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A big batch of pressure cooker beef stew with new potatoes and carrots. It is ready in a little over an hour, but tastes like it simmered all afternoon.
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No plan survives contact with the enemy. The plan? A traditional beef stew, simmering all afternoon. The enemy? Me.
(Of *course* I’m my own worst enemy. Who did you expect? My evil twin?)
Simmering all afternoon became “I’m out of time…but I can still pressure cook the stew.”
Now, this pressure cooker beef stew recipe is not a quick. (This is not a twenty-minute meal). It takes time to brown the beef and sauté the vegetables, building depth and flavor into the stew. But the pressure cooker makes short work of the actual cooking time, taking it from three hours down to 25 minutes under pressure.
No pressure cooker? No worries. See the notes section for stovetop instructions.
Equipment
- 8 quart or larger pressure cooker
Ingredients Notes
- Other cuts of beef: Chuck is my favorite cut of beef for stew, but round (especially bottom round) or sirloin will also work in this recipe.
- No alcohol: Simmering the wine will remove some of the alcohol, but not all of it. If you want to cook without alcohol, substitute more chicken broth or water for the wine, and add 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce with the broth or water. (The Worcestershire sauce will replace some of the complex flavors in wine.)
- Homemade chicken broth: If you have a pressure cooker, then homemade Instant Pot Chicken Broth is easy to make – and it adds extra depth and flavor to everything you use it in. (For example, this beef stew!).
- Kosher salt: When I wrote this recipe, Kosher salt was my default kitchen salt. I’ve switched to fine sea salt since then – it’s cheaper and easier for me to find. If you are using fine sea salt, cut the Kosher salt amounts by 25%. (1 tablespoon kosher salt = ¾ tablespoon (or 2 heaping teaspoons) fine sea salt.)
How do I keep the vegetables from getting too soft?
That’s what the vegetable rack trick is for. The rack holds the carrots and potatoes above most of the liquid in the pot, so they steam instead of simmering. That way, they’re not cooked to mush by the time the beef is cooked. (Note that you can skip this step if you want – your vegetables will be soft, but it is a stew after all.)
Do I need to sear the beef before pressure cooking?
No, you don’t have to sear, but I strongly recommend it. The browned bits of beef that stick to the pot add body and flavor to the stew. (They’re part of why beef stew tastes so beefy.) My compromise for speed is to only brown each batch of beef cubes on one side. If you don’t sear the beef, everything else in the recipe (including the cooking time) is the same.
Can I use frozen beef?
Yes. Add an extra 5 minutes to the pressure cooking time.
Storing leftovers
Leftover beef stew is fantastic. I make this big batch of stew because it gives me (at least) two meals worth – I serve everyone dinner, then freeze the leftovers. Leftover stew lasts for a few days in the refrigerator, or for up to 6 months in the freezer.
Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Recipe
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8–12 1x
Description
A basic pressure cooker beef stew with new potatoes and carrots. It is ready in a little over an hour, but tastes like it simmered all afternoon.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 5 pounds of beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade)
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch lengths
- 1 ½ pounds new potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sear the beef in batches: Season the beef with 1 tablespoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in the pressure cooker pot until shimmering. (Use sauté mode – high in an Instant Pot.) Brown the beef in 2 to 3 batches, depending on the size of your pot – don’t crowd the pot, or the beef will steam instead of browning. Sear the beef on the bottom until well browned, about 3 minutes a batch, then remove to a bowl and sear the next batch. Once all the beef is browned, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil and fat in the cooker.
- Sauté the aromatics: Add the onion, celery, garlic, tomato paste, and thyme to the pot. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sauté until the onions soften and the tomato paste starts to darken, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine to the pot, bring to a simmer, and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits. Scrape well – you want to make sure any stuck bits of tomato paste or onion are loose, or you may get a burn warning from your Instant Pot.
- Everything into the pot: Stir in the chicken stock, then the beef and any beef juices from the bowl. Pour the tomatoes on top, but don’t stir. Put a steamer basket on top of everything in the pot and put the potatoes and carrots in the steamer basket.
- Pressure cook the stew for 25 minutes with a 15-minute Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pot. Pressure cook on high pressure for 25 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 20 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. let the pressure to come down naturally for at least 15 minutes, then quick release any pressure left in the pot.
- Serve: Carefully lift the steamer basket of potatoes and carrots out of the pot, cut the potatoes in half, and then stir the carrots and potatoes back into the stew. Stir in the fresh ground black pepper. Serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Cooking in a 6 quart pressure cooker? Cut back to 3 pounds of beef and ¾ pound of potatoes, leave all the other ingredients as they are.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Sunday dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Notes
- No pressure cooker? Use a heavy bottomed dutch oven with a lid. Increase the amount of wine to 1 cup, and chicken stock to 2 cups. Follow the instructions right up until “lock the lid”. Then, instead of pressure cooking, bring the pot to a boil, cover, and move the pot to a preheated 350*F oven. Bake for 2 hours, or until the beef is tender.
- Pressure cooker pots can be narrow. I assume it’s a design choice, that making a lid strong enough to handle high pressure is easier in a narrow pot. If you have a narrow pot, and you don’t mind extra dishes, use a large fry pan to help brown the beef – that way, you can brown two batches at once.
Related Posts
I love a good pressure cooker beef stew, so I have a lot of variations. Try my Instant Pot Provencal Beef Stew (Beef Daube Provencal), Instant Pot Beef Stew with Spanish Smoked Paprika, Instant Pot Beef and Lentil Stew, Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew, or Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms.
If you’re looking for something else, here is my index of Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes.
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