Instant Pot Irish stew has so much flavor from the Guinness, beef, and other simple but delicious ingredients. It’s loaded with veggies and made in one pot!

overhead picture of irish beef stew in a white bowl

Instant Pot Irish stew has become a new favorite meal in our house. It is simple to make, uses pantry staples, and is made entirely in the Instant Pot. It’s the ultimate comfort food, with the Guinness adding a fun twist that adds a rich complexity and depth of flavor that makes this version different than your standard beef stew.

This recipe has been lightened up a little bit by adding some extra veggies. In addition to the beef, there are loads of potatoes, carrots, chopped onion, mushrooms and peas. The veggies all soak up the rich gravy and become little flavor bombs in their own right.

If you haven’t tried Irish Stew before, you’ll be blown away by how good it is. One bite and you’ll want to be curled up under a blanket with a good book. It’s got that level of comfort food factor to it.

hand dipping a piece of bread in bowl of beef stew

Table of Contents

Ingredients

One of the things I like best about making stews is that I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand. In this case, all I had to get was stew meat, mushrooms, and parsley (which is optional of course). Although it looks like the ingredient list is long, its basic stuff, most of which can be dumped in quickly and doesn’t complicate the recipe.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need:

oil (I get avocado oil at Costco)
stew Beef (round, chuck, pot roast – whatever)
mushrooms
garlic
flour
salt
black pepper
Guinness
beef stock or broth
Dijon mustard
tomato paste (this tubed kind is super convenient)
dried thyme
Worcestershire sauce
bay leaves
potatoes
carrots
peas
parsley to garnish

overhead picture of table with two bowls of beef stew and a loaf of bread

What cut of beef to use

Have you ever found yourself standing at the meat counter trying to figure out what cut to get when half of them look identical? I certainly have. I am no meat man, but I’ve learned that with stew, its pretty hard to go wrong.

I recommend a round or chuck roast or just buy pre-cubed stew meat. Round cuts are sometimes labeled as “bottom round” or “eye” cuts or even round steak. These are pretty lean compared to chuck roast (pot roast) which is fattier. Stew is a great way to use leaner, tougher cuts of meat since simmering will make them tender as can be. Don’t waste your good steak here.

With the Instant Pot’s magic, the simmer time is cut down significantly compared to making a stew on the stove. Pressure cooking can turn tough meats into fork tender bites in record time so don’t be afraid to use a tough cut here.

spoonful of irish stew held over an instant pot

How to make Instant Pot Irish stew

I’ve already used the word simple half a dozen times but it really is easy to make!

You start by using the sauté feature on the instant pot to brown the beef. You’ll need to do this in two batches to get a good sear on it. The sear is where all the flavor comes from.
Then you cook the onions, mushrooms and garlic down a bit to add more flavor to the veggies.
Add the meat back in and sprinkle flour, salt and pepper over it, stirring until the flour is absorbed.
Deglaze the pan with Guinness and then add the beef stock, Dijon, tomato paste, thyme, Worcestershire, and bay leaves.
Stir well to mix in and then add the potatoes, carrots, and peas and give it all a good stir (it will look like the picture on the left below.
Set to pressure cook on high for 30 minutes and then naturally release pressure and you’ll end up with the picture on the right!
Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

side beside pics of before and after pressure cooking irish stew in an instant pot

Tips for making perfect Irish Stew

While this recipe is easy enough for a very novice cook and Instant Pot user, there are a few things that you’ll want to note to make sure yours comes out absolutely perfect.

close up picture of spoon resting in bowl of irish stew

Make sure to cut the potatoes and carrots larger (1 1/2″ and 2″, respectively) so they’ll be perfectly cooked. They will be fork tender and easy to break small pieces off with your spoon when eating. Cutting them smaller could result in mushy veggies.
While not necessary, taking the extra step of searing the meat in two batches adds extra flavor. I know, it gets an extra plate or bowl dirty, but all of the beef won’t fit in the pan at the same time so the top pieces will end up steaming instead of searing if cooked all at once.
Add the potatoes, carrots, and peas after mixing in the liquid and spice ingredients, not before. This ensures that the liquids and seasoning gets evenly dispersed since it’s harder to stir the pot once those carrots and potatoes are in there (learn from my mistakes!).
To make gluten free, leave out the flour and thicken at the end by stirring a cornstarch slurry in (1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. cold water).
Yes, Guinness can be replaced with another dark beef if needed, but I really don’t recommend substitutions in this recipe. It’s great as written. If needed, the mushrooms and/or peas can be left out if you don’t have them without other adjustments needing to be made.

close up picture of irish beef stew with spoon sticking out of it

What to serve with Irish stew

Well, a crusty bread is an absolute MUST in my opinion but it really can and does act as a one pot meal even without bread. No sides or starters needed and you’ll probably end up too full for dessert too.

BUT, if you do want to serve something alongside your Instant Pot Irish stew, here are a few options:

A good crusty bread – this Irish soda bread from Recipe Tin Eats would keep with the theme!
Serving with this versatile kale salad with the most tantalizing lemon dressing around would certainly be welcome.
Pretty much anything from this list of 20+ healthy dessert recipes – they’re all drool worthy!

Honestly – you don’t need anything else. That right there makes for a more than full meal!

close up picture of bowl of irish beef stew

Other soup and stew recipes

If you’re looking for some other soup and stew recipes to try out, here are a few tried and true options:

This African Peanut Stew is loved by everyone that tries it.
Chicken paprika soup became an instant favorite of mine after trying at a local Portland deli and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since (and you probably will be too if you try it).
This vegan lentil soup is loaded with sweet potatoes and topped with avocado and cilantro – so good, you’d never even notice it’s vegan!
My Thai coconut curry noodle soup is absolutely to die for – I’ve actually got it on the meal plan for this week!
This creamy soup is made with either a sweet meat or butternut squash soup – deeelicious!
Curry carrot soup is a unique fun creamy soup made from blended carrots – always a welcome addition.