Spicy Beef Stew Recipe Without Wine (Instant Pot) (2024)

This spicy beef stew without wine is a pressure cooker gem. Lots of tender meat, flavorful root vegetables, and a silken sauce makes it the best one-pot dinner there ever was! An easy instant pot recipe.

I made this spicy beef stew in my instant pot for dinner yesterday and oh, the aroma! While I was sautéing the beef in light olive oil, my twins literally came running down to find out what I was cooking! As I added the vegetables, spices, and thyme, especially the thyme, my whole kitchen was filled with heady smells that lingered long after the stew was gone. It was seriously the best weekend meal after a lot of weekends of blah take-out. And trust me, it's amazingly delicious even without wine!

Besides being totally satisfying, this is a ridiculously easy recipe when made in the instant pot or your regular, stovetop pressure cooker. I won't be surprised if this recipe goes into your weekly rotation!

Ingredients

Note: exact amounts are given in the recipe card further down.

• Light olive oil
• Boneless lean beef, cut into small chunks
• Bay leaves
• Fresh garlic, chopped
• Dried chilli flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sea salt
• Root vegetables - carrots, shallots, and turnips cut into chunks
• Tomato paste
• Beef broth
• Water
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• All-purpose flour - Mix the flour in a few tablespoons of water to make a thin lump-free slurry. This thickens the stew in the last step.

How to make spicy beef stew

• Start by sautéing the beef chunks in olive oil in your instant pot (medium heat). Fry the beef until it starts turning brown and shiny. This step will take between eight to ten minutes.
• Then add the rest of the ingredients except the flour, deglaze the pot, and pressure cook for twelve minutes. Release the steam after five minutes and open the pot. Discard the thyme and bay leaves.
• Add the flour slurry and stir it into the pot. Cook the stew on sauté until the liquid thickens (about two to three minutes only), and your beautiful, peppery beef stew is ready to be served.

Why this instant pot beef stew works

• It's a hearty, flavorful meal that's packed with protein and the goodness of root vegetables.
• It's really easy to make and there is nothing complicated about it. You'll nail it every time.
• It makes use of common ingredients that you will already have in your pantry and fridge.
• The leftovers taste even better the next day!

Top tips

• This beef stew tastes wonderful all by itself, but you can pair it with some crusty bread if you want to.
• Do not over-brown the beef while cooking it. As it starts turning brown, add the rest of the ingredients.
• If you don't have fresh thyme on hand, substitute with parsley. It won't be the same as thyme but parsley goes very well with chunky stews and soups too. Don't skip the herbs altogether though as they do add a pleasing dimension to the stew.
• Reduce the amount of red chilli flakes according to your preference and especially if you don't want the stew to be spicy.There's black pepper in there too.
• Don't forget to deglaze the pot before pressure cooking the stew. Deglazing simply means to scrape off the bottom of the pot to release the food stuck to it so you don't end up getting the dreaded burn notice.

Other meat recipes you might like

• Kofta curry - These meatballs in sauce are the ultimate if you're entertaining. Slow cooked in a dutch oven, they taste awesome with some fresh, hot naan bread.
• Keema biryani - An interesting twist on the traditional biryani, this one's made with ground lamb or beef.
• Dal gosht - Another filling stew, this time with lentils to give it a totally different flavor and taste.
• Instant pot goulash - Fancy your meat with pasta? American goulash is a real crowd-pleaser and kid-friendly to boot.

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