Instant Pot Beef Stew (With A Secret Ingredient)

Overhead shot of a big white bowl with beef stew with potatoes, carrots, celery, and parsley. A green napkin is next to the bowl.

Instant Pot Beef Stew (With A Secret Ingredient)

This Instant Pot Beef Stew (With A Secret Ingredient) is the BEST beef stew with fork-tender beef, potatoes, and vegetables in a rich, savory gravy that is ready in about an hour.

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine American

Keyword Beef Stew, Best Beef Stew, Best Instant Pot Beef Stew, Instant Pot Beef Stew

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 661kcal

Author Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

Equipment

6-Quart Instant Pot Duo60 from Amazon.com (affiliate link)

Ingredients

2 pounds stew meat or chuck roast , cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon oil
2 medium russet potatoes , cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large onion , chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 stalks celery , chopped
2 cups carrots , chopped
1 cups red wine
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
1/4 cup Chili Sauce (A Tomato-Based Chili Sauce like Heinz)
2-1/2 cups beef broth (Recommend using low-sodium version)
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro , chopped

Instructions

Cut the beef into about 1-inch bite-size pieces or use pre-cut stew meat.
Chop the potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery. This can be done the day before if desired.
Press the Sauté button. Wait until "Hot" appears on the front of the Instant Pot. Then add oil to the inner liner pot within the Instant Pot.
When the oil starts to sizzle, add the stew meat. Let it brown for a couple of minutes. Then turn the meat so it browns on all sides. Don't cook it all the way through. The goal is to just brown the outside of the meat.
Add the chopped onion and garlic to cook. Add additional oil, if needed. Cook until the onions are translucent.
Deglaze the pan by pouring in the wine. Scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. That adds flavor to the sauce and helps to prevent getting the "Burn" warning on the Instant Pot.
Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery.
Add the beef broth, Worcestershire, and chili sauce, followed by salt and pepper as well as Italian Seasoning.
Pressure cook the beef stew with high pressure for about 35 minutes.
Release the steam naturally for about 15 - 20 minutes. This time can vary.
If the gravy is too thin, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and stir into the beef stew while it is hot.
Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Video

Notes

How To Thicken Beef Stew Gravy

If the gravy is too thin, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and stir into the beef stew while it is hot.

Tips For Perfect Instant Pot Beef Stew

Use Chuck Roast or Stew Meat. This cut has more fat and adds more flavor.
Cut the meat and vegetables to be approximately the same size. This will allow everything to cook more evenly.
Sauté the beef to brown it before starting to cook. This sears the beef and gives it so much more complex flavor. The Instant Pot makes this easy because it has a sauté setting so that you can brown the meat in the Instant Pot before you start pressuring cooking the beef stew.
Chop vegetables ahead of time. Save time and stress by chopping your vegetables ahead of time, such as the night before. Store in air-tight containers and refrigerate until ready to use.
Deglaze the pot with red wine to ensure that get all the brown bits off the bottom from the beef because those add flavor, as does the red wine.
Use Cornstarch mixed in cold water to add to the beef stew to thicken the beef gravy, if necessary.

Nutrition