Ninja Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Recipe

I've found a fool-proof method to make the most delicious beef stew in no time at all, right in the Ninja Foodi! This recipe requires very little prep work, is ready in under an hour, and is the BEST beef stew I've ever tasted! I bet you will love it, too!

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Making thick stews in a pressure cooker can be nerve racking. In fact, I had to think long and hard to develop a recipe where the meat is tender, the veggies cooked perfectly, the base of the stew is thick and luxurious, AND no Water notice!

Mom's Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe

They are tricky for sure! Anytime we want to pressure cook, we have to use a thin liquid and maintain a thin enough liquid not to trigger the water or burn notice. I'll get into that a little later, for now, just know that YOU can make this recipe with great success! I promise. It's easy, and I'm going to walk you through it.

Use leftover pot roast! There is nothing easier than using your leftover pot roast with veggies to make an easy & tasty beef stew. I used to do this all the time when I owned an Assisted Living Facility. The residents would enjoy their pot roast dinner and 2 days later, they would enjoy their beef stew for lunch!

All you have to do is cut up the beef and veggies into bite size pieces, add to the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi. Pour in your leftover gravy and add some beef stock until it is your desired consistency. Use the sear/saute on medium if you are using your Ninja Foodi and warm. Check your seasonings and add more if needed.

Instant Pot Cheater Beef Stew

This is exactly what I had planned for the pot roast I made a few weeks ago. The problem is, there weren't any leftovers! That is so unusual for us, it's just Jeff and me here... but this pot roast was so good, it was gone before I could make beef stew!

If you haven't tried my pot roast recipe, I really hope you will! Here is where you can find it: Quick & Easy Pot Roast in the Ninja Foodi

You may end up like me and not have leftovers to make beef stew from, no worries, it takes a little longer, but it's delicious made from scratch too!

Chuck Pot Roast In Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker

There are several cuts of meat you can use for beef stew, my favorite is the chuck roast. This cut comes from the shoulder of the cow and benefits from a wet cooking environment like we have in the Ninja Foodi under pressure. It's the same cut of meat that I recommend in my Pot Roast Recipe, too.

You can also use a round roast which is a cut from the rear of the cow. While, this cut works fine, I don't think it has as much flavor as a chuck roast. It tends to be a little drier as well.

You can also use oxtail or short ribs, but either of these will result in a VERY rich stew and they are pretty pricey, too! Personally, I'd save those two cuts for other recipes and pick up chuck roast for this one.

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Most grocery stores carry, what they call, stew meat. This isn't always one particular cut and at times it can be a combination of several. You can certainly use it, but check the price per pound, you might find that chuck roast is less expensive. Don't worry, cutting it up yourself is easy!

I really suggest you don't. Most of the seasoning packets are full of thickeners, like corn starch and xanthan gum. They actually have very few seasonings and a lot of stuff you really don't need in a beef stew. For a list of ingredients in a popular seasoning packet, click here: McCormick's Beef Stew Seasoning Mix.

When you add these types of packets at the beginning of pressure cooking, there is a good chance you will get the water notice. This happens because the liquid gets too thick too fast and cannot produce the steam needed to maintain the pressure. The thicker liquid tends to stick to the bottom of the inner pot and burn. So, even if you don't get the water notice, you might find that your stew has burned on the bottom.

Delicious Pressure Cooker Beef Stew With Dumplings

I wrote a pretty in depth article on pressure cooking that goes into more detail about the types of liquids you should use, if you want to read it, you can find it here: Pressure Cooking 101

I know people love to use these packets and I'm not knocking them...but, it is so easy to make this recipe without one, I hope you will give it a try!

I mentioned earlier that we need a thin liquid to come to pressure. This is where I see a lot of mistakes being made that result in the water notice or burned sauces. This happens because the sauce or liquid used as the main liquid in the pot is too thick.

Pressure Cooker (instant Pot) Beef Stew

When liquids are too thick to produce the steam needed to build pressure, the water notice can be triggered and/or burn the food or sauce on the bottom.

Steam is essential for pressure cooking and thicker liquids inhibit the steam from being released. I go into more detail in this article: Pressure Cooking 101

I realize that everyone doesn't always like the same ingredients in their beef stew, so here are few suggestions for changing the recipe to better suit you.

Tender Beef Ninja Foodi Stew · The Typical Mom

I'm sure there are more that I can't think of, and I'd love it if you leave me a comment and let me know what I forgot!

Yes, absolutely! I happen to love the slow cook function on the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper. Since you don't have to worry about thick liquids when slow cooking, I would make sure the beef is well coated with the flour mixture and brown it up. Then add the remaining ingredients and slow cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

If your beef stew is not thick enough, use the same technique as in the pressure cooked version to thicken it at the end.

Ninja Foodi Vegetable Beef Soup

The first thing you want to do is combine the flour, salt, thyme, and pepper into a medium size container with a lid or bag.

Then cut your meat into about 1-1½ cubes. If you bought the prepackaged stew meat, cut them down to size so they cook evenly and completely in the 20 minutes of pressure cooking time. Dredge about ½ of the meat in the flour mixture. I like to use a plastic container with a lid and I just shake it, but a bag works fine too.

Add the olive oil to the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi and turn the sear/saute on high. When the oil is very hot, add the floured and unfloured beef cubes and let them sit for 3-5 minutes to brown, then flip a couple of times to brown the other sides. This takes about 10 minutes.

Easy Ninja Foodi Beef Stew Recipe

Cut one onion into large chunks. Reserve the other 1-2 onions for later. Add one onion to the pot and then deglaze with the one cup of wine. Scrape the bottom of the inner pot with a non-stick-safe utensil. The tool I find the most helpful for this is my (affiliate link) Scoop & Spread from Pampered Chef. This tool has two ends to it, and the end with the serrated edge is a little stiffer and does a great job of scraping of those brown bits (fond) from the bottom without scratching your pot.

You want to cook the wine for a minute or two to burn off the alcohol. The wine will thicken, don't worry we take care of that in the next step.

Add in 2 cups of the beef broth (reserve ½ cup for later) and the Worcestershire sauce to the inner pot. Stir well. Put the pressure lid on and turn the black valve to seal. Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. When the time is up, immediately release the pressure.

Pressure Cooker Beef And Vegetable Stew Recipe

Please do not worry about doing an immediate release, the meat will NOT dry out because it is submerged in the hot liquid.

While the beef is pressure cooking, cut up the carrots into ½ slices, quarter the mushrooms, and cut the potatoes and onions into 1 pieces.

Tip for cleaning mushrooms: Do not wash them under running water, they are sponges and will absorb the water. You want the mushroom to absorb the flavor of the stew and there won't be room for that if they absorb water. Instead, take a damp paper towel and gently wipe off any dirt you see.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

When the pressure has been released, add in the vegetables. Place the pressure lid on and turn the valve to seal. Pressure cook on high for 2 minutes. When done, immediately release the pressure.

Please do this