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I recently got my new Instant Pot Classic Mini Multi Cooker, and I’ve been itching to put it to work on a proper stew. Some dishes usually take hours of slow simmering to get right, and that’s exactly where a pressure cooker earns its keep. It cuts the time down dramatically, tougher cuts of meat come out beautifully tender, and you don’t need to hover over the stove the whole time. If you’ve got the budget and you’re someone who loves a good stew, it’s genuinely worth the investment.

Today’s recipe is a Tomato Beef Stew made in the Instant Pot. I’ve used short ribs, which you can find at most UK supermarkets, well marbled and perfect for this kind of long, slow-braised dish. Cooked the traditional way, this would take two to three hours or more on the stove. With the Instant Pot, that comes down to under an hour, and the built-in sauté function means you can brown the meat and build the sauce in the same pot, so there’s far less washing up too.

Why Use the Instant Pot

Traditionally, a stew like this takes hours to prepare, since the beef needs to be simmered slowly to become tender and melt-in-the-mouth. With an Instant Pot, you can cut that time down significantly without losing any of the flavour. The pressure cooking function breaks down the beef and connective tissue beautifully in a fraction of the time, giving you the same depth and richness you’d get from hours of simmering on the stove. If you’re thinking about adding one to your kitchen, the Instant Pot 3.8L Classic Mini is the one I used for this recipe. It’s compact, versatile, and easy to use. You can find it here (affiliate link).

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Fall-apart tender beef: pressure cooking breaks down the short ribs in under an hour, no hours of simmering required.
Rich, deep flavour: caramelising the sugar before searing the beef, then reducing the sauce at the end, builds real depth.
One pot, less washing up: searing, building the sauce, and pressure cooking all happen in the same pot.
Great over rice or pasta: the thick, glossy sauce works well spooned over either.

Tips for Making This Recipe

Caramelise the Sugar: cook the sugar to a deep amber colour before adding the beef. This step builds a subtle depth of flavour that’s easy to skip but worth the extra minute.
Cut the Carrot Fairly Large: pressure cooking softens vegetables quickly, so cutting the carrot into larger chunks stops it turning to mush.
Reserve Some Carrot and Tomato for Texture: if you like a bit of bite, hold back a portion of the carrot and tomato before pressure cooking. Let the rest cook with the beef to build a deeper, more layered sauce, then stir the reserved portion in once you switch back to ‘Sauté’ to reduce it, so it softens slightly but still holds its shape.
Add Potato If You Like: a few chunks of potato are a great addition, they break down slightly during cooking for a soft, almost crumbly texture that thickens the sauce further.
Deglaze Properly: when you add the cooking wine, scrape the bottom of the pot well. Those browned bits are where a lot of the flavour is.

Final Thoughts

This hearty Instant Pot Tomato Beef Stew is absolutely loaded with tender chunks of beef and carrots in a rich, tomato-based broth. You can make a big batch and portion it into the freezer, then simply reheat whenever you’re ready to eat. It works just as well spooned over rice or tossed through pasta.

More Instant Pot Recipes to Try

Instant Pot Tomato Beef Stew

Wanting

A comforting tomato beef stew made in the Instant Pot. Short ribs are simmered with tomatoes, carrots and aromatics until fall-apart tender, finished with a rich, glossy sauce. Serve over steamed rice or pasta fora proper comfort meal.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Ingredients

700 g boneless short ribs, cut into chunks I bought bone-in short ribs and removed the bone myself, yielding about 700g of meat.
2 tsp sugar, for the caramel
5 garlic cloves, smashed
5 g finely sliced ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ onion, sliced or diced about 140g
250 carrots, cut into chunks cut it fairly large, as pressure cooking will soften it further
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges or diced, peeled if you prefer about 350g
70 g tomato purée
2 bay leaves
45 ml cooking wine
260 ml beef stock or water
A handful of finely chopped spring onion, to garnish
Vegetable oil, for cooking

FOR SEASONING

Salt and black pepper

Instructions

Caramelise the sugar: Set the pressure cooker to ‘Sauté’ and heat the oil. Add the sugar and cook until it caramelises to a deep amber colour. Immediately add the short rib chunks and sear until browned.
Build the base: Add the garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, tomatoes, tomato purée and soy sauce. Cook until softened and fragrant.
Deglaze and add liquid: Pour in the cooking wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any browned bits. Add the beef stock or water and the bay leaves.
Pressure cook: Seal the lid and cook on ‘Pressure Cook’ setting for 35 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally, or release manually once ready.

If you prefer the carrot and tomatoes to keep more bite, hold back a portion of each before pressure cooking. Let some carrot and tomato pressure cook along with the beef, as this helps build a deeper, more layered flavour in the sauce. Add the reserved portion in later, once you switch back to 'Sauté' to reduce the sauce, so they soften slightly but still hold their shape.

Check and season: Open the lid and check that the beef is tender. Season with salt to taste.
Reduce the sauce: Switch back to ‘Sauté’ function and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
Serve: Garnish with the spring onion and a crack of black pepper. Serve hot.

Notes

Keyword Beef, Instant Pot