetness and a bright pop of color to the otherwise deep, savory flavors. For some freshness, garnish with chopped parsley if you’d like, but don’t forget to have some crusty bread or a bowl of buttered egg noodles to serve with the beef stew so that not a drop of that delicious sauce is left behind.
Photo by Photo: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: Brett Regot/Kitchn
How to Make the Absolute Best Instant Pot Beef Stew
Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 3 medium carrots (about 12 ounces total)
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces total)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- Fresh parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Cut the aromatics and beef. Dice 1 medium yellow onion, mince 2 garlic cloves, and place both in a medium bowl. Trim 2 1/2 pounds beef chuck and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
Season and sear the beef in two batches. Toss the beef with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker on the Sauté setting until shimmering. Add half of the beef and sear undisturbed until browned on the bottom, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer with tongs to a large plate. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and beef.
Soften the aromatics. Add the onion and garlic to the cooker and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the vegetables.
Cut the vegetables. Peel 3 medium carrots and cut on a slight diagonal into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Quarter 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (you want about 1 1/2-inch chunks).
Add the seasonings and liquid. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste and 1 teaspoon dried thyme to the onions and cook until the tomato paste is darkened in color, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup beef broth and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits.
Add the vegetables and seared beef. Add the carrots, potatoes, seared beef, and any accumulated juices from the beef, and stir to combine.
Cook on HIGH pressure for 25 minutes. Lock the lid on and check that the valve is set to seal. Set to cook for 25 minutes on HIGH pressure. It will take 7 to 10 minutes to come up to pressure.
Natural release pressure for 10 minutes and make the cornstarch slurry. When the cook time is up, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together. Coarsely chop some fresh parsley leaves for garnish if desired.
Release the remaining pressure and thicken the sauce. Quick release any remaining pressure. Carefully open the pressure cooker and turn on the Sauté function. Stir in 3/4 cup frozen peas and the cornstarch mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
Season and serve. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with the parsley if desired.
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.