Connecticut Casserole–tender chunks of beef with a savory mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes baked with cheese and panko on top. Use the Instant Pot to speed up the cooking process!
Connecticut Casserole
Connecticut casserole is an old fashioned dinner from the 70s that starts with a layer of beef in mushroom gravy, potatoes on top and then a cheesy crispy topping. Look at the original recipe below from General Mills!
I took the flavors from the original casserole and adapted to the Instant Pot and to my personal preferences. It turned out super duper! My son and I devoured most of it before Greg came home from work 🙃.
Truthfully, I would be plenty happy to just have the beefy mushroom gravy over the mashed potatoes and forget about the baking in the oven step with the cheese and panko on top. It was such good gravy I could have licked it off my plate. But really you can do eat it either way! It really depends on your preference and who you are serving it to.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil–or vegetable oil
- Beef stew meat–or chuck roast cut into cubes
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion–yellow or white
- Mushrooms
- Beef broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Red potatoes–or peeled russet potatoes
- Garlic salt
- Milk
- Butter
- Sour cream–or plain greek yogurt
- Cornstarch
- Panko bread crumbs–or crushed cornflakes, wheaties
- Shredded cheddar cheese–or colby jack cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add in the beef stew meat and let brown for about 3 minutes, turn over with tongs and brown on other side for 3 minutes.
Season the meat with kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add in the onion and mushrooms and saute for about 4 minutes.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
Place whole potatoes in the pot.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
Use tongs to place potatoes into a medium bowl. Mash the potatoes. Stir the garlic salt, milk and butter into the mashed potatoes. Set aside.
In a small bowl stir the sour cream together with 1 cup of hot liquid from the pot. Stir the cornstarch into the mixture.
Stir the mixture into the pot. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting and stir until sauce has thickened.
If you’d like you can serve as is…mashed potatoes with the mushroom and beef gravy. However if you’d like a more “casserole” type of dish then add the beef gravy to a 9×9 inch baking dish.
Scoop the potatoes in dollops on top of the beef gravy. Use a rubber scraper to spread out.
Sprinkle the potatoes with the cheese and panko.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a side of roasted broccoli or green beans.
- Instead of panko you can use crushed wheaties or cornflakes (which is what the original recipe calls for). Drizzle with a bit of melted butter for an ultimate crispy, browned top.
- If you have mushroom haters try chopping the mushrooms instead of slicing. Sometimes this works for me to hide them from my son.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with panko are Casserole on the Quick and Crunchy Valley Chicken.
More Instant Pot Beef Stew Meat Recipes…
Instant Pot Golfers Special
An easy beef and gravy recipe, like Grandma used to make! Bonus: with the Instant Pot you can make the rice at the same time as the beef!
Instant Pot Beef and Gravy
Tender bites of beef with mushrooms served with a savory gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice.
Instant Pot Cheater Beef Stew
If you’re looking for the easiest beef stew recipe you may have found it! This recipe is made quickly in your Instant Pot and requires little to no prep and only 5 ingredients. No sauteing, chopping or browning. And best of all it tastes great!
12th Man Chili
A rich and hearty Instant Pot or Crockpot chili with beef stew meat, tomatoes and kidney beans.
Sailor Soup
Instant Pot or Crockpot beef soup with potatoes, mushrooms, carrots and a delicious broth.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Connecticut Casserole
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Tender chunks of beef with a savory mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes baked with cheese and panko on top. Use the Instant Pot to speed up the cooking process!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 onion, diced
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 pound red potatoes
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add in the beef stew meat and let brown for about 3 minutes, turn over with tongs and brown on other side for 3 minutes.
- Season the meat with kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add in the onion and mushrooms and saute for about 4 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Place whole potatoes in the pot.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Use tongs to place potatoes into a medium bowl. Mash the potatoes. Stir the garlic salt, milk and butter into the mashed potatoes. Set aside.
- In a small bowl stir the sour cream together with 1 cup of hot liquid from the pot. Stir the cornstarch into the mixture. Stir the mixture into the pot. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting and stir until sauce has thickened.
- If you’d like you can serve as is…mashed potatoes with the mushroom and beef gravy. However if you’d like a more “casserole” type of dish then add the beef gravy to a 9×9 inch baking dish. Scoop the potatoes in dollops on top of the beef gravy. Use a rubber scraper to spread out. Sprinkle the potatoes with the cheese and panko. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot and Oven
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I made this last night and it was very yummy. I will make this again.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the 5 stars Cherie!
Could I double this in my 6 quart IP? My package of stew meat is two pounds.
Yes you can. I also had a 2 pound package but I frozen the other pound to try with a different recipe another day.
I did just as you did–froze the other pound. I have also written a review.
★★★★★
At the end of the recipe, Panko bread crumbs and shredded cheese are listed. They are not mentioned in the instructions. Are they optional toppings? Thank you.
Hi Shirley, see step 8…that is where they are used 🙂
Thank you! This sounds scrumptious! I’ll be making it for sure.
I hope you enjoy it!!
I love all your recipes but I do not have an Instant Pot. Is there a way to make these wonderful recipes adapting to stove oven or crockpot? Thank you!
Hi Sharii, I haven’t tried this using another method but the original recipe from the 70s is in the pictures above and it is baked in the oven. So you could definitely try that!