One-Pot Easy Beef Stew Recipe
One Pot Easy Beef Stew is an ultimate comfort food dinner. Cooking the Stew in an Instant Pot gives you all the flavors of the low and slow cooking, but at the fraction of the time. Simple ingredients, simple instructions and 10 minutes of your time is all that’s needed to make this delicious beef stew dinner.
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Among our other BEEF favorites are PERFECTLY SIMPLE POT ROAST, BEEF STROGANOFF, and BEEF WITH CARAMELIZED ONION AND MUSHROOM.
I shared a picture of this Beef Stew and mashed potatoes from a Sunday lunch at my sister’s a while ago and got so, so many messages asking for the recipe of this beef stew, that it only made sense that I share it here on the blog.
My sister is known for all things comfort food and if you’re at her house you’re likely to have the best mashed potatoes of your life (both mine and her favorite thing ever) and some sort of tenderly delicious meat.
Make ahead Beef Stew
She made this beef stew in the oven by prepping everything (by everything I mean, cutting the meat in chunks, tossing with spices and loading the baking pan) in the evening on Saturday, and then just popping it in the oven before she left to church on Sunday.
When we came from church (3 hours later) the meat was pretty much done. By the time we cooked the mashed potatoes and made the salad, it was perfectly juicy, tender and all ready to be served.
Comfort Food
Whether you make this Beef Stew in the oven or like I did – in the Pressure Cooker, you can do the prep work ahead of time (a day ahead) and cook it before you need to serve it, OR you can cook it all the way until it is soft and tender, then cool and refrigerate to be reheated and served later. Either way, this Beef Stew is the kind of comfort food you definitely need this upcoming fall and winter season.
Here’s why you shouldn’t brown the meat for One-Pot Beef Stew
For years, every time I made a beef stew recipe I would brown the beef chunks first, then add them with the rest of ingredients and cook. Everything out there tells you that you will get a lot better flavor if you do this step. BUT! Eating my sister’s beef stew I noticed no difference whatsoever in her stew and mine, so I say you’re totally ok to skip the typical browning step, at least in this recipe.
One-Pot Easy Beef Stew Recipe
Servings: 6
Ingredients for the Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Best choice of beef for this recipe is beef chuck, but good quality stew meat is also good. Stew meat tends to be less tender than beef chuck, but it will also work.
- Beef broth is a good substitute for water in this beef stew recipe.
How to make this Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Combine all ingredients in the Instant Pot pressure cooker and stir to distribute the ingredients. Close with the lid and set the steam valve to “seal”. Set the pressure cooker to “Manual” on “High” and cook for 45 minutes.
Wonder what to serve the Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with, I got you!
One-Pot Easy Beef Stew Recipe
One Pot Easy Beef Stew is an ultimate comfort food dinner. Cooking the Stew in an Instant Pot gives you all the flavors of the low and slow cooking, but at the fraction of the time. Simple ingredients, simple instructions and 10 minutes of your time is all that's needed to make this delicious beef stew dinner.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs beef chuck fat trimmed, meat cut into 1.5 to 2 inch cubes
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
Liquids for Beef Stew
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup water (or broth/stock/red wine)
Instructions
How to make One Pot Easy Beef Stew (Instant Pot Method)
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Combine all ingredients except for the liquids in the insert of an Instant Pot and mix. Pour the liquid and stir again.
How long to cook One Pot Easy Beef Stew
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Cover with the lid and turn to seal. Turn the steam valve to "SEALING".
Press "Pressure Cook" OR "Manual" on "High Pressure", then increase time to 45 minutes.
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Once 45 minutes has elapsed and the timer beeps, turn the pressure cooker off and allow the pressure to naturally release (about 10-15 minutes). Then throw a kitchen towel over the steam valve and release the rest of the pressure by turning the steam valve to "venting".
How to Make One pot Easy Beef Stew (Oven Method)
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Combine all ingredients in a 9inx12in baking dish or a dutch oven, cover with foil/lid and cook for about 2.5-3 hours at 350F. To check for doneness, pierce with a fork, the meat should be soft and separate easy.
How to Make One pot Easy Beef Stew (Stovetop Method)
-
For the stove top you have two options, either one works well.
Option 1 - For stovetop you can can either add all ingredient to the pot, cover with lid and simmer for about 3 hours or until the beef is fork tender.Option 2 - Caramelize onions in a dutch oven with a couple tablespoons oil, add carrots and sautee a coupe minutes more. Add beef, seasoning, water and tomato paste, stir, cover with lid and cook for 3 hours or until fork tender.
How to make Crock Pot Easy Beef Stew
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Combine all ingredients but the water and tomato sauce and stir. Add the water and the tomato sauce and stir again. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on High for 3-4 hours or until the beef is fork tender. Try not to open the lid while cooking, to prevent heat from escaping, as this will increase the cooking time.
Recipe Notes
How to speed up the cooking time:
- Cut the beef chunks into smaller (1-inch pieces) pieces and set the cooking time to 30 minutes instead of 45. Then follow through with the rest of the directions.
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Here’s the original picture of this recipe that I shared on Instagram Stories a while ago, many will recognize it since I shared this recipe back then, too.
Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Hi, love this recipe . Will it freeze well?
Hi Marina,
This recipe is so so good! We had a little bit of leftovers and i reheated it on the stovetop and it turned out even better the next day, perfectly seasoned and came out so tender.
I also wanted to try it without the tomato sauce and see how it comes out. How much liquid should I add?
Thanks a bunch!
This recipe is so good in the instant pot. So easy to make with the instant pot. I have made recipe three times already. It reheats well on stove top in pot.
Can I use regular paprika instead of smoked one? Thanks
Hi Marina,
I tried this recipe tonight for dinner, and it was a hit that’s forsure! Probably one of my favorites. I replaced the meat with lamb. I would probably do half of the pepper next time just bc I prefer my food not too spicy. And I will add a little oil with everything just so it dosent “burn” at the bottom. Thank you so much for your recipes, your blog has become of of my go to’s
Hi Lilia,
Thank you so much for your feedback! Some Instant Pots are more sensitive than others and will give burn notice more than others. Oil in that case will most likely not help though. To fix this, I would suggest not adding the flour until the everything is already cooked. Once you open the lid, stir the flour with a couple spoons of water until smooth, then pour it into the meat, stir quickly and bring it to a boil. Thank you so much for trusting my site with recipes!
Saved the day! I was going to make a roast but forgot to defrost it. Luckily, I had some stew meat and your recipe to save the day! So fast and easy, did I mention delicious! Thank you for sharing!
EVERYTIME I try to make this recipe in my Instant Pot it burns on the bottom, the “burn” message comes on and I have to take everything out, clean it and try again with more fluid. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Yuliya,
I wonder if your instant pot is just overly sensitive.
Another thing that can effect it, do you stir the rice with the meat before giving it the final 15 minutes to cook the rice? If so, that could be the reason. Try just sprinkling the rice over the meat and just spreading it into an even layer, but not stirring.
But this recipe doesn’t call for rice. This is the One-Pot Easy Beef Stew.
Haha, omg I totally thought this was about Instant Pot Plov ♀️.
In that case I’m not sure. Are you using the same type of meat the recipe calls for? If you’re using everything exactly like the recipe, but still have this problem it might be that your pressure cooker takes longer to cone to pressure and therefor too much liquid boils off, leaving your meat drier and more prone to sticking and burning. Is there a lot of liquid when you open the lid to clean off the pot? There should be plenty of liquid, if there’s not then I might get right about my guess. To fix this, just add more liquid to begin with and you shouldn’t have this problem.
Made this yesterday. It was delicious!!! Definitely gonna make it again!! So quick, easy and delicious ! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
YUM! Thank you for all the ways to make this! I’ve been into casseroles lately, so I made it in the oven. ~with a little more red wine~ PERFECTION!
I needed this, thank you! I love your website ❤
Would 6 quart instant pot work for this recipe? thanks
Yep! That’s what I had.
This was amazing. I have finally found a recipe that I like in my pressure pot. Thanks!
That’s awesome! Thanks for your comment and the star rating!
This makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing and for giving the recipe a star rating!
Yum! I need to try this sometime! Looks delicious!
hi i was wondering if i can use a crockpot Slow Cooker instead or is this recipe only for an instant pot?
i was also wondering if you have any Slow Cooker recipes, i just bought one & cant find any good recipes to try.
Hi Valentina,
Sure thing, I added the instructions to the recipe card for the slow cooker too. Check it out 🙂
If you want to see some of my favorite slow cooker recipes, check the tag HERE.
What an easy recipe, but I don’t have Instant Pot yet, so where can I find the recipe that will work in the oven?
Thanks
Hi Nat,
I added the instructions for both oven and stovetop method to the recipe card. Hope you enjoy it!
I think you mentioned a way to prepare using the oven, how many minutes? And combine everything in a baking dish? Thank you. Looks amazing, seriously NEED to make this. I love simple but hearty dishes like this!
Hi Vita,
If making this in the oven, it would take about 3 hours. I added these directions to the printable recipe card. With the fall coming, we need all the comfort food we can get 😀
Enjoy!