Ground Beef Stew is a thick and creamy gravy with ground beef, potatoes, peas and carrots. Making this in the Instant Pot makes this stew fast and easy! Pair this stew with a crusty dinner roll and you’ve got yourself one hearty meal!
The Fastest and Tastiest Poor Man’s Soup
The first time I made a version of this soup was when we were in grad school and quite literally, extremely poor. (Hello, loans!)
It was one of those days where grocery shopping needed to be done DAYS ago and ground beef was the only meat in the freezer.
We were tired of Sloppy Joes and stroganoff. We were in a serious ground beef meal rut. It’s a real thing and I believe you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you don’t, share your secrets with me!
So I racked my brain (and pantry) and came up with a seriously cheap, fast, easy, DELICIOUS meal. Honestly, every time I make this I tend to eat it for every meal until the leftovers are gone.
It is now faster than ever because, well, INSTANT POT.
How to make Instant Pot Ground Beef Stew
You will be surprised at how simple and fast this stew comes together.
First you’ll brown the ground beef. You can do this on the sauté setting or in a frying pan. I always cook and freeze my ground beef in pre-portioned baggies, so in my case, I pull one out of the freezer and thaw it. 😉
Dice the potatoes into small cubes, about the size of cubed hash browns. I always use a bag of frozen mixed peas and carrots.
Beef broth, Au Jus seasoning, minced onion, the beef and veggies go into the Instant Pot. (If you used your instant pot to brown the meat, make sure you deglaze the pot with the broth to insure the dreaded burn notice won’t pop up.)
Cook on Manual HIGH for 0 (zero) minutes and then quick release the pressure. Make sure not to cut the potatoes into too big of chunks or else they will not cook in the zero minute cook time.
Then turn the Instant Pot on to saute. Make a paste with butter and flour. When the stew begins to boil, add the paste to the pot and stir until the paste has melted and thickened the gravy.
Making Ground Beef Stew without an Instant Pot
Yes, it can be done! Instead of pressure cooking everything, you’ll need to simmer the potatoes and broth on the stove top for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.
Just before the potatoes are done, add in the cooked ground beef and frozen peas and carrots. Simmer for 3-5 more minutes.
Thicken with a paste of butter and flour.
Serve with a crusty dinner roll for a hearty meal!
Ground Beef Stew
Ground Beef Stew is a thick and creamy gravy with ground beef, potatoes, peas and carrots. Making this in the Instant Pot makes this stew fast and easy! Pair this stew with a crusty dinner roll and you’ve got yourself one hearty meal!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 pkg au jus seasoning
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced onion dried
- 2 potatoes diced, small
- 2 cups frozen mixed peas & carrots
- 2 tbsp butter room temperature
- 3 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef. This can be done in the Instant Pot on the saute setting or in a separate pan, whatever you prefer.
- Add the broth (If you used the Instant Pot to brown the meat, make sure to deglaze the pot!) ground beef, au jus seasoning, onion, diced potatoes and the frozen peas and carrots to the liner of the Instant Pot.
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 0 (yes, ZERO) minutes.
- While the stew is pressure cooking in the Instant Pot, make a paste with the butter and flour.
- Quick Release the pressure when the Instant Pot is done.
- Turn the Instant Pot onto saute. When the stew begins to boil, add the butter and flour paste to the Instant Pot.
- Stir while the paste is melting and thickening the stew. If after all of the paste has melted, you still want the stew thicker, simply make a little bit more paste and thicken to your liking. The measurements above are exactly the way I eat it.
- Serve with a crusty dinner roll and enjoy!
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Ground Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 pkg au jus seasoning
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced onion dried
- 2 potatoes diced, small
- 2 cups frozen mixed peas & carrots
- 2 tbsp butter room temperature
- 3 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef. This can be done in the Instant Pot on the saute setting or in a separate pan, whatever you prefer.
- Add the broth (If you used the Instant Pot to brown the meat, make sure to deglaze the pot!) ground beef, au jus seasoning, onion, diced potatoes and the frozen peas and carrots to the liner of the Instant Pot.
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 0 (yes, ZERO) minutes.
- While the stew is pressure cooking in the Instant Pot, make a paste with the butter and flour.
- Quick Release the pressure when the Instant Pot is done.
- Turn the Instant Pot onto saute. When the stew begins to boil, add the butter and flour paste to the Instant Pot.
- Stir while the paste is melting and thickening the stew. If after all of the paste has melted, you still want the stew thicker, simply make a little bit more paste and thicken to your liking. The measurements above are exactly the way I eat it.
- Serve with a crusty dinner roll and enjoy!
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Marcie says
Sound delicious but I don’t have an Instant Pot. Do you know how I could make in crockpot or on the stove?
karlibitner says
Yes, you could definitely make on the stove top! Just simmer everything besides the butter/flour paste until the potatoes are fork tender and then thicken with the butter/flour paste. Hope this helps!
Jeanette says
I would like to cook this in a crock pot, do you know how long and on high or low?
Karli Bitner says
Jeanette, I haven’t tested making this recipe in a crock pot, so I can’t say for sure. I would suggest cooking on high for an hour or two, until your potatoes are fork tender. Then to thicken the soup, you’ll need to transfer it to a large pot on the stove top and bring everything to a boil before adding the flour and butter paste. Hopefully this helps!
Alexa Carpenter says
So do the potato cook while getting up to pressure? Just doesn’t seem possible.
karlibitner says
The potatoes cook while the pot is coming to pressure. Everything inside of the pot will be boiling for a good 5-10 minutes while it is coming to pressure. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Steph says
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but when I quick released the pressure cooker, steam was releasing for 30 minutes! By the time I could take the lid off most of the broth was gone. I’m assuming it usually does not take that long for the steam to release?
karlibitner says
It sounds like your pot was stuck on the cooking cycle and the heating element never turned off! This happened to one of my friends, once. Once she unplugged, the Instant Pot came back to normal pressure quickly. I should only release for a couple of minutes max with this recipe. Sorry that happened to you!!
Anne Hersch says
I have made this for years in the oven. Usually use just peas but carrots would be good too. Always add a can of diced tomatoes and a little butter . Its wonderful.
Avis Hickson says
I love quick and easy but also delicious meals!!
Ally says
My family loved this easy meal!
I used frozen southern style hash browns (little cubes) instead of fresh potatoes. They worked awesome to make this an extra easy meal!
Thank You!
Karli Bitner says
Great substitution!! Thanks, Ally!
Sam says
No one has my great grandmother canned stew recipe, but this is the closest I can find. Even though it’s not the same it brings back the old feeling of childhood. Thanks for sharing. We made it several times.
Karli Bitner says
I am glad you enjoyed it, Sam! 🙂