Instant Pot Beef Stew

I’m still craving these hearty type dishes, even though it’s weirdly not very cold here in NC. We are just LOVING our instant pot. I never thought I’d love (and slightly fear) a pressure cooker so much, but it really makes delicious things, especially meat, and cuts the time down significantly. Pulled pork in an hour?! Stew in 45, broths and soups are rich and full of depth. Literally the only convenience appliance I actually regularly use!

Here’s my recipe for beef stew made in an instant pot/pressure cooker.

What you need:
(serves 4)

2 lbs stew beef or chuck, cut into 1″ cubes
2 carrots (1 cup) diced
2 celery stalks (1 cup) diced
1 large onion (1.5 cups) diced
1-2 russet potatoes (1.5 cups) cubed
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 – 2 cups beef stock (less for thicker broth)
2 tbsp fresh herbs – I used rosemary and thyme
1 dried bay leaf
salt and pepper
handful fresh parsley, minced

Set your instant pot to the sautee mode and prepare the beef. In a large bowl, liberally season beef with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornstarch and toss to coat.
Place canola oil into instant pot and begin browning beef on all sides. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just to get some colour/flavour in there. I did this 2 batches. Remove beef and set aside.
Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic and potato. Sautee for a minute or two just to remove the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Return beef. Add beef stock, fresh herbs and bay leaf. (if you used low or no sodium stock, add 1 tsp salt and pepper) Stir to distribute.
Place lid on instant pot, make sure valve is set to “sealing”. Set on high pressure for 45 minutes.
Once cooking has finished, let it naturally vent for at least 10 minutes. Release steam valve. Gently stir in fresh parsley and serve!

This will thicken a bunch once it cools, if you wish for an even thicker broth, use slightly less liquid.

Enjoy!

If you wish you can absolutely make this in a slow cooker, skip the browning (or do it on the stove ahead of time) then just put it on the high setting for about 8 hours.