I don’t know about you, but generally, when I call my Instant Pot up for duty it’s because I need to get dinner on the table quickly and easily. This lazy Instant Pot beef stew recipe is one of my go-to’s for being simple and quick. Most other Instant pot beef stew recipes I’ve seen call for coating the stew meat and braising with the saute function among other additional steps. I’m sure these recipes are delicious, but if I’m going to do the extra work, I’m probably just going to cook it on the stove honestly. 

That’s what I love about lazy Instant Pot beef stew! It’s not quite a “dump meal” but it’s about as close as you can get.

Give yourself the gift of shortcuts like pre-chopped, frozen onions, peas, and even carrots too. You’ll have delicious beef stew served up in bowls in no time. Is there any better cool-weather comfort food?

I’m not a huge fan of celery so I used green peas in my recipe instead. Feel free to do the opposite and of course, leave out mushrooms if you don’t like them. I personally love how the compliment the flavor of the beef.

Another shortcut of sorts you can take is to use Better than Bouillion instead of broth or a bouillon cube. I’ve used it for years and it keeps me from having to store cans or boxes of stock and it’s much more flavorful than cubes. It dissolves easily in hot tap water too. One jar is equal to 38 8oz cans of broth, and it will last in your fridge for about a year after opening. They aren’t paying me to tell you about this, but it’s one of my “can’t live without” kitchen products so I thought I’d tell you about it! I didn’t realize until I looked that they have everything from ham to lobster base too. Hmmmm…

Better than Bouillon

 

 

Anyway, on to our lazy Instant Pot beef stew recipe!

Lazy Instant Pot Beef Stew

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Additional Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon grape jelly
• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• cornstarch (optional)

Instructions

1. Add meat, stock, onion, salt, pepper, crushed tomatoes, and jelly to the Instant pot
2. Cook on manual for 20 minutes and allow a natural release
3. Remove lid and add potatoes, peas, carrots, and mushrooms
4. Cook on manual for 5 more minutes
5. Do a quick release and add starch to thicken if desired before serving

Notes

The stew will thicken somewhat as it cools, but if you like the texture to be thicker consider adding a little cornstarch at the end before serving

Nutrition Information

Yield 6 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 487Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 150mgSodium 572mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 4gSugar 5gProtein 54g

And there you have it! This beef stew recipe also freezes well if you want to save leftovers for later.