The Best Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon ~ this epic beef stew cooks in just 30 minutes in the amazing Instant Pot.
*This Instant Pot beef Bourguignon 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.
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. This Instant Pot beef Bourguignon is just too good! (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.) 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!
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 20 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.
The Best Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 1 – 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
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
Are there any other cooking alcohols that you could substitute for the cognac?
You can use red wine, Dorothy, that works great.
thank you!!! I certainly have that on hand!
Hi Sue
Do you cook this on High Pressure or Low Pressure for 30 minutes?
Thank you ?
High pressure.
What a delicious collection this is. Thank you.
I plan to make every single recipe from it this winter. Making it a life goal for the next few months to explore more of your recipes.
Thanks so much Elly!
It would be helpful if you could relate the size of the instant pot to the number of servings.
This was so good! However I added all the onions the first time in step 4, when you said add the onions before you cook for 30 minutes? Did you mean in step 6 to cook just the pearl onions? If so would prob be good to differentiate. Thanks though, it was really good anyway!
Hi, and yes, it’s the pearl onions that go in at the end, I just clarified, thanks Natalie 🙂
That came out really great! I didn’t have the little onions which would have been a nice addition.
Thanks Darlene ~ I noticed that Trader Joe’s has nice packages of the small pearl onions in the frozen section.
My college age son could eat a couple pounds of beef in a sitting. Can I double this recipe? The instapot my sister gave me for Christmas is either 6 or 8 quarts – either way, I’m hoping it will be big enough?
If you say under the max fill line you should be ok. When you double recipes for the Instant Pot you don’t always need to double the liquids because there is no evaporation. It will take a little trial and error to get the right amounts.
Do you think this would be just as good if prepared a day ahead and rewarmed in a dutch oven?
I think that should be ok Bev.
I noticed that you do not call for bacon. Curious. Thanks!
Hi, I don’t have any cognac but I do have whiskey and rum. Would either of these work as a suitable substitute? Or will it turn out okay to leave out the cognac?
Thank you! I look forward to making this 😀
It’s ok to leave it out Lauren, but you could add the whiskey if you like.