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Beef stew is the perfect supper on a cold winter night. But if it’s a weeknight, you’re not going to have time for it to simmer on the stove for hours. If you want juicy, fall-apart beef and tender vegetables with that cooked-all-day flavor, that’s easy - Instant Pot Beef Stew.
Beef stew is one of those home-cooked meals that reminds me of my childhood. It was one of my mom’s specialties! I decided to tweak my mom’s recipe to be lower in calories and carbs, and much quicker to put together.
But it had to have that slow cooked beef flavor that warms you up right down to your soul. The Instant Pot is the fastest solution to homemade goodness on a tight weeknight schedule.
Let me show you how easy it is to make!
Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
Beef stew is the perfect supper on a cold winter night. But if it’s a weeknight, you’re not going to have time for it to simmer on the stove for hours. If you want juicy, fall-apart beef and tender vegetables with that cooked-all-day flavor, that’s easy - Instant Pot Beef Stew.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6
Ingredients
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2 Tablespoons shallot, minced
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2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
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2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
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3 Tablespoons gluten free flour ( nearly any starchy kind works, see notes)
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3 stalks celery, sliced
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3 cups sliced carrots
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2 cups whole mushrooms, cut into halves and quarters
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1 cup potato, peeled and cut into chunks - (about 1 medium)
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2 teaspoons salt
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1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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1 can beef broth, 14.5 oz.
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2 cans diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz.
Instructions
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Turn Instant Pot to “Saute” setting. Add oil.
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Add garlic and shallots. Cook and stir until slightly softened.
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Place beef cubes in a bowl. Sprinkle with the gluten free flour, and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Add beef to the Instant Pot. Cook and stir until beef just starts to brown.
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Add the celery, carrots, mushrooms, potato, salt, Wocestershire sauce, broth, and tomatoes.
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Turn off the Saute setting. Next, select the “Meat/Stew” setting on the Instant Pot, and choose 35 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is set to “sealing” and not “venting”.
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After the Instant Pot has finished doing it’s job, it will beep. You can either flip the pressure valve to “venting” or just let the pressure come down on its own. It will even keep the beef stew warm for several hours if you need it to! Either way, when the steam stops coming out of the pressure valve when you tip it and the pressure gauge drops, you can open the lid.
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At this point it’s ready to eat. But if you want the stew to be a little more browned and the sauce thickened some more, pour it into a baking dish and brown it in the oven on the Broil setting. This may take around 5 - 15 minutes, depending on how you like it. Serve hot!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-45 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 345
- Sugar: 8.5 g
- Sodium: 647.8 mg
- Fat: 10.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.8 g
- Fiber: 5.9 g
- Protein: 39.5 g
- Cholesterol: 89.4 mg
I have used many kinds! Plain rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, as well as flour blends - as long as they contain a large amount of starch. Starchy flour will stick to the beef better, and thicken the stew better.
In our family we hate onions! Shallots are the closest we get to onions. But if you are tolerant of those yucky vegetables, feel free to take out some of the celery and the shallots and replace it with onions (if you like that sort of thing).
Thin slices of mushrooms will get kind of lost in the other chunky and hearty pieces in this stew. I really recommend using halves or quarters of mushrooms. And if anyone doesn’t care for mushrooms, it will be easier for them to avoid them when they serve themselves 🙂
I like to use avocado oil, since it has a high smoking point (so it won’t burn), and a mild flavor. But most kinds of oil will work here, except olive oil.
Yes, definitely! I used sirloin to keep the calories lower, but a chuck roast is really tasty. Just remember that it will add quite a lot of calories to the dish.
No, actually! You can cook this in a large pot on the stove, it will just take longer. Brown the shallots, garlic, and beef in oil on medium heat. Once you get to the step of adding all the vegetables and canned goods, bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes to an hour or more for even better flavor. Then take off the heat.
I use it for this recipe, but you don't have to. Using the Meat/Stew setting will set the pressure cook time to 35 minutes if you choose the “Normal” setting. You'll get the same result if you press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the cook time to 35 minutes
Absolutely, I do this all the time! Here's how: In a pot on the stove or in a Ninja Foodie Multi-Cooker (recommended because you can sear or brown foods), brown the shallots, garlic, and beef in a little oil. Add all other ingredients to your slow cooker or multi-cooker, and heat on the low setting for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours, or until the beef is tender.
You know what goes great with Beef stew? Biscuits. Or cornbread. And if you’re gluten free, I can help you with that! Check out my FREE ebook, Gluten Free Baking for Beginners where you’ll find recipes for biscuits, cornbread, flat bread, and 3 recipes for my favorite gluten free flour blends. You can find that right here.
