Instant Pot Beef Stew is easy to make for a weeknight or weekend dinner. This pressure cooker beef stew recipe has carrots, potatoes, and the most tender beef. It's a family-friendly recipe that's wonderful when you're doing a Whole30 or when you're not.
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Like so many other people last fall, I wound up snagging an Instant Pot during the Black Friday sales and the FIRST recipe I perfected was this Instant Pot Beef Stew. Even better? I made it Whole30! So if you’re doing a Whole30, this is a super-easy recipe to make! And it's delicious even if you're not doing one.
There is something about beef stews that are so comforting. But it can be hard to get the meat fall-apart tender. Luckily, with this pressure cooker beef stew, the pressure of the Instant Pot does all the work for you, making the meat so tender and the veggies cooked to perfection. The flavor intensifies, leaving for a super-hearty stew.
Most of the work with this recipe goes into prepping the ingredients. But once you have everything cut up, the rest is a breeze! I even made my one-year old daughter her own dinner while finishing throwing things in the Instant Pot for the beef stew. Multitasking at its finest.
Ingredients:
- Beef chuck roast or other stew meat
- Carrots
- Onion
- Small baby potatoes
- Olive oil
- Tomato sauce (Whole30-compliant)
- Beef stock (Whole30-compliant)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Celery salt
- Dried thyme
- Cornstarch (if not doing a Whole30) or arrowroot powder (if doing a Whole30)
- Water
- Fresh parsley
Tips for making the stew
- If doing a Whole30, be sure to use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch in the pressure cooker beef stew. You’ll also want to make sure to use compliant tomato sauce and beef stock.
- Do not skip the deglazing step! This is an important step to make sure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of your Instant Pot. (Otherwise you may get the dreaded burn warning).
- Once you start the MANUAL mode for 35 minutes, it will take 10 minutes or so for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Once it reaches pressure, then it will start counting down from the 35 minutes and start cooking.
- This recipe serves 4-5 no problem, but if you'd like to make it go a bit further and serve more people with smaller portions, you can pair it with a side of bread (if not doing a Whole30), or a side salad.
Where can you find arrowroot?
So arrowroot sounds like a super-fancy, hard-to-find ingredient. But many grocery stores carry it! You can check your Walmart, Whole Foods, HEB (for you Texas folks!), or Target to find it. If you're trying to order online, it's easy to find at Amazon!
Other Instant Pot recipes we love:
- Instant Pot Parmesan Risotto (a reader favorite!)
- Instant Pot Chicken Risotto
- Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Hoisin Ribs (fall off the bone!)
- Instant Pot Chili (with a secret ingredient!)
Other Whole30 recipes we love:
- Whole30 Bolognese Sauce with Spaghetti Squash
- Whole30 Salmon in Parchment Paper (made in a parchment heart!)
- Whole30 Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
Recipe adapted from Well Plated
Instant Pot Beef Stew (Whole30)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chuck roast
- 6-7 large carrots
- 1 onion
- 10-15 small baby potatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 ½ cups beef stock
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- ½ cup water
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into stew-sized chunks. Peel and cut the carrots into chunks. Dice the onion. Chop the baby potatoes into stew-sized chunks.
- Turn on the Instant Pot into Saute mode. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and let warm up. Add the beef chunks and cook until all sides are browned. Remove the beef and set aside.
- Add the other 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the diced onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add ½ cup of beef stock to deglaze the pot, making sure to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the instant pot.
- Add the rest of the beef stock (2 cups) and the tomato sauce to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Add the beef, carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper, celery salt, and dried thyme to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, make sure the lid is set to sealing, and set to MANUAL mode. Set the time for 35 minutes. Once Instant Pot is done, let sit for 10 minutes, then Quick Release the steam.
- Combine the cornstarch or arrowroot with ½ cup water to make a slurry. Add to the stew and let sit for 3-5 minutes to thicken.
- Chop the parsley. Plate the stew, then sprinkle the parsley over the top.
Notes
- If doing a Whole30, be sure to use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. You’ll also want to make sure to use compliant tomato sauce and beef stock.
- Do not skip the deglazing step! This is an important step to make sure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of your Instant Pot. (Otherwise you may get the burn warning).
- Once you start the MANUAL mode for 35 minutes, it will take 10 minutes or so for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Once it reaches pressure, then it will start counting down from the 35 minutes and start cooking.
- This recipe serves 4-5 no problem, but if you’d like to make it go a bit further and serve more people with smaller portions, you can pair it with a side of bread (if not doing a Whole30), or a side salad.
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