I’ve made many versions of beef stew and generally, the best results come after all the ingredients have cooked for hours. While I haven’t used our Insta Pot a lot yet, it’s still new to us, I’ve discovered that it infuses the meat with lots of flavor without having to cook it for hours.

Ingredients

(This recipe is geared for a 6-quart pot.)

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 small celery stalks, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, grated and divided
• 2 lbs potatoes, cubed
• 1.5 lbs stew meat (chuck or any cheap roast beef), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 oz tomato paste
• 1 bouillon cube
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3/4 tsp salt
• Ground pepper to taste
• 3 Bay leaves
• 5 peppercorns
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1/2-3/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

Slurry

• 1/4 cup of cold water
• 2 tbs cornstarch

Directions

1. In Instant Pot add onion, carrot, celery, 2 cloves of garlic, potatoes, and beef as you are cutting them. Then add the tomato paste, bouillon + water or stock, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and peppercorns. No need to stir, just flatten tomato paste with a spoon.
2. Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing, and press Cook on high for 30 minutes. The display will say On, Instant Pot will take about 20 minutes to come to pressure, you will see steam coming out from a valve, then the float valve will rise and countdown from 30 minutes will begin.
3. When the display says Off, the stew is ready. Now your pot needs to bring the pressure down before you can open it, which will be indicated by a drop-down float valve. You can let it do it on its own which will take 15-20 minutes -Natural Release. Or, you can do a Quick Release by turning the pressure valve to the venting position, which takes 2-3 minutes. It’s recommended to do this outside so you don’t make a disaster in your kitchen.
4. Open the lid, add peas, the remaining garlic cloves, and the dill. Stir.
5. To thicken the stew; switch pot to saute. In a small bowl, mix water and cornstarch then add it to the stew and stir gently. Cook for a few minutes until thickened,
6. Enjoy!