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Are you looking for a tasty, easy dinner that’s ready in a flash? Our delicious Instant Pot beef stew with frozen beef is the answer! In minutes, you can have this tasty, hearty stew on the dinner table. The time-saving secret is: you don’t have to thaw your beef! You cook it straight from frozen beef chunks. They are simmered in a thick flavorful gravy and turn out tender and juicy every time.
by Ed
There’s something about cooking this Instant Pot Beef Stew with Frozen Beef that feels a bit like cheating.
When you go to your freezer with no plan, pull out a pack of stewing beef chunks that are frozen solid, then after 30-45 minutes of Instant Pot magic you have a delicious, tender beef stew that tastes like it has been simmering for hours, there is definitely some guilt.
But there shouldn’t be!
You are a busy person with stuff to do and every once and a while a busy person forgets to defrost the key ingredient to make a delicious instant pot beef stew recipe.
This is why you own an Instant Pot. We’ve extolled the virtues of its ability to make tender ribs in record time and produce a shreddable, tender brisket without a full day of effort.
Frozen meat is another great use of this kitchen workhorse.
Every time we make this recipe, the sealed pressure cooking environment of the Instant Pot has produced tender, juicy beef, simmered in a thick, flavourful gravy. So what if you didn’t have to plan ahead or put the whole meal on hours ahead of time?
Work smarter, not harder – right?
Just don’t skip the first key step! From this stew to our Korean BBQ beef, every Instant Pot frozen beef chunks meal we cook needs to begin with a hot oil saute.
Even with the meat still frozen, the high heat with sear and caramelize (Maillard effect, for the cooking nerds) the outside of the beef and give the whole recipe the rich flavour kick it needs to go from good to delicious!
It feels like extra work, but it really is marginal in terms of time addition.
By heating up the pot to saute, you will find that after browning, it gets up to pressure cooking temperature that much quicker because you’ve already got it preheated and partially full.
So if you’re reading this with an hour to spare till dinner, frozen stew beef in your freezer, and an instant pot on your counter you, my friend, can be enjoying a spectacular beef stew tonight and everyone will think you were planning it all day. Just go ahead and take credit.
Did you know there are Star Wars themed Instant Pots?
Kinda makes me wish we didn’t already have one…
Can you cook beef from frozen in a stew?
Yes, you can! It will take longer, but searing first to add flavour and then slow-cooked or (better still) pressure cooked to keep it tender and moist right to the end will do the job.
Can you cook a frozen piece of meat in an Instant Pot?
Yes, but you will need to add more time. For a frozen stew like this recipe, it usually means 5-7 extra minutes of pressure cooking and another 5-7 additional minutes of rest/natural release. Still way, way faster than traditional thawing and cooking.
Can you put frozen stewing beef in slow cooker?
You could cook frozen beef in a slow cooker, but A) it would take much, much longer to cook, and B) you would miss out on the delicious benefits of searing/browning it first. If you really want to slow cook from frozen, at least break the stewing beef up into smaller pieces and sear the outsides of it for a few minutes in a frying pan. Your stew will be so much tastier for it!
How long do you add frozen meat to Instant Pot?
For most frozen meats we’ve cooked, 5-10 additional pressure cooking minutes are enough for smaller/thinner cuts (stewing beef, ribs) for a total of 30 minutes of pressure cooking. For larger cuts like roasts, you may need to add 20-30 additional minutes for a total of 1:45-2:00 hours cooking time.
Be sure to also check out our collection of Easy, Fast & Tasty Recipes For Frozen Meats in Instant Pot and our Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes
Savoury & Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew with Frozen Beef
Serves 4
Ingredients for Beef Stew in Instant Pot:
- 1Tbsp Canola Oil
- 1lb stewing beef, cubed (frozen)
- 1 Tbsp flour
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp thyme
- ½ cup mushrooms (finely chopped/minced, unless you like mushrooms and chunks of them)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1Tbsp Ketchup
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2.5 cups mini/small potatoes, quartered
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch thick chunks
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
How to make Beef Stew:
1. Add oil to Instant Pot and preheat on ‘Sauté’ setting.
Continue cooking on Sauté until onions begin to soften and become translucent.
Scrape the pot with a wooden spoon until the bottom feels smooth again.
Stir well.
Leave “Keep Warm” on.
Release steam and open if needed after 15 minutes and stir in ½ cup of frozen peas.
Recover and leave on “Keep Warm” for 5 minutes.
Savory & Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew with Frozen Beef
Get ready to savor this delicious Instant Pot Beef Stew with Frozen Beef. With simmered vegetables and thick flavorful gravy, this meal is sure to turn out tender and juicy - and so quickly! Try this easy, comforting recipe today
Ingredients
- 1Tbsp Canola Oil
- 1lb stewing beef, cubed (frozen)
- 1 Tbsp flour
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp thyme
- ½ cup mushrooms (finely chopped/minced, unless you like mushrooms and chunks of them)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1Tbsp Ketchup
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2.5 cups mini/small potatoes, quartered
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick chunks
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Add oil to Instant Pot and preheat on ‘Sauté’ setting.
- In a bowl, toss frozen stewing beef cubes in flour & seasonings.
- Add beef mixture to heated Instant Pot. Sear the beef till outside is browned.
- Add onions and mushrooms. Continue cooking on Sauté until onions begin to soften and become translucent.
- Add beef stock, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to mixture and deglaze the browned flour: scrape the pot with a wooden spoon until the bottom feels smooth again. Stir
- Add potatoes and carrots.
- Set Instant Pot for “Meat/Stew” and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Leave “Keep Warm” on.
- When done, allow pressure to naturally release (sit) for 10-15 minutes. Release steam and open if needed after 15 minutes and stir in ½ cup of frozen peas.
- Recover and leave on “Keep Warm” for 5 minutes. Stir and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 192Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 515mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 11g
Be sure to also check out our collection of Easy, Fast & Tasty Recipes For Frozen Meats in Instant Pot and our Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes
And more of our recipes for Instant Pot meats (these are not from frozen):
- Rump Roast Instant Pot
- Korean Beef Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Beer Brisket
- 20+ Juicy Tender and Delicious Instant Pot Pork Chop Recipes
Robin and Ed are a DIY-loving couple with over 25 years of design and build experience. Also, Robin is a Nutritionist and former Registered Dietitian and Ed is an award-winning Business Educator. We share strategies for living a rich life on a DIY budget: creative money-savvy ideas for a stylish home, healthy meals and family fun. Our work has been published in the pages of Do It Yourself, Farmhouse Style and Better Homes & Gardens magazines.