Even though the summer months are quickly approaching, a gloomy day always gets me in the mood for a hearty soup or stew. This Instant Pot Beef Stew was a perfect cozy touch to this rainy New Jersey night!

Ingredients
1.5 lbs stew meat, cubed
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
5 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cup red cooking wine
1 packet McCormick Beef Stew seasoning
4 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves
2 cups cubed gold potatoes
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery






Directions
- Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a plate. Coat each piece of beef in the flour mixture.
- Set the Instant Pot to “Saute” mode. Pour 3 tsp of vegetable oil in. Once hot, begin browning the beef, in batches. Be sure not to overcrowd the pot. Remove each batch of browned beef to a plate once it is sufficiently browned, about 5 minutes per batch. Add additional oil between batches if needed.
- Remove all beef. Add in the vinegar, cooking wine, and beef broth. The pot will have a lot of brown bits stuck to it which need to be scraped up with a wooden spoon before pressure cooking (this will prevent the “BURN” notice). This is known as “deglazing.”
- Once the pot is sufficiently deglazed and no more brown bits are stuck to the bottom, add the beef, seasoning pack, and bay leaves into the liquid. Cancel saute mode.
- Set the Instant Pot to the Meat/Stew setting for 45 minutes. Flip your vent to “Sealing” mode before beginning the pressure cooking. It will take some time to build pressure before cooking time begins.
- After 45 minutes completes, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes (it will read LO:10). After the natural pressure release is complete, flip the vent to “Venting” mode to quick release the rest of the pressure. Be sure to use a hand towel or spoon to avoid steam burn.
- Stir beef mixture and add in vegetables.
- Close the pot and set back to “Sealing” mode. Pressure cook on high for 9 minutes. Complete a 10 minute natural pressure release after 9 minutes cooking time is completed (should read LO:10 again).
- Serve over egg noodles, rice, or on its own!


Weight Watchers Freestyle SP: 9 points per serving of beef stew (about 6 servings total). Points were calculated using the Recipe Builder on the WW app (calculate points for whatever you add separately).
Print a copy of this recipe for your recipe binder!

Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs stew meat, cubed
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 5 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cup red cooking wine
- 1 packet McCormick Beef Stew seasoning
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups cubed gold potatoes
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 2 cups chopped celery
Instructions
- Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a plate. Coat each piece of beef in the flour mixture.
- Set the Instant Pot to “Saute” mode. Pour 3 tsp of vegetable oil in. Once hot, begin browning the beef, in batches. Be sure not to overcrowd the pot. Remove each batch of browned beef to a plate once it is sufficiently browned, about 5 minutes per batch. Add additional oil between batches if needed.
- Remove all beef. Add in the vinegar, cooking wine, and beef broth. The pot will have a lot of brown bits stuck to it which need to be scraped up with a wooden spoon before pressure cooking (this will prevent the “BURN” notice). This is known as “deglazing.”
- Once the pot is sufficiently deglazed and no more brown bits are stuck to the bottom, add the beef, seasoning pack, and bay leaves into the liquid. Cancel saute mode.
- Set the Instant Pot to the Meat/Stew setting for 45 minutes. Flip your vent to “Sealing” mode before beginning the pressure cooking. It will take some time to build pressure before cooking time begins.
- After 45 minutes completes, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes (it will read LO:10). After the natural pressure release is complete, flip the vent to “Venting” mode to quick release the rest of the pressure. Be sure to use a hand towel or spoon to avoid steam burn.
- Stir beef mixture and add in vegetables.
- Close the pot and set back to “Sealing” mode. Pressure cook on high for 9 minutes. Complete a 10 minute natural pressure release after 9 minutes cooking time is completed (should read LO:10 again).
- Serve over egg noodles, rice, or on its own!