Instant Pot Stew Meat Recipe with Potatoes

Easy Instant Pot stew meat recipe with potatoes you’ll love. Full of tender meat, potatoes, carrots and thick gravy it’s a low fat one pot tasty meal. Forgot to defrost your beef? No problem, we have frozen stew meat in Instant Pot instructions for you too.

Instant Pot Stew Meat Recipe

You can find this bite size cut at any local grocery store. It may not be seen as the most desirable, but cooked right it can be fork tender and delicious. We have a lot of it in our freezer since we buy bulk meat online, and from local farmers every year.

My mom used to buy this and make stew with it on an almost weekly basis. Back in the day that is really all you used it for but not now!! Using this handy high pressure machine you can make lots of other creations like our Instant Pot beef stew casserole with rice and frozen veggies.

Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Stew Meat

You really can make a batch of Ninja Foodi stew with any type of protein like this. The best method is to use fresh or defrosted meat. If you have a forgetful moment though you can still make it using frozen stew meat. I have a link to those directions at the top of this post for you. Use the lid that is not attached for this one here.

chicken stew

Really when it comes to cooking meat in broth or a sauce it is very forgiving in regards to whether you add fresh, defrosted or still hard pieces. Biggest difference is to break the pieces apart and cook time remains about the same. With this idea I mean, you can even make Instant Pot chicken stew with it.

pork stew

Or use that pork loin you found on sale in a new way and make this pork stew Instant Pot recipe too. I mean can you tell that I make this with literally whatever is on sale. 😉

Instant Pot Stew Meat Recipe with Potatoes

Since we are focusing on cheap recipes lately, we will use beef stew meat as our focus today. The timing in the recipe card below will reflect this. If yours is out of the freezer it won’t really change except you need to make sure the pieces are separated. You can do this running cool water over the top and pulling apart.

Ingredients

1. Cubed stew meat or cut chuck roast works great
2. Carrots and potatoes are perfect firm vegetables
3. Worcestershire sauce gives the gravy it a richer flavor
4. Beef broth is better than water
5. Olive oil will be used to saute the meat
6. Onion soup mix packet is an easy whop of flavor
7. Salt and pepper are basic seasonings
8. Thyme and oregano we love to add
9. Bay leaf could be an optional add in

Do I have to brown stew meat before pressure cooking?

Sauteeing the meat and onions with a bit of olive oil at first is a good step, but not a must. If you take the extra few minutes to do this though it will trap the juices a bit better inside and add some outer texture as well. I add onions to just about everything, but they could be omitted.

How to Cook Stew Meat in Pressure Cooker

Let’s talk potatoes shall we? Since we live in the “potato state” russets are super cheap and I always have some in my pantry. I do like red as well. They maintain their texture better for a longer period of cook time.

Depending on the recipe and what I have on hand I swap between the two. For dishes such as our Instant Pot potato corn chowder I use red for added texture.

The larger the pieces are the firmer they will be when done, but will still be soft. I don’t like mine to fall apart so this is how big I usually slice mine.

There is a wide variety of stews out there and by golly, use what you wish to get the best results for your tastebuds. This is what was used for this batch of stew in the Instant Pot.

If you’d like to add 1/2 broth and 1/2 red wine for your total 32 ounces of needed liquid you could do that too. In the case that you don’t have either I would keep bullion cubs in the pantry to add into some water to give the cooking liquid a lot more flavor than just plain.

How Long to Cook Stew Meat in Instant Pot

1. Brown the meat so pieces are no longer pink.
2. Turn off pot and turn it to cancel. Scrape brown bits stuck on bottom off to deglaze.
3. Pour 32 oz. beef broth + plus all other ingredients EXCEPT potatoes and carrots into pot. Stir. Turn steam valve and lid to closed positions.
4. Set to high pressure for 18 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots, stir to combine.
5. Cover and seal vent again, set to high pressure for 4 minutes.
6. Do a quick release.
7. If you want to thicken pressure cooker gravy you can set pot to saute again. In small bowl add 2 tbsp cornstarch with some of your hot liquid. Whisk together and pour into pot.
8. Stir, allow it to bubble and thicken broth. Will continue to thicken as it sits. Serve.

Here’s a quick step by step but there’s also a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post. Set pot to saute and add oil. Rub salt and pepper on your meat pieces and add into the pot. (you could add 1 c. sliced onions too)

Instant Pot Frozen Stew Meat

You will now have tender beef and vegetables in a thick broth to enjoy! Whether you make this quick like this or slow cooker stew the cook time won’t change frozen vs. fresh meat. Depending on how much time I have to prep things in the morning is how I decide which way I will cook this.

Instant Pot Stew Meat Recipes

But that isn’t all. I mean I have mentioned other ways you can tweak this using other proteins of course but if you find a great sale and want to load up on this one in particular we have used this same cut for other dishes as well that have been a huge hit. Several other meals beyond just this beef stew recipe you can use this protein for would be;

• Instant Pot beef stroganoff is comfort food in a bowl.
• I have made a pot full of pressure cooker pot pie soup as well.
• You could use it to make this Instant Pot butter beef dish as well if you wanted.

Just remember that if you want to use it outside of the box for something else that it does need some time to get tender. Using a Dutch Oven on the stovetop or oven is great. With a cast iron thick pot and lid the steam stays in well and in a few hours breaks down to fork tender.

If you do buy this in bulk it freezes well. I would recommend that you separate it into freezer bags with the amount you would eat at one time. 1 pound is about right for the 4 of us because we add vegetables and usually a thick sauce into the mix so it stretches further. Mark the date you packaged it on the outside and use within 6 months.