“Hey Jeffrey – where’s your recipe for Beef Stew?!” Well, after four years of starting Pressure Luck, it was time to give you what you asked for. The tastiest, tenderest beef stew suitable for any occasion.
If you thought the best way to make this dish was in a slow cooker, the Instant Pot will make you re-think that. You’ll have this done in a fraction of the time with even richer flavor, making this beef stew one of the easiest and tastiest things you’ll achieve. This classic, hearty dinner is a now newfound winner.
(NOTE: Your face may look like this when done because you’ll be confused at how you made something so outrageously delicious, comforting and wonderful with little effort.)
Instant Pot Best Beef Stew
Yield: 8
Instant Pot Best Beef Stew
"Hey Jeffrey - where's your recipe for Beef Stew?!" Well, after four years of starting Pressure Luck, it was time to give you what you asked for. The tastiest, tenderest beef stew suitable for any occasion.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Additional Time
15 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast (nice and marbled), sliced into 1-inch chunks bite-sized chunks or beef stew meat
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced with leafy tops reserved
- 8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dry red wine (like a pinot noir)
- 4 cups beef broth (I use low-sodium, and if not using the wine add 5 cups instead)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 16-ounce bag baby carrots, halved
- 1 pound baby red and/or white potatoes, rinsed, skin-on and halved
- 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 ounce packet Au Jus or beefy onion dip mix (optional)
Instructions
- Add the meat to a large bowl and add the garlic salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix by hand until well-coated and set aside.
- Add the oil to the Instant Pot, hit and Sauté and Adjust so it's on the more or high setting. After 3 minutes of heating, add the onion, celery and mushrooms (if using) and sauté for 3 minutes until slightly softened. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and scrape up any browned bits and let simmer with the veggies for 1 minute.
- Add the seasoned meat and sauté, stirring often for about 3 minutes until the edges are just lightly browned.
- Add the flour and stir until everything is coated.
- Add the wine, broth, rosemary, thyme and brown sugar. Stir well. Top with the bay leaves, carrots and potatoes, but do not stir them in. Just rest them on top of everything in the pot.
- Secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position, hit Keep Warm/Cancel followed by Manual or Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes (NOTE: Due to the volume in the pot, it will take about 15-20 minutes for this to come to pressure). When done, allow a 10-minute natural release followed by a quick release.
- Add in the tomato paste, leafy celery tops and seasoning packet (if using). Stir well and let rest for 10 minutes. As it cools down a bit, it will thicken into the perfect consistency and allow the flavors to really come together.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with some crusty French or garlic bread.
Jeffrey's Tips
Got leftovers? As with most stews, as the flavors cool and meld when chilled in the fridge, it will taste even more vibrant once reheated.
If you want this to be Keto or Paleo, leave out the brown sugar, potatoes and use quinoa or coconut flour instead of all-purpose. Using those flours will also make it gluten-free.
For less sodium, use low-sodium broth, salt-free tomato paste and leave out the au jus mix.
Judy Pollatta
Hi! I love your recipes! Just wondering why you add the tomatoes paste at the end.
Jeffrey
Thank you! I add at the end so it thickens the stew even more and gives it a bit more of a prominent tomato punch.
Fat Daddy
Gotta tell ya…. Made this tonight and it was a 5 star smash hit! Be made about 4-5 dishes from a book I purchased and not one of them disappointed. The Beef Stroganoff was the trophy winner…. Bar none the best of the bunch 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Jeffrey
So glad you enjoyed it!
Timothy Hoffman
I made this tonight, it is outstanding. Another great recipe for your 3rd book!
Mike
Try some finely diced shallot along with the onions.
WENDY
Don’t FORGET the Bay Leaves if you want it to TASTE like a Roast ! 🙂
Lynn
Can’t wait to try this beef stew. It looks like a big bowl of comfort and with the ingredients very flavorful.
I made you Pozole last night and it was the best. The meat was tender and the dish was so rich with flavors as well.
Thank you for such wonderful, flavorful recipes, step by step instructions and pictures and your videos.
Kathy
How did you make the cheese bread?
Jan
https://pressureluckcooking.com/the-best-garlic-bread
Jacki
I don’t have garlic salt. Should I put in 1 tsp of salt instead?
Kris
You can make garlic salt by using 3 parts salt to 1 part garlic powder.
Ann-Marie
I made this for the first time last night. In a word….AWESOME! It was very flavourful and the meat was incredibly tender. I am now replacing my crockpot recipe with this one.
I have made multiple recipes from Jeffery’s first book, can’t wait for the new one to be released :-), as well as from this website. To date all have been a success with several being added to our regular dinner rotation. Some of our favorites include Sticky Nashville Hot Chicken and Rice, Mushroom Risotto, Spicy Sausage and Lemon Linguini and now Beef Stew.
Jeffery, please keep up the great work on creating delicious IP recipes for us to enjoy. God bless you, Richard and Banjo too!
Jody
Wait what??? What is sticky Nashville hot chicken? Please please share
Kathe Handlin
Can you use whole carrots and just cube up peeled potatoes as that is what I have on hand? Also is there a substitute for the tomato paste?
K cotton
I made it tonight with regular carrots cut chunky and Idaho potatoes cut chunky and they were perfect. It was delicious
Robin
ketchup subs for tomato paste in a pinch.
Jack
Hi, Jeffrey:
Your recipes are great, especially your chicken and dumplings. I’m curious as to why you always use extra virgin olive oil for cooking. I was always taught to use regular olive oil for cooking and extra virgin for finishing since heat basically converts EV into regular olive oil. Is there something I don’t know? Thanks, Jack
Leigh-Anne
https://www.aboutoliveoil.org/is-it-safe-to-cook-with-extra-virgin-olive-oil?hs_amp=true
This might answer your question. Sounds like you were taught the myth bout EVOO
Sara
Oh my word! I made this stew for dinner tonight. It is fabulous! Perfectly seasoned and the beef is so tender! Thank you Jeffrey, for yet another great meal for my family to enjoy!
Steve
I really enjoy your videos, but this one had embedded adds I could not skip interrupting it. That is a sure recipe for me to stop watching and to quit watching in the future. I understand the need to have ads, but put them all at the beginning. Thanks.
maribeth
Just go to the Jump to Recipe button at the beginning of every @PressureLuckCooking recipe.
Maggie
This is my first time using my instant pot and altho’ the stew smells awesome, I forgot to put in the flour after saute, can I just thicken it with cornflour or gravy mix … ( actually, cornflour is all I have atm 🙁 )
I’m in Australia, is cornstarch just a different name for cornflour? and is potato starch same as our Deb instant mash, maybe I could use Deb at the end instead?
Sorry, but this is IP is new to me and I’m not a kitchen whiz.
Brenda
Maggie,
Cornstarch is what we use to thicken soup and gravy and other sauces. It is white and a very fine consistency. Flours are usually used more towards the beginning of a sauce or base, like when making an alfredo sauce, or this stew.
How did it work out for you?
Stephanie
This recipe was amazing! The meat just melted and it is definitely a new favorite!
Jeffrey
So glad to hear it!
Erika Marin
For anyone else who might have a “BURN” notification pop up on their Instapot… just finish cooking in a Dutch oven covered at 325 degrees for 1 hour – 3 hours and 30 minutes depending on how far you got along in your instapot. I had to restart my instapot and clean it out, then restart and I had the same “BURN” notification. Figured I’d save someone the headache of having to look it up.
Jeanette
Usually, if you follow his directions exactly, this can be avoided. It does occasionally happen anyway.
Shelly Cain
I have made this twice! It’s absolutely delicious!
Shallene Stephenson
Amazing flavor!! This is a fantastic recipe!
Cathy Larsen
Beyond delicious Jeff!!!! We are so in love with your recipes but gaining weight lol. Need the lite recipe book. Lol. Thank you so much. Keep up the great work.
Cynthia Hicks
YEAH- I used fingerling potatoes instead. This stew is really rich and tasty. And the smell is FABBIE!!!
Maggie
Well, I used a bit of Deb ( instant mash ) and it turned out amazing … thank you so much for making your recipes so easy to follow in your book, I’m in Australia and have to google measurement conversions a lot but have got the hang of it now and made your butter chicken which is another first for me.
I can cook!!
Steve
I have a brisket in the freezer. Could I use that instead of chuck? Which would be better, the point or the flat?
Ayianna
Hello,
I’d like to use a crock pot. How would I tweak the recipe?
Gloria
Don’t the potatoes and carrots go “mushy” if you put them in the pot in the beginning?
Jeffrey
Follow the recipe for perfect results
Jeanette
I had wondered the same.
Deanna
If I want to use 1 1/2# beef, do I simply reduce the ingredients in 1/2? Will the recipe work as well that way?
Sharon
This is the first pressure luck recipe that I tried. I was so impressed at how good it was. Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Tabitha
This is the 4th or 5th Jeffrey recipe I’ve made and it didn’t disappoint. It’s delicious! The meat is fall apart tender. The sauce is so rich and flavorful. My husband said it’s the next beef stew he’s ever had and his mother used to make it regularly before we married. Thank you Jeffrey for re-energizing my love for my Instantpot! Your recipes and videos have been a lot of fun to watch and even better to eat!
Pat Franzen
Everything was cooked properly, meat tender, veggies cooked through & not mushy. However, the finished stew was incredibly salty. I only used recipe ingredients and I’m stumped. Any guesses?
Phyllis
Could you have grabbed the garlic salt instead of powder? I’ve done that before
Adelheid
Late to this but the beefy onion soup mix is incredibly salty. That might have contributed.
Diane Haines
Didn’t work for me with an entire can of tomato paste. Next time I’ll leave out the entire can. I’ve never had tomatoey beef stew before.
Conrad
Recipe is excellent. I always laugh though at the total time to prepare these recipes. One hour? Yeah right! It took more than two hours from start to finish. And that was without one pause.
Kathy
YES! I was just going to say the same thing! 15 minutes prep time if you have a team of kitchen minions doing all the gathering, scrubbing, chopping … Worth the effort but don’t plan on making this quick after a long day at work!
Anna
This sounds as good as all your other recipes, your Linguine with White Clam Sauce, OMG! Only thing I’m wondering, being an old fashioned stove top cook, is the meat just as good not being browned first?
Jani
Can I make this with 4lbs instead of 3? Does it change cook time or anything else in the recipe ?
Manuel Salazar
Is this recipe for a 6 quart or 8 quart cooker?
Ash
Absolutely delicious. Just made it and having it now for lunch. Jeffrey, you are a godsend for the instant pot.
Marianne
Just made this recipe and it was delicious!
Meg
I’ve made lots of your recipes before and love them all! I tried this one tonight and the whole family agreed it was amazing! Thank you for sharing this. I have two of your cookbooks and am looking forward to the third one. By the way, I didn’t have rosemary and I’m glad I left it out. 😋
Linda B
I made this and it turned out fantastic it is one flavorful beef stew! I made it in the pampered chef quick cooker. Deliciousness!!
Kristina
Made this tonight… it turned out MANIFICO (kissing fingers-muah!) As your recipes usually do. I left out the vino & tossed in a handful of fresh green beans for good measure. The meat was sooo tender it just falls apart when you bite into it. It was absolutely perfect. Thank you Jeffrey for all that you do in making these super tasty recipes.
Dawn
The green beans didn’t get mushy? I’ve been searching for a comment about this because I want to add them but wondering if I need to add them half way through cooking.
Melissa
What does the wine flavor add to the recipe?
Cher Sym
Awww Jeff you are amazing ! My kids and husband think I should enter masterchef and it’s all because of your recipes ! They’ve made my cooking taste sublime I thank you !
Alicia Boothe
This recipe is a keeper! I followed it as written with a couple of exceptions. I didn’t add mushrooms (crazy family won’t eat that fungus…lol)! I ran out of Rosemary, Thyme, and Bay Leaves from Christmas dinner (face palm!), so I just substituted 1 1/2 tsps Italian seasoning. I topped it off with old school Bisquick dumplings. Simply delicious!
Jodi
Made this tonight started to finish it took an hour 15 mins
Delicious today ( had to taste a bowl )
Will be over the top
Tomorrow with Texas Garlic Bread
I have never made a Jeffery recipe that we haven’t not loved
Thank you sir
Heather
This is absolutely the BEST recipe! We have been fans of pressure luck cooking for years now and I have purchased his cookbooks for everyone in my circle but this is hands down one of my favorite recipes! Wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you Jeffrey!!
Lani
Best stew I’ve ever made. Next time I need to add more meat for the hubby but otherwise it was excellent
Pamela Lisdahl
I made this tonight. Absolutely delicious. I had 2 shank soup bones and some stew meat. I browned the bones, removed, and then went on with the veggies, and seasoned meat. I also substituted a gluten free gravy mix instead of the flour. Gave it a great flavor. The hubby approves.
Joni
I don’t have the Worcestershire sauce would it be okay to omit it?
Jeffrey
Sure
Lisa
Made this tonight. Even with hubby doing some chopping, it still took over an hour to prep. However, the end result is so good. We will have this again and again. Thanks for this great recipe
Cathy
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! Adjusted a few ingredients to our taste. But was amazing and we will be having this again soon!
Thank you for a great recipe Jeffrey 🙂
Joy Hudson
Is this recipe for 6 or 8 quart
Jeffrey
Either
Candy
Instead of the wine and I use can tomatoes.
Candy
My instant pot has a button for stew do I use that or the pressure button
Jenny
I made this last night after work! Start to finish was two hours so prepping all ahead would work beautifully. I have made oven stews that roasted for hours and the beef in this is far more tender! And the broth is absolutely heavenly! Veggies cooked perfectly. This is a WIN! Thank you so much Jeffrey! Will be trying more recipes!!!!
Cynthia
I can NOT wait to try this one. If it’s half as good as your pot roast recipe, I will be thrilled. Thank you, Jeffrey!
Jennifer
This is the first recipe of yours that I’ve tried. It was a delicious winner all around! I made it for my family when I had my dad over. They all loooved it and my widower dad said it was something my mom would have made, so sweet. I have made beef stew before but I finally have a keeper recipe. I even made a trip to Costco to get the chuck and the meat turned out so tender! Thanks for the tip. The only change I made is to add just two tablespoons of tomato paste which suited our tastes. I might cut back on the broth a little next time because I had a lot of gravy left in the pot after we enjoyed all the meat and veggies. Thank you so much, I’m a fan. Trying Chicken and Dumplings next (it’s a cold and foggy July in San Francisco).
Jeffrey
What a fabulous review! Thanks, Jennifer!
Cassie
I just made this today. So very good! I’ll be honest… I didn’t measure anything and I didn’t have any celery. It still turned out fantastic. A little twangy and a tiny bit sweet. I like that it’s not your average stew. Thanks!
Mary Ann McNeil
Hi Jeffrey, This comment is about The Simple Comfort cook book, not the recipe. I saw this recipe and went to my book to see if it is in there. I discovered that from page 60 through to almost the end of the book, the pages are all mixed up. Some are cropped so that the page numbers are either entirely cut off or cut off enough that you can tell what they should be. Any suggestions as to what to do with this? p.s. I love your books and am eagerly awaiting the next one.
Jeffrey
Sounds like you got a defective book. Just return it to the retailer and I’m sure they’ll Give you a new one!
Powell
Love this recipe and make it often! I’m going to try it with a venison roast I have in the freezer.
Amos Heath
I made this tonight. Best Beef Stew I’ve ever made. I’ve had success with all your recipes I’ve tried. Wish I could send a Pic. Thanks for your work.
T. Scheitlin
I tried this recipe last night and it was delicious, although a bit too salty, in my opinion. I highly recommend using the low-sodium broth and leaving out the au jus mix as suggested in the recipe notes. I figure you can always add a little more salt later if you think it needs it. Bottom line: it’s a delicious and savory dish!
Becky Wicks
I made this last night and my boyfriend went back for thirds!! Silly me thinking I’d have leftovers to freeze, it was just that good. My friend said it was restaurant quality. Followed your recipe exactly, the only difference was I added a tablespoon of Guinness paste, which is available in the UK. The flavours were all so deep, I was blown away! Unfortunately I did coat my kitchen wall when I released the valve after 10 mins natural release, not sure what happened there, but it didn’t affect the flavours 😉
Thanks so much, I can’t. wait to make all your recipes this fall and winter.
Jeffrey
This is so wonderful to read!
Vicki
Jeffrey, we love your recipes and can’t wait to try this one. My big question is – we have a tomato allergy, do you have a thought on a substitution for it?
Brenda
jeffrey,I would like to thank you so much for this step by step to this delicious beef stew made it exactly as you said not salty at all sooo good
Edward
I love this receipe….I’ve been making this regularly for the past year. Best homemade beef stew ever!
Jeffrey- what is the calorie count for one serving?
Robin Kaspar
I have a 6qt pot, we forgot to check the max level before cooking but my husband believes it was right at the line. I made it exactly per the recipe but it overflowed during the quick release. What a mess! The stew tastes great and the meat was oh so tender. So when I make it again, I’ll remove some of the liquid to bring it below the max level, if necessary, and let it natural release longer than 10 minutes, maybe 20. And I’ll add a teaspoon of salt.
shelly mortimer
I’m going to use this recipe for my guiness stew this weekend. I disagree with baby carrots though so I’ll use whole carrots. When they make baby carrots they grate off all of the goodness and you’re left with mostly the bitter core, yuk. I like what you did with the tomato paste can but maybe even better I cut off both lids and leave one on and use it to push through, scraping the can perfectly clean! Thanks for all of your great recipes!
Linda schaner
this was absolutely delicious! only change I made was after ci added the tomato paste I also added a can of green beans and peas. trying to get more veggies in the diet. 4 people and almost not enough left overs to save. I could drink the broth!
Rob
I made this faithfully to the recipe and was not disappointed at all. Absolutely phenomenal! Best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth! Thank you for making me look like a next level chef!
Lisa
This has ruined me for any other beef stew preparation. I can’t believe how tender everything was!
Jeffrey
Woohoo!
Suzi
Hi Jeff
Just made your Beef Stew in instant pot
Jeffrey
Yay!
Karl Chesser
Have you ever tried making this with dumplings? Thinking about making this recipe but making dumplings from your chicken and dumplings recipe, I’m guessing I would have to add probly a additional cup of broth and maby a little less of tomato paste
Anna
Just in case anyone is going old school and using a stove top pressure cooker, follow the directions up until pressure cooking. Close the lid, keep heat on high until full pressure is achieved, then turn heat to medium or medium low to avoid burning without reducing the pressure. Count the cook time (20 minutes) from the time your pot reaches high pressure, then turn stove off, let sit for 10 minutes, then lift the valve to release. Flavors are incredible. Definitely a fan of the spice combination here. Will see how it goes over with everyone!
Lawrence E Barnett
HI, I just made your beef stew recipe and it turned out delicious. I have one question. I used a 6 quart Instant Pot and followed the recipe directions and amounts exactly. When I did the pressure relief at the end of the natural release time, gravy came shooting out of the pressure release valve. It shot everywhere like a volcano. Can you tell me what I did wrong? Was I supposed to use an 8 quart Instant Pot?
Deb
Jeff what brand of wine is your go to for pot roast and/or your Beef Stew. I know you tell us the type –but I am curious the brand you use.
Jeffrey
Either a cheap Pinot Noir or Cabernet.
Linda
BEST BEEF STEW I HAVE EVER MADE AND I AM 77! Thank you for another great recipe!
Jeffrey
Now THAT’S a compliment! Thank you!
Glen
You don’t remove the bay leaves?
Jeffrey
I mean you can. Just fish them out 😉