Instant Pot Beef Stew

Yumna Jawad

Updated Nov 23, 2025

5 from 24 votes

Easy Instant Pot beef stew with melt-in-your-mouth beef, sun-dried tomatoes (my secret ingredient), carrots, and potatoes, ready in under 2 hours!

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings
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Instant Pot Beef Stew.
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Making Beef Stew in the instant Pot is easy!

For those days when you’re craving a hearty comfort food meal, it doesn’t get any better than this Instant Pot Beef Stew. While I do love my Easy Oven Beef Stew and Stovetop Beef Stew, this Instant Pot beef stew recipe is a bit more hands-off. There’s no standing over the stovetop to stir, so everything cooks evenly. Plus, the high-pressure of the Instant Pot does a fantastic job tenderizing tough stew meat and developing flavor, without the long wait required for a slow cooker. 

Happy Cooking!
– Yumna

Instant Pot Beef Stew Ingredients

Ingredients for recipe: fresh thyme, frozen peas, oil, beef stew meat, beef broth, carrots, celery, onion, flour, seasonings, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and potatoes.
  • Olive Oil: Or any neutral-flavored oil you like to use for cooking.
  • All-Purpose Flour: Use to coat the beef to help browning. If you are gluten-free, you could use cornstarch instead.
  • Beef Stew Meat: Look for chuck or shoulder cuts.
  • Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Celery and Potatoes: These are classics for beef stew. Any type of onion works. You can swap the celery for fresh fennel, if you prefer. As for the potatoes, I like baby potatoes for ease, but you could use any type of potato. If they are large, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
  • Fresh Thyme: You’ll have some extra if you buy a package at the grocery store; here’s how to freeze fresh herbs.
  • Tomato Paste,Worcestershire Sauce and Sun-Dried Tomatoes These are the secret ingredients for lots of slow-cooked flavor. The sun-dried tomatoes are not essential, but I really think they give the stew that concentrated flavor like it’s been braising all day.
  • Low-Sodium Beef Stock: Since this stew will reduce, use a low-sodium stock or broth so you can control the seasoning.
  • Cornstarch: Or swap for potato starch or arrowroot powder, if desired.
  • Frozen Peas: Totally optional, but I like adding these at the end for color, sweetness and freshness. I think frozen peas work best in this dish. Or swap for your green vegetable of choice. Green beans, baby spinach, or chopped kale would all work well. Just simmer until your vegetable of choice is bright green and tender.

How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew

Flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl with beef added.
Step 1: Place the beef in a shallow dish or bowl with the flour, salt, and pepper.
Hand tossing beef in flour to evenly coat.
Step 2: Toss to coat, making sure all sides are evenly coated in the flour mixture.
Beef added to Instant Pot, partially browned.
Step 3: Sauté the beef in the oil until browned on all sides. Remove from the pot.
After veggies have softened with thyme, tomato paste, and Worcestershire added.
Step 4: Add the vegetables to the pot with the remaining salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables start to soften. Stir in the thyme, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, and cook for a minute.
Beef broth, sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, and reserved beef added.
Step 5: Pour in the beef stock and scrape off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, baby potatoes, and reserved beef.
After pressure released with a ladle removing some of the liquid.
Step 6: Cook on manual high pressure, then let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually, then return the pot to the Sauté function. Remove some of the cooking liquid and transfer it to a small bowl. 
Pouring cornstarch slurry made with broth back into pot.
Step7: Whisk the cornstarch into the bowl of broth. Once the stew reaches a boil, add the cornstarch mixture back into the pot and cook until thickened.
Peas stirred in.
Step 8: Stir in the peas and cook for another few minutes or until bright green and tender. Hit Cancel on the Instant Pot, then let the beef stew cool slightly before serving.
Ladle scooping up a serving of beef stew from Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Author: Yumna Jawad
5 from 24 votes
Instant Pot beef stew made with beef stew meat, potatoes, carrots, and peas in a rich broth, pressure-cooked for deep flavor in no time.
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Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Servings4 servings
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Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt divided
  • 1 teaspoon pepper divided
  • 1 pound beef stew meat
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 3 carrots peeled and sliced into coins
  • 3 stalks celery sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 cups low-sodium beef stock
  • ¼ cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes drained
  • 1 pound baby potatoes halved
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 ½ cups frozen peas

Instructions

  • Add olive oil to the InstantPot and set to ‘Saute”.
  • In a shallow medium-sized bowl, combine flour, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Add beef, tossing to evenly coat in flour. When the oil is shimmering, add beef and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until brown. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  • Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery to the pot along with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Add the thyme, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for 1 minute. Add the beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any brown bits that have formed. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, baby potatoes, and reserved beef to the pot.
  • Cook at manual high pressure for 30 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually, then return the pot to the “Sauté” function. Remove about ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and set in a small bowl. Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth and combined. Once the stew reaches a boil, add the cornstarch mixture back in and cook for about 2 minutes, or until thickened.
  • Add the peas and cook for another 2 minutes, or until bright green and tender. Hit ‘cancel’ on the InstantPot to stop the cooking, let cool slightly, then serve.

Equipment

Notes

  • My Top Tip: Use the slow natural pressure release. This is key to getting that tough stew meat to become tender and delicious. Your patience will pay off!
  • Storage: Instant Pot Beef Stew can last up to 4 days refrigerated in an airtight container. Reheat it on the stovetop for best results, or in the microwave if that’s your only option.
  • Freezing: You can freeze pressure cooker beef stew for up to 3 months, either in an airtight container or freezer bag. It’s important to note that potatoes don’t freeze very well; their texture will change after freezing and reheating, becoming mushy and grainy. This bothers some people more than others! You can always remove the potatoes before freezing, if needed.
 This recipe makes about 8 cups total.

Nutrition

Calories: 463kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 1163mg, Potassium: 1946mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 8490IU, Vitamin C: 60mg, Calcium: 132mg, Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Did You Make This Recipe?
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Recipe Variations

  • Add mushrooms. Try swapping half—or all—of the potatoes with white or cremini mushrooms. Quarter larger mushrooms and halve the rest; their flavor pairs so well with beef.
  • Go low-carb. If you are tracking carbs, try swapping the potatoes for cauliflower florets instead.
  • Try a Mediterranean twist. In addition to the sun-dried tomatoes, add 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes and ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh oregano in with the thyme, then finish with the zest of one lemon and some fresh parsley. It really wakes up the overall flavor of the stew!

Recipe Tips

  1. Cut the vegetables into evenly sized pieces. This is important for the carrots, celery, and onions, but it’s even more critical for the potatoes. If some of the potatoes are large and others are small, you’ll end up with some potatoes that are hard and raw-tasting while others turn to mush. 
  2. Don’t skip the flour. You may wonder if it’s really necessary to coat the beef in flour before sautéing it, but this is one of those little tricks that makes a good beef stew recipe a great one. The flour and olive oil caramelize on the outside of the beef, which adds a ton of flavor, which is really important in a quick-cooking stew.
  3. Use the slow natural pressure release. This is key to getting that tough stew meat to become tender and delicious. Your patience will pay off!
Instant pot beef stew in a bowl with a spoon dipped in.

Serving Ideas

Two bowls of beef stew next to instant pot.

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Comments

  1. Consuela says:

    This came out so good! Just perfect. I didnโ€™t have Worcester, I used wine instead, and instead of baby potatoes I quartered normal potatoes and added them to the stew after 20 min along with the peas, for another 15 min. We served with couscous and cabbage salad ๐Ÿ‘Œ

    Reply
  2. Evgenia says:

    Delicious winter food โค๏ธ I had a meat with bone so I made it 60 min in a pot, it end up amazingly tender and juicy. Love the combination of taste here, thanks a lot for your amazing recipes.

    Reply
  3. Mary says:

    Thanks Yumna for this recipe. We both enjoyed it especially on these cold winter days. I added 2 tablespoons of flour and water mixture to thicken up and did the trick.

    Reply
  4. Maureen says:

    I do enjoy your recipes, thank you !
    Maureen

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Katie says:

    AMAZING! I didnโ€™t have peas so I left those out.. The stew tasted like one I had in Germany, so I added sauerkraut to my bowl andโ€ฆ wow. SO GOOD! That leveled it up to out-of-this-world good. I will be making this at least once a month for forever now!

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      So happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  6. NIKO HANKERSON says:

    My mom used to make beef stew for dinner around the winter time bring back memories ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      Such a cozy and nostalgic recipe!

      Reply
  7. Angelica says:

    Is there a crockpot version? I’m afraid to use my pressure cooker.

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      You could adapt this for a slow cooker! I would cook the stew through step 4 on the stove top, then transfer everything to the slow cooker. I would recommend cooking it for 4-5 hours if itโ€™s on high setting, or more like 8 hours on a low setting until the beef is tender.

      Reply