This Beef Stew is saucy, hearty, and made with simple, good-for-you ingredients like potatoes, carrots, beef, tomato juice, and spices. Make it in the Instant Pot in a flash or in the oven, cooked low and slow. Both cooking methods give drool-worthy results. Don’t forget the crusty bread for dipping!
This recipe was originally published in November of 2017, but I’ve just updated the recipe to be even more delicious and added new photos!
It’s winter which also means it’s SOUP SEASON! Okay, okay, this is technically a stew but still. Soup season is one of the many reasons I love winter – ’tis the season for warm, hearty, soul-feeding, hot bowls of these magic liquids we call soup.
Some of my favorites include:
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Vegetable Beef Soup
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup (with Crusty No Knead Bread!)
And of course, Beef Stew deserves a place on the list of favorites. It’s delicious, saucy, totally perfect for bread dipping, and it’s easy. Like, under-an-hour easy. Dinner-in-a-flash easy.
Can we talk about this misconception that people have about making soup/stew? It’s actually very easy and doesn’t need to take hours.
Two Cooking Options:
You have two cooking options here, because I’m all about flexibility!
- Instant Pot: This stew cooks in about 35 minutes in the Instant Pot
! I love using this method when I’m short on time. - Oven: If you’re not short on time, cook this beef stew in a dutch oven for about 2 hours.
! I love using this method when I’m short on time. 
for about 2 hours. 
With either option, all you have to muster up the energy to do is chop some veggies (you could even buy pre-chopped) and throw all the ingredients into the cooking vessel. See? I’m all about ease here!
Both methods work their magic – leaving you with a mix of fall-apart-tender beef, soft carrots + potatoes, and creamy sauce cascading onto my plate + into my belly. I’m talking you look at the beef and it falls apart. How can you even resist?
And of course, no stew experience is complete without some warm crusty bread. It’s practically the most important part. Want to know a secret? Sometimes I make soup just so I have something to dip my bread in. Confessions of a bread-a-holic.
Just embrace it. Embrace the warm, crusty, buttery bread-and-stew goodness.
That bread swoop ?
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Best Beef Stew (Instant Pot & Oven Directions!)
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups tomato juice
- 24 ounces beef stew meat
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced
- 6 medium yellow potatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch of pepper
- 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup peas Optional - I usually don't use them but I know some people love them in their stew!
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, if using oven method. Roughly chop the potatoes, celery, and carrots. Set aside. In a bowl, add the flour, salt and pepper and mix. Toss the beef in this mixture to coat. Stir in a cup of frozen peas (it’s important to do this after it’s done cooking, they will turn to mush if you add them at the beginning with everything else). Serve warm with some crusty bread
- Instant Pot Method: Place the beef in the bottom of the Instant Pot (make sure you use the metal LINER that it comes with - never put food directly into the pot itself). Add the celery, carrots, and potatoes. Add the onions on top. (I didn’t stir everything together). Pour the tomato sauce in and add the garlic, thyme, and an extra pinch of salt + pepper. Make sure the vent is set to “sealing” and select the “stew/meat” setting on the Instant Pot. Cook for 35 minutes. When it's finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally (takes about 15 minutes).
- Oven Method: Add everything to a dutch oven and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes - 2 hrs 10 minutes. It's done when the beef is tender and the veggies are soft - check it at 1 hour 30 minutes. (I like to pull out a piece of meat, a piece of potato, and a piece of carrot, and cut into them all to make sure they're tender/done. Taste the meat to see if it's tender enough.)
- Serve + Store: Stir in the peas when done cooking (for either method) if using. Serve warm, with crusty bread! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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