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!
Get the SLOW COOKER cheater beef stew recipe here
Instant Pot Cheater Beef Stew
I love stews and soups a lot! But they can take a while to make because of all the peeling and chopping of the vegetables. For this cheater beef stew I found a product that is a major time-saver. I found a bag of frozen stew vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions and celery) at my grocery store and decided to give them a shot. They worked really nicely in this stew. I will definitely use this time-saver again. Of course if you don’t want to buy frozen vegetables you can just cut up your own potatoes, carrots, celery and onions.
I also decided to cheat on the browning step. I didn’t do it. I just threw the meat in raw. The meat still was very tasty and tender. Plus I used a package of stew meat instead of buying a roast and cut it up myself.
The third cheat on this recipe was using a packet of onion soup mix and brown gravy mix. No measuring of ingredients, just throwing it all in. Everything was seasoned nicely.
If you’re in a hurry but still want to have dinner on the table tonight this is a great recipe for you! Pick up some crusty bread to serve with it and you’re set.
More Instant Pot Beef Recipes…
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Cheater Beef Stew I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Instant Pot Cheater Beef Stew
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus NPR)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
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!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 (1 oz) packet onion soup mix
- 3 Tbsp brown gravy mix
- 1 (24 oz) bag frozen stew vegetables (see note)
- Cornstarch (optional)
Instructions
- Add water to the Instant Pot and then add in the stew meat. Sprinkle the onion soup mix and gravy mix over the top of the meat. Don’t stir.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes (on high pressure).
- When the time is up quick release the pressure by moving valve to venting. Remove the lid. Add in the frozen veggies on top of the meat. Don’t stir. Cover the pot and move valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. Once the pot is done cooking allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes (longer if you have time). Move the valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Stir the stew. If you’d like it thicker then make a cornstarch slurry. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Add 2 Tbsp cornstarch to a small bowl and stir in 2 Tbsp cold water until smooth and creamy. Stir the mixture into the pot. Stew will thicken fairly quickly. Turn off saute setting and serve.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can make this in your 8 quart pot with no changes. You can make this in your 3 quart pot increase the initial cooking time to 25 minutes.
Look by the frozen vegetables at your grocery store to find a bag of stew vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions and celery). If you don’t want to buy frozen vegetables you can just cut up your own potatoes, carrots, celery and onions.
To make this recipe gluten free: use a gluten free brown gravy mix and a gluten free onion soup mix
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
*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.
Soooo easy, hardest part was not stirring! I used canned veggies that I had on hand a cut up a potato
it looks amazing and smells great. I will definitely make it again. Thank you
Haha, right? Not stirring is the hardest part! 😄 I love that you used what you had on hand…canned veggies and potato sound perfect. So glad you liked it and plan to make it again!
I’m 72 yrs old and have been cooking since I was 10 yrs old. I’m amazed that most of your readers don’t know how to cook! Even at my age, I’m always looking for good recipes and you have a lot of good, easy, recipes for all ages! You’re providing a great learning experience for all of us! Keep up the great work providing us with your wonderfully easy, tasty, and diverse dishes!!
Cooking has always been fun to me too! Thanks for being here Patti!
made tonight. Tastes great. I did use fresh veggies and added corn starch to thicken. also I added a packet of beef stew seasoning. I used more meat than necessary or else it would have gone to waste.
Thanks for the 5 stars James!
I made this recipe halved because it was just for my little craving and I don’t need much. I froze leftovers in sealed ziploc baggies with all of the air displaced as you do with sous vide prep. Flat baggies store so much better in the freezer than any containers👍. Then when you are ready to eat them, soak the baggie in a bowl of hot, hot tap water to thaw, then heat to eat.
Then I modified it for another craving🍀Irish Stew!!
I omitted the potatoes (for now), used a bottle of Guiness Stout in place of water. Added fresh, cleaned 1-1.5″ sliced carrot and parsnip chunks. Cooked as directed. I did thicken it considerably and served it poured over a piping hot scoop of my delicious Irish mashed potatoes…riced😉, not
smashed.
Wow your version sounds so amazing! Thanks for the tips on freezing 🙂
Love your recipes….this sounds nice & easy too! In the past few years I have started canning….and was wondering if you could put together some recipes (or throw a note in the ones you post) that you can also use canned meats with the directions. I have beef chunks/beef tips that I could use in this so obviously it wouldn’t take all that cook time for the meat since it really is “cooked” from pressure canning it. It seems there are a lot of people that are getting into home canning of meats and that would be a great way (and quick way) of putting together a meal for the family with items on the shelf! Beef, chicken, pork recipes would be great. Thanks for the great recipes!
Ronie B
Good idea! You’ll want to figure out the ingredient that needs the longest time to cook and cook it for that amount of time. For example, cubed potatoes need 4 minutes so if it was a stew with your canned meat and potatoes you’d cook it for 4 minutes. Hope this helps!
What would you do if you have everything but the onion soup mix…how can I be without onion soup mix…LOL
Hillary,
Here’s the URL that Karen’s posted before on how to make your own:
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-onion-soup-mix/
oh no! haha! Can you make your own from scratch? https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-onion-soup-mix/
Yes, you sure can, Sweet Pea! I saved it from your recipe ‘Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Rump Roast’, along with the one to make your own Au Jus mix. Can’t thank you enough for all the recipes you’ve shared with us AND all the little “side goodies”, like the ones above. They all save us time & money!! You my hero-girl!
Sorry, I reread it and found I don’t have to make any changes. No need to post my comment lol.
I have a 8 quart instant pot. Does that change the cook time?
My picky 3 year old loved this stew! I ended up using fresh veggies. Everything came out great!
Thanks for the 5 stars!
Made this just now, I used raw veggies I had, sweet potato (which I cut in big chunks for the five minute cook) onion, celery, carrots (just cleared what I had in the fridge); I don’t think I will ever make beef stew any other way! Truly amazing!!
Yay! Thanks for the 5 stars Brinda!
I am wanting to make this but without the veggies.. just the meat and gravy mix. Also, I have 2.4 pounds of stew meat.. what do you recommend?
I’d follow these instructions:
Add water to the Instant Pot and then add in the stew meat. Sprinkle the onion soup mix and gravy mix over the top of the meat. Don’t stir.
Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 25 minutes (on high pressure). Once the pot is done cooking allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes (longer if you have time). Move the valve to venting and remove the lid.
Stir the stew. If you’d like it thicker then make a cornstarch slurry. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Add 2 Tbsp cornstarch to a small bowl and stir in 2 Tbsp cold water until smooth and creamy. Stir the mixture into the pot. Stew will thicken fairly quickly. Turn off saute setting and serve.
I would possibly add a little more water and a little more onion soup mix and gravy mix with the extra meat.
Chicken Stock vs. Water. Growing up in N MN, Duluth, they tend to thicken everything , gravy, and add seasonings that enhance what is being prepared. It is one area, food related, I haven’t come to terms with. Separate veggies, boiled in plain water. So no flavor. Then the beef or poultry. Then put on a plate. After which everyone poor’s on butter and salt. This includes fresh corn from the garden.
My husband, again is po’d.at me for telling him, again of the proper way to prepare beef, and other related. But properly take advantage of veggies and seasonings’.
I found this recipe due to the 50 things to do with ground beef. Can this recipe be made with ground beef? has anyone tried that?
I haven’t tried that but I bet it would be tasty. I would brown the ground beef first.
Hi Karen, I love this recipe! I couldn’t find any stew vegetables at the supermarket, so I got tiny round potatoes and small carrots and cooked it for 7 minutes. It was perfect and delicious. The flavor was great. Everything tasted delicious. I can’t say enough positive comments. We love, love loved it.
Ahhh, thanks Lynne!!!
can you use real vegetables instead of frozen and would you put it in the pot the same tinme as the meat
yes you can use real vegetables. I would add them in the same time you would have added in the frozen.
Ohhhh yum! I’ve been wanting some stew for so long, and I just happened to have a couple pounds of stew meat languishing in the refrigerator, AND all the other ingredients (I used fresh potatoes, carrots and celery). I also added a can of corn, green beans and topped it with a can of stewed tomatoes (because my Momma did!) and it is absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to have it for dinner again! Thank you so much for all the awesome recipes!!!
I love it when that happens!
Hi, I just made the stew tonight and it’s definitely a keeper. I’m new to the Instant Pot world and this was my very first recipe. I have a few questions. The recipe didn’t seem to yield 6 servings, more like 4 with a lot of liquid. I followed everything as written except I had to use two bags of frozen veggies and that equaled 28 ounces. I didn’t feel like this had enough meat. I did cut my stew beef into small bite size pieces. Could this of caused the meat to shred up some of the smaller chunks? If I were to change the recipe and use 2# of stew meat would I change the liquid or the cook time? And last question. If I double the recipe as written will it fit in a 6 quart Instant Pot? Thank you so much in advance 😊
Hi Lisa, you could easily use 2 pounds of stew meat with no changes to cooking time or liquid. And yes you can fit it in the 6 quart if doubled.
Thank you so much for replying back to me. I will try either 2 pounds of meat or double the recipe next time. My husband is a big eater and he likes a big bowl of leftovers for the next day also. 😋
Do you think I can double the recipe in an 8 qt.?
Yes you could do that
Question Karen. In your recipe you show initial cooking time as 25 minutes. But the in your note you say if using a 3-quart pot adjust cooking time to 25 minutes?
The time is supposed to be 20 minutes for 6 quart and 25 for 3 quart.
I cut the recipe in half since I didn’t have enough meat. Used your brown gravy mix recipe. Added a bit of ketchup, worcestershire sauce and small amount of cabbage. Next time will add garlic and fresh thyme.
Love all those additions!
Amazing flavor with so little effort. The gravy was on point.
Great! So glad you enjoyed it Kimberly!
Karen —
This recipe has been on my “to make” list for a long time, and now that it’s September, I decided that it’s close enough to fall to make it! I used beef broth instead of water, and a can each of green beans and corn instead of the frozen veggies. I also doubled the cornstarch slurry because I love a really thick stew. It turned out AMAZING! Tender beef, delicious veggies, flavorful stew.
All of the other beef stew recipes I’ve looked at have such long ingredient lists and seem really difficult. This one was so easy, and I don’t think I’ll ever make beef stew a different way!
This is my first time making one of your recipes but I guarantee it will not be the last.
Thank you Karen!!
YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! This is fun to read. Thanks.
I made this tonight I used a can of beef broth instead of water. I used an envelope of brown gravy versus measuring it because I somehow missed that description. I used 2 16 oz. bags of frozen stew vegetables because what would I do with just part of one? I thickened it with the cornstarch slurry, and that worked nicely. I have to admit that I thought it was a bit under seasoned. I added salt and pepper at the table, but to me, it was still missing something so I added a healthy squirt of ketchup to my bowl and mixed it in. That did the trick for me. I didn’t adore the consistency of the vegetables, but they weren’t awful. The celery totally disappeared. Not bad overall. Couldn’t possibly have been easier!
I like those ideas Amy!
What store did you find the cheater veggies at. I have looked at a couple of stores and can’t find them.
I think I found them at Walmart 😊
I just made this, Awesome! I really haven’t been cooking lately. Soooooooo, I haven’t been shopping. I had a couple of potatoes, canned corn and canned green beans, no carrots. Turned out great. And you’re right, not all stores have frozen stew veggies. They have them at ShopRite.
👏👏👏
This looks delish! Any input on how many potatoes, carrots, onions to use if I cut up fresh. Speciality frozen veg sometimes hard to find here. Just as an aside, 1 1/2 pounds of stew meat! We could eat this into next year LOL. Good thing neighbors love your recipes.
Hi Mary, I would just cut up a combination of veggies to equal 24 ounces. That might be 2-3 potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 1 celery rib.
I tried this tonight. I didn’t have brown gravy mix and wasn’t going back out in the snow for some, so I used 2 tablespoons broth mix and a tablespoon of flour. I am more of an eyeballer, as far as measuringanything else goes. It turned out great and was super easy after a 10 hour day. Thank you! This was my first time getting a recipe from your blog, but definitely not the last!
I made this today and used a beef stew seasoning packet instead of the gravy and onion soup mix. It turned out amazing!
I use all 3 and dump some Cajun seasoning in there too. It never disappoints! I’ll be enjoying it again in 15 mins after the NPR.
Great idea!
I made this tonight and it was a hit! Didn’t have beef gravy so I threw in a beef bouillon cube along with a squirt of ketchup and a tsp of Worcestershire. After 50 years of stew making, I have finally found a winner!
Thank you for this and many other recipes.
Wow 50 years! That’s awesome Jane!
I have an 8qt and would love to double or even triple this recipe. I’m fairly new to the instant pot world so forgive me for asking but do I have to increase liquid I’d doubling or tripling the meat and veggies? What about other ingredients? Thank you in advance!
I would double all ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
Thank you so much for the instant pot cheater beef stew I tried it yesterday and it was delicious I didn’t have frozen vegetable so I cut my own vegetable and I also added cabbage it was great hubby love it to. I will be making this more often.
Jocelyne
Yum I love the idea of cabbage.
If I cut up the potatoes myself do I cook them first or add them at the beginning with the meat since that are raw?
Add them at the same point you’d add the frozen veggies.
Karen please stop, just stop haha posting amazing looking soups and stews it’s driving me crazy…lol I want to make them so bad! But with triple digit temps here in Texas nobody wants soup, stew, or chili but me : ( in the family. This looks so good, and I love how easy it would be after work, I can already taste it with some warm buttered cornbread!!! With your recipes the dreaded question “What’s for dinner?” is no longer an issue for me! Thank you Karen!
Haha!!! I feel for you! It is the first week of cooler temps here and I am soooo excited. I love the fall! But not when it’s 100 degrees 🙂
This looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try it once the weather cools off a bit. I bet it’d be great with some homemade bread.
Love me some crusty bread!
I have made this several times. I always use fresh veggies and follow the recipe as written. So yummy.
Cool! glad it works well with fresh veggies. That is good to know!
I’m new at the Instant Pot love it already. I made the beef stew the other day very good. But now the rubber ring smells like it. Can I do something to get rid of the smell?
Watch this: https://youtu.be/spI9UPvz0Xg
I think this has been answered already, but if I’m using fresh veggies do I alter the cooking time? My guess they will take a little longer to cook than frozen veggies? (My Wal-Mart didn’t carry the pre-cut frozen stew veggies. Time to get out the knife!)
5 minutes of pressure cook time plus the NPR should be plenty of time for cubed potatoes and the carrots.
Really good. I used a whole packet of brown gravy mix, fresh carrots, celery, & onion; canned white potatoes; and frozen green beans. I’ll definitely keep this recipe as a favorite. Thank you!
Sounds great! Did the beans get mushy?
Wow this was so easy and so good. I let my 7 year old make it. The only changes I made was i used a whole 4 oz package of brown gravy mix and a 32 oz bag of stew veggies.
Way to get the kids involved! I love it
Did you start with frozen stew meat?
Mine was fresh. But you could use frozen. Same cooking time.
I can’t wait to try this! I like using frozen vegetables now that I can’t stand for long to chop them manually.
this recipe looks easy enough for me to do!
It’s sooo easy. that’s why I like it!
Hi Karen, I just want to say thank you for all your work on this blog. I am new to insta pot land and had no idea. I then found your site which I consider the best on the net. Everything is so well put together and easy to understand. I appreciate your time and effort.
Best wishes,
Suzanne (Australia)
Wow thanks so much Suzanne!!! It’s fun to “know” someone from Australia.
Thank you Karen. I enjoy your blog. Keep up the AWESOME work!
Thanks Katie, I appreciate it!
I love easy recipes! I only had 2 tbsp of brown gravy mix, but it didn’t ruin the taste. My husband made several good remarks, but when he got up for seconds I knew it was a keeper! I did use the cornstarch to make a thicker gravy, and used 2 bags of veggies for a total of 36 oz. Thanks for a great recipe!
PS… serving size portions would be awesome to help with counting WW points 🙂
Wow Debi! Your are ON it! I just posted this today. I’m glad for your review. Thank you!
Hi Karen. I have an 8 qt and a 6.5 qt pressure cooker. I would love it if you could put the doubling directions on your recipes and the ‘new’ cook times (if it changes). Im new to your blog and would be so thrilled if you could do that😊 Thanks in advance…
I was looking at the Bbq chicken recipe and the 3 ingred pot roast and this stew one (of course-and others) and want to double the meat, etc. to make for my family on Sundays for dinner.
Hey Katie,
I’m in the process of writing a post on how to double recipes. Basically even if you double the food the pressure cooking time will be the same. Sometimes if it’s tender foods like pasta you will decrease the pressure cooking time. Hope this helps!
Hi. I’m excited to try this but I want to use fresh potatoes veggies. Do I wait and add them after like you suggest with the frozen veggie or add them with beef ? Does liquid amounts change if it’s not frozen veggies
I’d add them the same time you would have with frozen. Keep the same liquid time.
Loved this stew ! Thank you for your quick reply regarding fresh veggies.
Used fresh veggies. It was exactly like you said.
Add them like you would the frozen veggies and they cooked in the 5 min –
Great! I’m so glad it worked well. I bet a lot of other people will find this helpful too.