InstaPot Beef Stew

Seriously, if you’ve got a community college or culinary school that offers a knife-use class, you need to take it.

Two pounds of red potatoes, a pound of carrots, and a pound of beef ready for stew: not a scratch or cut did I GET. *Which is positively astounding, with my usual track record!

I olive-oil pan spray’d my Instapot before adding the garlic on the ‘Sauté’ function. Let that beat up, then add the beef, grind your salt and pepper, and I added parsley, crushed rosemary, and thyme. Brown all that together.

Add the beef broth (or water and broth base/bouillon) and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom, if you have any. My InstaPot is so super-nonstick that I didn’t!

Add your carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, and onion, if using. Stir well. Close the lid and the exhaust, and cook on ‘Manual’ on high pressure for 35 minutes.

Let the Instapot release pressure naturally for 10 minutes after the pressure cooking is done, then quick release. Make a slurry of 3 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch and half a cup of water. Pour that into the hot stew, and stir until thickened. 

INSTAPOT BEEF STEW

1 pound beef, cubed

2 pounds red potatoes, cubed

1 pounds baby carrots, halved

5 garlic cloves, minced

Onion (optional)

6 C beef broth, or broth base/bouillon equivalent 

Salt and pepper

1 t each parsley, crushed rosemary, and crushed thyme

1 C tomato sauce 

3 T cornstarch

1/2 C water

Prepare your beef and all your vegetables into bite-size pieces.

Spray your InstaPot with pan spray and add your garlic. Sauté until sizzling; then add beef, salt and pepper, and your herbs. Continue sautéing until browned, scraping up and browned bits if there are any.

Add broth, vegetables, and tomato sauce. Close the InstaPot lid and the exhaust. Set on Manual, high pressure, for 35 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for ten minutes, then quick release.
Make a slurry by whisking the cornstarch into the 1/2 C water. Stir into the hot stew until thickened.