Once you start “insta potting” you never look back! Instant Pot Beef Stew is one of the most tender, delicious, quick, and easy ways to make a beef stew recipe! Cooks in less an hour, less than 350 calories per serving and 21 carbohydrates! This easy stew packs on satisfying flavor with chunks of carrots, celery, potatoes and fire-roasted tomatoes!
Why this pressure cooker beef stew recipe works
- this stew is easy-peasy – Simply chop the vegetables and chuck meat in proper sizes then sauté a few vegetables in the Insta Pot so it pulls out extra flavor, then dump the rest of the ingredient, wait 45 minutes and eat! Most beef stew recipes take hours to simmer, but not this one and you still get tender chunks of meat.
- a great way to get a balanced meal – this is full of vitamins, minerals and healing broth. It is made up of vegetables and chuck meat.
- grain-free + dairy-free + gluten-free – this is a healthy stew recipe under 350 calories per serving, 21 carbohydrates and caters to most diets!
What ingredients go into beef stew
- The vegetables and oil – this beef stew is made of onion, garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes, and fire roasted tomatoes. You can also use a can of regular diced tomatoes but the fire roasted tomatoes adds more robust flavor.
- Red meat – beef stew is typically cooked for long amounts of time and uses a fattier meat like a chuck roast. The longer the chuck roast meat cooks, the more tender it becomes.
- Broth and flavor– this recipe uses either low sodium beef broth or chicken broth, as it is best to add any additional salt to taste after it is cooked to decrease your intake. A splash of red wine vinegar, fresh thyme, bay leaf, parsley, salt and pepper are added to the dish along with flour to help thicken the stew.
How to make beef stew in the instant pot
Turn the Instant Pot to the “Sauté” setting and add the oil, garlic, carrots, onion, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes then add the potatoes.
Then add the broth, vinegar, tomatoes, gluten-free flour (or use cassava flour for grain-free) thyme, bay leaf and mix the ingredients together. Cover and close the lid and turn the Instant Pot setting to “Meat/Stew” which will make the time 45 minutes.
When the cooking ends, check the floating valve before opening the lid. If the valve hasn’t dropped, then there’s still pressure inside and it needs to be released. Turn the venting knob that is on the top of the lid before opening.
Season with salt and pepper to taste then serve the beef stew with fresh parsley on top! We had leftovers and my husband said the stew is even better the next day and proceeded to rave that this is one of his favorite dinner recipes!
FAQs and Expert Tips
First sauté any garlic and onion or other vegetables for maximum flavor, or simply add all of the ingredients into the Instant Pot. Then turn the setting onto “Meat/Stew”. If you do not have that setting, turn the setting to “Stew” or set the time for 45 minutes.
Lean meats like a sirloin take less time to cook or they become tough. Chuck roast in beef stew becomes more tender as it cooks. Cook beef cubes for 45 minutes if used as a stew. If you want to brown meat, turn the setting to sauté and cook in oil for 3-4 minutes per side.
Supplement 1 cup of broth for water – although the beef stew is more flavorful using broth.
Traditionally flour is used to thicken beef stew. Start with 2 tablespoons of flour and mix in before it starts cooking, then you can add more to thicken the stew if needed at the end. For a gluten-free diet add gluten-free flour and for a grain-free meal you can use cassava flour.
Alternatively you can make this a slow cooker stew recipe by changing the setting slow cooker or cook on low for 4 hours.
The longer fatty meats like chuck roast cook the more tender they become. Although, cooking for too long can over-cook the meat.
Beef can be healthy if made from a safe sustainable source. I get ours from Butcher Box which has hormone-free, no antibiotics, grass-fed and finished meats, which you can check out my review about it here.
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Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 cups carrots peeled and sliced into thick rounds
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup celery ribs chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium Yukon potato peeled and chopped into large dices
- 3 cups low sodium beef broth or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 pound chuck roast cut into bite-size cubes about 1-inch
- 1 14.5 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes preferably low sodium
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour or cassava flour
- 1 teaspoon thyme fresh, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons parsley fresh, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot setting to sauté. Add the oil, carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes. (Can also skip this step and just add everything to the Instant Pot and cook on "Meat/Stew" setting for 45 minutes.)
- Add the potatoes, broth, vinegar, beef, tomatoes, flour, thyme and bay leaf and stir everything together.
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot and turn the setting to "Meat/Stew" which will set the timer for 45 minutes.
- When the cooking ends, check the floating valve before opening the lid. If the valve hasn’t dropped, then there’s still pressure inside and it needs to be released. Turn the venting knob that is on the top of the lid before opening. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
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