The Best Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon ~ this epic beef stew cooks in just 30 minutes in the amazing Instant Pot. The meat is melt in your mouth tender and the famous French flavors shine through ~ don’t miss this one!
*This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef® brand. It gives me such pleasure to team up a brand that I feel so passionately about, thanks for supporting both of us!
Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon talking points!
- Certified Angus Beef® brand beef is the best beef you can buy.
- The Instant Pot leaves every other cooking method in the dust.
- Beef Bourguignon is beef stew kicked up a whole lot of notches.
You’ll find Certified Angus Beef® brand in your best supermarkets and butchers, but if you still don’t have an Instant Pot I’m sorry, but the rest of the class has to move on, we can’t wait for stragglers (JK, you can do this on the stove top, it’ll just take a little longer.)
beef bourguignon in the Instant Pot
If you caught my MIDDLE EASTERN NACHOS post already know how I feel about Certified Angus Beef® brand, and if you caught my 30 MINUTE INSTANT POT LOBSTER RISOTTO you know how I feel about the Instant Pot. Put the two together and things are bound to get exciting. This beef bourguignon literally cooks in 30 minutes. And the meat is fork tender. In fact, you have to be extra careful with your fork, the meat has a tendency to fall apart even before it gets to your mouth.
Of course there’s a little prep work to be done ahead of pressing that 30 minute timer on your Instant Pot. You’ll need to chop your veggies and cut your meat into chunks. You’ll want carrots, onion, celery, and potatoes. If you’ve got mushrooms hanging around, throw them in, too. This part can be done ahead of time, though, so no worries.
choosing the right beef for beef stew
When you choose your meat, look for a nice bright color, and lots of marbling. Marbling is the veining of at that goes through the meat. As it cooks, that marbling translates to flavor and tenderness. I chose a nice big boneless top sirloin steak for my stew and I was thrilled with the results, but there are lots of other ways to go, just make sure it’s got the Certified Angus Beef® brand label. There’s a handy guide on their website that helps you choose the right cut for your recipe.
4 easy steps to making beef bourguignon in the Instant Pot
STEP 1 ~ I dredge the meat in flour, salt and pepper, and then brown it right in the pot. I do this in two stages because if you overcrowd the pan with meat it won’t brown. That browning is what contributes to the flavor of the Bourguignon later on, so take the time to get good color on your beef at this stage.
STEP 2 ~ After the meat is browned, I’ll deglaze the pan with a splash of cognac (the secret ingredient in bourguignon.)Â Then everything goes in the pot, along with the red wine, beef stock, and flavorings.
STEP 3 ~ Once everything is in the pot you can close and lock the lid. Now the magic happens. Set the controls to ‘Pressure Cook’ for 30 minutes.
STEP 4 ~ add the pearl onions in at the end, and stir in a slurry of flour and water to thicken the gravy. Now it’s ready to ladle into shallow bowls and serve with the rest of that wine.
does alcohol cook off in the Instant Pot?
- The alcohol that you use in an Instant Pot, pressure cooker, or slow cooker won’t cook off in the same way that it does on the stove top, since it’s sealed in and can’t evaporate into steam.
- A portion of the alcohol will be released in a concentrated form when you open the pressure release valve at the end of the cooking.
- Beef Bourguignon and other dishes like my ROSÉ RISOTTO that feature larger amounts of wine or alcohol should be reserved for adults.
more classic one pot dinners
- Easy Cassoulet
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs
- Sauerbraten (German pot roast)
- Instant Pot Irish Stew
- Dublin Coddle ~ a quick cooking Irish stew!
The Best Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds Certified Angus Beef® brand stew meat, or boneless top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup cognac
- 1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 pound new potatoes, halved
- 4 carrots, peeled and rough chopped
- handful of mushrooms, optional trimmed and quartered
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 cup red wine, Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 heaping Tbsp tomato paste
- 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 – 1 tsp gravy browning such as Kitchen Bouquet, add this at the end, as necessary, if you prefer
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 4 Tbsp flour mixed with an equal amount of water
garnish
- fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Toss the beef with the flour, salt and pepper. Make sure all the meat is coated with the flour.
- Heat the olive oil in your Instant Pot, set to Sauté. When the screen reads ‘Hot’, add 1/2 the meat to the pot to brown. Let the meat get good color on all sides, (4-5 minutes) then remove and brown the remaining meat.
- Add all the meat back into the pot and add the cognac. Stir to combine and let the cognac bubble for a minute. I like to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and then add the bundle of thyme, the onions, celery, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic.
- Whisk together the wine, broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and gravy browning, and pour into the pot. Give everything a stir, then close and lock the lid. Put the vent to the seal position, and press ‘Pressure Cook’. Set the timer to 30 minutes.
- When the machine beeps, press cancel and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then set the pressure valve to release, and wait for the pressure to come down. Open the lid and remove the thyme bundle. I like to set the Instant Pot to sauté at this point and add the pearl onions and flour slurry. Stir well as the stew thickens. Be sure to taste to adjust the salt and pepper, you will likely need more. You can also add more Worcestershire sauce at this point if you feel it needs it.
- Serve in shallow bowls with a sprinkle of fresh thyme.
Notes
Nutrition
Notes:
- Be sure to cut your carrots and potatoes on the large size, they do get soft in the IP. Alternatively, you could cook everything except the potatoes and carrots for 2o minutes, then cancel, let the pressure reduce, add them, and pressure cook for an additional 10 minutes. This would result in a firmer texture for the vegetables.
Sue – great recipe. I smashed it out of the park yesterday. I live in KC and we had a cold snowy Easter. This was perfect meal for that kind of day. It always tastier the next day or two, so I am excited for lunch today ha. My Dad makes this dish and it’s always been my favorite of his. It was a nice flashback of home!
What a perfect dish for a cold snowy Easter ~ maybe you can talk your Dad into an Instant Pot 😉
It looks so good and I am going to try it this weekend, but I don’t have cognac … does cognac necessary or I can use something else to replace? Thank you Sue!
Cognac isn’t essential, so you can leave it out Cher.
I just this evening purchased a very good Instant Pot, and am excited to “break it in!” Its purchase will allow me to divest myself of a rice cooker, a slow cooker and a stove-top pressure cooker! I have made, a number of times, what I consider the epitome of Beef Bourguignon, and that would be “Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon” masterpiece! I am so excited to try this take on it, it sounds delicious, thank you so much for sharing your with us. I will report back my humble attempt!
Thanks, can’t wait to hear what you think J.M.!
It looks great ! I’m going to try it.
Now I wish I had an Instant Pot . Your recipe looks so easy and delicious. Usually Beef Bourguignon takes a long time to make.
Total game changer Gerlinde 🙂
You forgot to list the celery!
I made a vegan version of this with some beef seitan I googled. It was nice. I’m not usually a fan of stews, but my family are, so they love it.
Thanks Michael, I’ll fix that, and I’m fascinated by your vegan version!
Sue can I do this in a basic slow cooker, my Nesco for instance or stove top? Don’t have an instant pot? Sorry if a dumb question.
Hey Carol, you can definitely do this in the slow cooker, I have a great recipe for that here: https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/slow-cooker-crock-pot-beef-bourguignon/
Tried your Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon, wonderful flavour and a delight to come home to after being out on the farm. Looked amazing many thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks Carolyn, I’m happy that it worked so well for you, I bet you work up quite an appetite on a farm 🙂
Betty Crocker actually has a really good slow cooker Beef Bourguignon recipe on their site…
OOPS! Sorry, I accidentally replied to the comment below the one I meant to reply to.
I made your Beef Bourguignon last night in my pressure cooker (I don’t have an Instant Pot version). It was delicious. I may have added a little too much cognac but that wasn’t a bad thing!
Haha, it sounds wonderful, so glad you enjoyed it Linnea.
Beautiful! I have yet to try a beef stew in my Instant Pot, but when I do, it will be this one 🙂
Hello. What is gravy browning?
A sauce like Kitchen Bouquet that adds a richer color to gravies in case you can’t or didn’t get it naturally from browning the meat.