This hearty and comforting Instant Pot Beef Stew is made with baby red potatoes, carrots, and onions. It's the perfect dish for a cooler days during autumn and winter. This warm and hearty one-pot meal is full of tender meat, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and celery.

A stoneware bowl filled with beef stew made in the Instant Pot.

Why You'll Love This Instant Pot Beef Stew

Quick and Convenient: The Instant Pot method is much quicker than on the stovetop or in the slow cooker. It produces the same flavorful beef stew in a fraction of the time it takes it to do it using the other methods.
Comfort Food: The combination of tender chunks of beef and tender vegetables creates a hearty stew that is both comforting and has deep flavors.
One-Pot Meal: Everything is done from start to finish for this Instant Pot Stew so cleanup is quick and easy!
Great for Meal Prep: The stew stores well in the refrigerator or freezer, making it ideal for preparing meals in advance. It can even be added to the pressure cooker frozen!

Two bowls of Instant Pot Beef Stew in blue stoneware bowls.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Beef Stew

beef chuck roast, cubed
unsalted butter
baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
white onion, sliced
beef broth, low sodium
Worcestershire sauce
carrots, peeled and cut
salt
dried parsley, plus extra for garnish
dried thyme
black pepper
cornstarch + water (for cornstarch slurry) - the cornstarch slurry helps create a thicker stew.

Two bowls of Instant Pot Beef Stew on red and white linen.

How to Make Beef Stew in the Instant Pot

Pressure cooking beef stew meat produces flavorful tender beef when done correctly. It is important to allow the pressure cooker to naturally release pressure to retain moisture and tenderness.

Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE and add the butter.
Add the cubed chuck roast and brown all sides. Add the chopped carrots and sliced onions.
Press cancel Once all sides of the chuck roast are browned.
Add the beef broth and the Worcestershire sauce, and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pot to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. This will prevent a burn notice from appearing on the Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Add in the cut baby red potatoes, salt, parsley, thyme, and pepper.
Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK for 35 minutes on high pressure.
Allow the pot to do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
Once the 10-minute natural release is over, release the remaining pressure by doing a quick release.
Remove the lid and set the Instant Pot SAUTE.
Mix the cornstarch and water to create a slurry and add it to the pot. Stir the mixture into the stew and allow it to thicken.
Serve and garnish with parsley if desired.
To store, allow the homemade beef stew to cool before storing it in an airtight container.

Overhead photo of beef stew with red potatoes chuck roast and other vegetables.

Tips for Making Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

These tips will help you make the best Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe:

Use Smaller Chunks of Beef: Cut the beef into smaller pieces to ensure they cook quicker in the pressure cooker. Large chunks will require a longer pressure cooking time.
Brown the Beef: Sear the beef chunks on the sauté setting before pressure cooking to lock in flavor and tenderness.
Scrape the liner: To avoid the burn warning, scrape the bottom of the liner with a wood spoon to scrape off anything stuck on the bottom of the liner.
Use Cornstarch to Thicken: After pressure cooking, create a slurry by mixing cornstarch with cold water and stir it into the stew to thicken it. Pressure cookers retain liquid and a cornstarch slurry is a great way to thicken sauces and soups.

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Dana

Dana is the lead recipe developer and photographer for PopularRecipes.com. With her 10+ years of experience creating, testing, and photographing recipes, she has become an artist in developing wholesome, family-friendly meals that are a hit with both kids and parents.