Instant Pot Texas Beef Stew With Sweet Potatoes (2024)

Ingredients

Scale

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ cup (4 ounces) pickled jalapeños with pickling juice
• ½ cup beer (Shiner Bock is authentic)
• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 cup beef broth (or chicken broth, or water)
• ½ teaspoon of salt (if using homemade broth or water)

Chili powder-cornstarch slurry (optional)

• ¼ cup water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

1. Sear the beef in batches: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode adjusted to high until the oil shimmers. (Use medium-high heat with a stovetop PC). While the pot heats, sprinkle the beef cubes with 1 teaspoon of salt, chili powder, and black pepper. Add ½ of the beef to the pot in a loose single layer and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. (Don’t crowd the pot or the beef will steam, not brown). Transfer the browned beef to a bowl, add the remaining half of the beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, another 3 minutes. Again, transfer the browned beef to the bowl.
2. Sauté the aromatics, toast the spices, deglaze the pot with beer: Add the onion to the pot and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally with a flat edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of beef or onion. Stir in the pickled jalapeños, then pour the beer into the pot. Bring the beer to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol. Scrape the bottom of the pot again to release any browned bits.
3. Everything into the pot: Stir in the beef and any juices left in the bowl. Stir in the sweet potatoes and beef broth, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt if using homemade broth.
4. Pressure cook the stew for 15 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an electric pressure cooker (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
5. Thicken, and serve:Whisk the water, cornstarch, and chili powder together to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the stew. Serve and enjoy!

Yes, only ½ cup beer - the rest of the bottle is for the chef. (And I won’t tell if you have another one while the stew is cooking).

The downside to pressure cooking is a thin sauce. The sealed pressure cooker lets us build pressure, but we don’t get any evaporation to thicken up the sauce. The cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce and gives it the mouthfeel of a long-simmered stew. And, as I said above, some of the sweet potatoes will also melt into the stew, thickening the sauce.

You can substitute bottom round roast for the chuck roast if that’s what’s available; everything else cooks the same.

Tools

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker)

Flat edged wooden spoon