I'm exhausted. I had a work call late last night, and I didn't get to bed until after 2 A.M. And I had to be up at 6 this morning to get the kids off to school.
Luckily, the plan for tonight's dinner is beef stew. Simple and straightforward, this is one of my most comforting comfort meals.
If you've made any of my other pressure cooker braise recipes, this is going to look awfully familiar. My braises all follow the same pattern. Brown the meat, saute the aromatics, deglaze the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the meat, some stock, and (in this case) tomatoes. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, cook until the meat is done, then let the pressure come down naturally. Serve with a starch to soak up the liquid.
Now, familiar doesn't mean boring. It may not have the star power of a chili, but a simple beef stew is a classic. Having a rough day? Try this stew. It will bring a smile to your face.
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms
Inspired by: Robert Farrar Capon, The Supper of the Lamb
Video
Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]
Equipment
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I use an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 quarts of stew 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms recipe. A hearty beef stew, ready in about an hour from the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 3 pounds of beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade)
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
Instructions
- Sear the beef in two batches: Season the beef with 2 teaspoons salt. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in the pressure cooker pot until shimmering (Saute mode in my electric pressure cooker). Add half the beef and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Remove the browned beef to a bowl. Add the rest of the beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Move the second batch into to the bowl.
- Saute the aromatics: Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, tomato paste, and mushrooms to the pot. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Saute for 8 minutes, or until the onions are softened. Add the red wine to the pot, bring to a simmer, and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the beef and any juices in the bowl, the chicken stock, and the tomatoes. Float the thyme sprigs on top of everything.
- Pressure cook the stew: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure, then cook at high pressure for 30 minutes in an electric PC, 25 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes. Unlock the pressure cooker lid and discard the thyme sprig. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and some fresh ground black pepper to the stew if necessary. Serve.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Notes
- Serve the stew with a starch to soak up the juices - I went with risotto, but use your favorite.
- Don't have a pressure cooker? No worries. Use a heavy bottomed dutch oven with a lid, and increase the amount of 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, and cover with the lid. Move the pot to a preheated 350*F oven and bake for 2 hours, until the beef is tender.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Click here for my other rotisserie recipes.
Adapted from:
Pressure Cooker Beef Shank Osso Bucco
Pressure Cooker Short Ribs with Mexican Flavors
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through the links on this site. Thank you.
Missy
This was very good! I had meant to add potatoes as well because I had some to use up, and forgot, so am just boiling them now and will stir them in. There's a LOT of liquid here, so I think the potatoes will help thicken things up a bit. Good flavor, nice and tender.
Debbie
This was the first pressure cooker meal I ever made and it was absolutely delicious. It makes me excited to find more recipes to use my brand new cooker. Bookmarked your site 🙂
Mike V
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
Melissa
I made this last night and it was terrific, thank you! I got my IP for Christmas and had done 4 recipes (from other sources) with less success. This was perfect and got me excited about the IP again, and glad that I have a recipe source I can trust.
Mike V
You're welcome!
MXC
I made it this weekend and it was delicious! New favorite stew!
Emily
This is so delicious and easy! I got an Instant Pot for Christmas and am new to pressure cooking. This is the 4th thing I have made and the first "dinner." My kids love it! I served it over cauliflower puree which I steamed in the instant pot while I prepped the stew. Your website has been so helpful in helping me learn about some additional pressure cooker recipes. Thanks!
Jessica
Thanks!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
How long on the chuck roast? Longer. 30 minutes short of what it needs. I think Cook’s Illustrated is too long at an hour and a half; I would go for an hour to 1 hr 15 min.
Jessica
I am new to pressure cooking and my first attempt was steamed carrots and broccoli, which came out great. My second attempt was from America's Test Kitchen Pressure Cooking Perfection: Classic Pot Roast and Potatoes. I couldn't find "chuck-eye roast" so I used 3 lb Boneless Beef Chuck Roast(It didn't specify what cut of chuck it was. I think it was a top blade chuck roast? It had a big thick line of fat in the middle of it and was flat on top and bottom, not oval/round like a football.) The array of different cuts and names of meat perplexes me and I have tried to research them and understand them, but I am still left confused.
I have a glass flat stove-top, so I used the two burner method and heated the pot to high and then cooked the roast on med-low as stated in the directions. What I did differently was I only cooked the roast for 30 mins(once the pressure indicator had popped up) instead of 1 1/2 hours as stated in the recipe because the Fagor manual said it should only take 30 mins and I feared I was going to overcook the meat. The meat still came out boiled and chewy tasting. My husband said it was great! I thought it was awful, lol! If I would have cooked the roast for another hour as stated in ATK's directions, would it have come out soft, silky and fall apart? There was a test done on America's Test Kitchen Season 1 with beef stew in the oven and the collagen starts to break down the longer you cook the meat past the normal cooking temperatures of cooking a steak to 130-140 degrees. They cooked the "chuck-eye" beef chunks for 2 hours till it reached 200 degrees.
Also the manual says I should "lower the heat to maintain a gentle, steady stream of steam" when cooking under pressure. I didn't see a gentle, steady stream, but it wasn't sputtering either. Pressure was maintained the whole time on med-low (setting 4 out of 10 on my stove). Should I reduce the heat to low, just as long as the pressure is maintained as to not over cook the food? Thanks for all your help and wonderful website and recipes!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
You’re welcome! I’m glad it was a hit for you and your family.
Bigemail
Thanks for sharing. This recipe is tremendous, great results that everyone in the family enjoyed.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Do everything the same right up to the "lock the lid and bring to pressure". Slow cook on low for 8 hours (4 hours on high) instead of pressure cooking.
christina
think i can adopt this for the crock pot? any tips?
Chris Lukowski
Important safety tip, thanks Egon!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
If the tomatoes sink to the bottom of the pot, they can burn. So, I add them last and don't stir.
Chris Lukowski
What's the story behind the "not stirring" the tomatoes instruction in Step 2?