Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew – Made With Classic Guinness Flavor

Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew is a terrific comfort food meal that can be served any day of the year. Chunks of beef, potatoes, onions and carrots cooked in a thick and hearty sauce flavored with an iconic stout beer.

This stew tastes so delicious and replicates the exact taste that I enjoyed during a trip to Ireland. From the tender vegetables to the melt in your mouth meat, every bite is bursting with a complex layer of flavors.

Stew is on the menu at nearly every restaurant in Ireland. From the casual lunch time joint to the popular 5 star restaurants, it is one of the most popular items ordered.

However, traditional Irish stew is typically made with lamb meat. They cook it for hours upon hours on the stove to achieve the right blend of flavors and until the meat literally falls apart.

But because lamb meat isn’t as readily available where I live, I decided that I would create the same type of stew but use beef instead. And because I don’t readily have hours upon hours to tend to a pot on the stove, I knew it was the perfect recipe to use my 6 quart Instant Pot.

This is one of the many reasons that I absolutely love my Instant Pot. You can take dishes that take forever to cook and make them in minutes! And they still taste like they have cooked all day!

So every year, during the cold winter months, I make this classic comfort food meal. And you can be sure that this recipe will be the star of the show on my St. Patrick’s Day dinner menu!

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

INGREDIENTS

*Although the ingredient list looks long, many of the items you will already have in your kitchen.

• Bacon slices, thick cut
• Onion, diced
• Clery, sliced
• Carrots, sliced
• Garlic, minced
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Guinness beer
• Dry red wine, optional
• Beef stock
• Worcestershire sauce
• Tomato paste
• Beef cut for stew
• Russet potatoes, cut in 1 inch cubes
• Dried thyme
• Dried parsley
• Bay leaf
• Kosher salt
• Cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• Warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

The first step in making Irish Beef Stew is to push the Sauté button on the Instant Pot. If your brand of pressure cooker does not have this feature, place a large pot over medium-high heat on the stove.

Cut the bacon into small bits and brown lightly on the sauté function, stirring frequently until half way cooked. Then add in the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, ground pepper and Guinness stout beer.

You won’t be using all of the beer in the stew, so whatever you want to do with the remainder is up to you. You can drink the rest or use the leftover to make Guinness Cupcakes.

When you add the beer use a wooden spatula to deglaze bottom of pot until it is clear. This is a very important step because if the bottom has stuck bits, you risk getting a burn notice when the stew cooks.

Continue to sauté the vegetables for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Because the pot is hot the alcohol will burn off, leaving only the flavor of the Guinness.

In a separate bowl, mix together the red wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Add the wine mixture to the pot, along with the beef, potatoes, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and salt and stir until combined.

Although the wine adds a ton of flavor, you can omit it if you prefer. Instead, add more beef stock in place of the wine.

Cook Time

Close the Instant Pot lid and lock it in place. Then move the valve to the sealed position. Press the Pressure cook or Manual button and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.

As with all pressure cooker recipes, additional time will be required for the pot to come to pressure before the cook time begins. It took my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 12 minutes for the pot to come to pressure for this Irish Beef Stew Recipe.

Once the cook time expires, allow the pot to sit and natural pressure release for 10 minutes. Then slowly move the valve to the venting position.

Be sure to do this slowly so that the liquid does not spew out of the valve. I move the valve about 1/4-1/2 and hold it in this position until the steam slows down a bit before moving it all the way.

In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch/arrowroot powder with the warm water until completely combined to make a slurry. Place the pot back on the Sauté mode and stir the slurry into the stew.

Continue to heat and stir until the desired thickness is achieved, approximately 2-4 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve warm.

Tips for Making Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew

1. You can use beef stew meat in this recipe. Not only is it less expensive than a full roast, the beef turns out nice and tender when cooked in the Instant Pot.

However, you can also use a chuck roast instead. Simply cut the beef into 1 inch cubes and cook as instructed.

2. Be sure to use thick sliced bacon. You want the flavor of bacon, but the thicker cut will also provide more texture to the stew as well.

You can use Canadian bacon or thick cut slices of American bacon. The choice is up to you.

3. After your cook your bacon and sauté your vegetables, be sure to use the liquid to deglaze the bottom of your pan. This help the pot come to pressure without any difficulty.

4. In a traditional Irish dish, the liquid of choice is Guinness stout beer. However, you can use any brand of stout beer that you prefer. However, if you prefer to avoid all alcohol, replace the beer and wine with a good quality beef stock.

Other Delicious Recipes To Make For St. Patrick’s Day

• Irish Shepherd’s Pie
• Air Fryer Corned Beef
• Instant Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage
• Colcannon
• Bangers and Mash
• Instant Pot Bangers and Mash

Enjoy! Mary

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