Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew is thick, hearty, meaty, and flavorful. The best part is that it's easy to make and complete in under an hour! Pair the Stew with homemade soda bread for a full St Patrick's Day meal.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
This recipe for Irish Beef Stew is proper comfort food at its finest. When I made the recipe, I thought (out loud), "If this were served at an Irish pub near me, I'd probably eat there once a week."
Luckily, I won't need to search for that hypothetical Pub; I'll make it myself!
Ingredients
Meat: When selecting the beef for your Stew, I recommend a round rump roast, the eye of round, or precut stew meat. Choose whichever you have available to you and make the recipe most straightforward.
You'll also want to grab some bacon. I love Wright's thick-cut bacon. However, if you're going to stay as cost-effective as possible, choose any bacon you'd like.
Vegetables: You'll need yellow onions, whole carrots, parsnips, celery, Yukon Potatoes, and garlic. If you choose not to use the parsnips, add extra carrots or potatoes in their place.
Herbs and Spices: I used a mix of fresh and dried ingredients in this Irish Beef Stew. Grab some fresh rosemary, dried thyme, kosher salt, black pepper, and a couple of bay leaves, and you're good to go.
Liquids and Extras: All you'll need is some tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, and Beef Stock for the base of the Stew. You'll also need Olive Oil for sautéing.
Once your Stew has finished cooking in the Instant Pot, you'll want to thicken it. Use a mix of water and cornstarch as the thickener for your desired texture.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by slicing all of the veggies, adding the onions, carrots, and parsnips to a bowl, and setting them aside. Don't slice the potatoes quite yet.
Next, slice the beef into about one-inch cubes unless you use pre-cubed stew meat.
Now, turn the Instant Pot on, set it to sauté high for 20 minutes, and add the olive oil. Once the oil has started to heat, brown the cubes of beef. It's not imperative to brown each side as you aren't cooking the meat at this stage. It is just getting a bit of sear on the outside. Once the beef is browned, remove it and set it aside.
Cut the bacon into the Instant Pot using a pair of cooking shears. Be careful because it can and will pop a bit. Add the veggies prepared earlier once the bacon has begun to cook and crisp up a bit.
Sauté the veggies with the bacon for about 10 minutes or until the onions become translucent and the carrots and parsnips begin to soften.
While the veggies are sautéing, slice the potatoes into large chunks or cubes and add them to the Instant Pot as soon as the other veggies are done.
Once you've added the potatoes, place the beef back into the Instant Pot and add the dried thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper, stirring to combine.
Lastly, add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, Guinness, and beef stock. Please stir this quickly to ensure it's all mixed, and top it all off with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a couple of bay leaves.
Secure the lid onto the Instant Pot and set it to pressure cook, high, for 30 minutes. Allow a 10-minute natural release, then manually release any remaining pressure.
Expert Tips
- To thicken the stew, whisk together equal parts cornstarch and water. Add this slurry to the boiling stew, wait 2-3 minutes, and add more until you've reached your desired consistency.
- If you end up with leftover stew, you may want to try and use it in this easy homemade beef stew pot pie!
- You can skip the searing step if you're in a rush or pressed for time.
Recipe FAQs
Traditional Irish stew is typically made with lamb, while beef stew always uses beef.
If your meat is coming out tough when cooked in the instant pot, it is most likely due to not allowing time for a natural release or the cut of meat used.
Traditionally, English stew uses beef for the protein, whereas Irish stew uses lamb.
The best way to thicken Irish stew is to make a slurry and mix it into the stew until the desired texture has been reached.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Recipe for Irish Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 lb Eye of Round or Round Rump Roast - cubed
- 6 Thick Cut Bacon Slices - diced
- 2 Yellow Onions - chopped
- 3 Large Carrots - peeled and cut into chunks/slices
- 1 Large Parsnip - peeled and cut into chunks/slices
- 2 Celery Stalks - sliced
- 3 Yukon Potatoes - cubed
- 1 ½ tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 3 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Bottle Guinness Stout
- 1 Cup Beef Stock
- 1 Fresh Rosemary Sprig
- 2 Bay Leaves
Thickener
- 1 Cup Water
- ¼ Cup All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté, High, for 20 minutes, and add Olive Oil.
- Once the oil has started to heat up, brown the cubed beef and remove and set the meat aside.
- Cut the bacon into bits right into the Instant Pot using kitchen shears. Cook the bacon halfway, and then add onions, carrots, Parsnip, and celery.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté the veggies until the onion turns translucent and the carrots have begun to soften a bit, about 10 minutes.
- Next, add the diced potatoes and cubed beef to the veggie and bacon mixture, followed by the dried thyme, salt, and pepper, stirring to combine thoroughly.
- Now pour in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, and Guinness giving it one more quick stir.
- Top it off with a sprig of fresh rosemary and two bay leaves.
- Seal the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to Pressure Cook, High, 30 minutes. Allow for a 10-minute natural release and manually release any remaining pressure.
Thicken
- Quickly whisk together the flour and water to ensure no clumps and stir this into the Irish Beef Stew. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it's thickened. (See Note)
Video
Notes
- To thicken the stew, whisk together equal parts cornstarch and water. Add this slurry to the boiling stew, wait 2-3 minutes, and add more until you've reached your desired consistency.
- If you end up with leftover stew, you may want to try and use it in this easy homemade beef stew pot pie!
- You can skip the searing step if you're in a rush or pressed for time.
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