Cooking frozen stew beef in an Instant Pot may seem daunting, but it’s actually quite simple! With the pressurized environment and adjustable cook times, the Instant Pot makes cooking frozen meat easy, fast and delicious. In this article, I’ll walk you through exactly how long to cook frozen stew beef in an Instant Pot to get fork-tender, juicy results every time.
Why Cook Frozen Stew Beef in an Instant Pot?
There are several great reasons to use an Instant Pot instead of thawing and cooking frozen stew beef on the stovetop or in the oven
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It’s faster The Instant Pot builds up and maintains pressure allowing food to cook up to 70% faster than traditional methods. Frozen stew beef can be tender and ready to eat in under an hour!
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Hands-off cooking: Once you set the time and start the Instant Pot, it does all the work while you can focus on other tasks. No need to continually check or stir the pot.
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Tender, juicy meat: The pressurized environment gently forces liquid into the meat, turning it fall-apart tender and keeping it incredibly moist.
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Intensified flavor: Cooking under pressure concentrates flavors, so your stew beef is extra meaty and delicious. Broths, wines and seasonings get infused right into the meat.
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Safer: Cooking frozen meat straight from the freezer is actually safer than thawing at room temperature, where bacteria can grow rapidly. The high heat of the Instant Pot kills germs.
How Long Should You Cook Frozen Stew Beef in the Instant Pot?
The exact cooking time can vary a bit depending on the size and thickness of your frozen stew beef pieces, but here are general guidelines:
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1-inch pieces: Cook frozen for 30-35 minutes under high pressure.
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1.5-inch pieces: Cook frozen for 35-40 minutes under high pressure.
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2-inch pieces or larger: Cook frozen for 40-55 minutes under high pressure.
I recommend starting with the minimum cook time ranges above, quick releasing the pressure, then checking the beef for tenderness. If the beef isn’t as tender as you’d like, you can put the lid back on and cook it for an additional 5-10 minutes as needed.
Pro Tip: Cut your stew beef into uniform 1-1.5 inch pieces so they cook evenly.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps for tender, deliciously flavored stew beef straight from the freezer using your Instant Pot:
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Add 1-2 tablespoons oil to the Instant Pot inner pot and select the Saute function.
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Once hot, add 1 pound frozen stew beef in an even layer. Cook for 3-5 minutes without stirring to sear the beef.
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Add aromatics like diced onions, garlic, herbs or spices and saute another 1-2 minutes.
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Pour in 1 cup beef broth or stock. Use more if needed to cover the ingredients.
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Cancel the Saute function. Secure the lid, ensuring the pressure valve is in the Sealing position.
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Select the Manual/Pressure Cook function and adjust cook time based on size of beef above.
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When cooking is complete, use Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes, then Quick Release any remaining pressure.
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Check beef for tenderness. If needed, close lid and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.
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Season to taste with salt, pepper, Worcestershire, etc.
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Thicken stew on Saute function if desired, then serve!
And that’s it – perfectly cooked frozen stew meat ready to become a hearty beef stew, chili, stroganoff, or whatever your favorite beef dish may be. The hands-off Instant Pot does all the work for you.
Tips for Best Results
Here are a few tips to ensure your frozen stew beef turns out tender and delicious:
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Use a natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes before quick releasing. This more gradual depressurizing helps break down connective tissues.
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Add extra liquid like broth, wine or beer to account for evaporation and braising. Use at least 1 cup for 1 pound meat.
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Layer meat on bottom with aromatics and liquids on top so steam circulates properly.
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Don’t overload the pot. For stew beef, keep total ingredients under 2/3 full line.
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Cut beef uniformly so pieces cook at the same rate. Trim off excess fat too.
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Use a meat thermometer to check doneness if concerned. Beef should reach 195°F-205°F.
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Let the meat rest 5-10 minutes before serving or incorporating into recipes.
Recipes to Make with Instant Pot Frozen Stew Beef
Once you’ve cooked frozen stew beef to tender perfection in the Instant Pot, the possibilities are endless! Here are just a few delicious recipes to try:
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Beef Stew: The classic hearty winter comfort food, packed with veggies.
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Beef Chili: Spicy, robust chili made easy with pre-cooked stew beef. Load up with fixings.
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Beef Stroganoff: Tender beef blanketed in a creamy mushroom sauce over egg noodles.
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Beef and Guinness Stew: Savory stew with the bold flavor of Irish stout beer.
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Beef and Broccoli: Quick Chinese-restaurant classic made healthier at home.
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Beef Tips with Gravy: Straightforward but delicious saucy beef tips to put over mashed potatoes.
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Beef Bourguignon: Elegant French stew with red wine sauce. Worth the extra effort!
The possibilities are endless for turning a bag of frozen stew beef into mouthwatering meals. The Instant Pot does all the hard work of thawing and tenderizing the meat for you. Give it a try today!
Can you thaw frozen meat in microwave?
But it’s not as safe as cooking from frozen like we show below or letting it thaw in cool water. If your machine does have a defrost button you can use that. Set on a microwave safe dish and input how much it weighs. It generally will calculate itself how long it will take and will set to 50% power or so.
- You can cook this from frozen or make a beef chuck roast slow cooker recipe. From rock hard to tender.
What to do with Stew Meat
Seriously you can make all sorts of things with this. Recipes using stew meat are broad and you can use any method you like really. I prefer my Crockpot and IP myself because it means the least prep and work for me. You can print out the recipe below, which lists all the exact ingredients you need. Here’s a quick list to get you started:
Time needed: 1 hour
Frozen Stew Meat Instant Pot
- Prepare: Take frozen stew meat out of its packaging and put it in your pressure cooker. That’s okay; you won’t be able to brown the beef the way you normally would. In a bowl, mix the broth and two cups of dry gravy mix together. Pour this on top of your meat.
- Cook Put the lid and steam valve on tight, and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Then let the pressure naturally drop for 10 minutes. Quickly let go of the rest of the pressure and break up the meat so that it is now submerged in the liquid below. Add garlic salt and pepper, stir. When you’re done, take out some of the hot liquid and mix it with the last gravy packet. This will make the gravy thick. Pour this in.
- Put the food back under pressure and set the timer for 35 minutes. This time, seal the lid and steam valve again. Let the pressure naturally drop for 10 minutes, then let go of the rest of the pressure.
Remove the lid and serve tender beef over rice or mashed potatoes. This is what it looks like if you do not add the dry gravy mix. At the top you can see how much thicker it is with them added. I believe the sauce not only makes it taste better but also makes it a little easier to cut with a fork.
You can do part of it too. To make it taste better without making it too thick, you can add the first two and leave out the third one in the middle. Using the saute mode, you can add a cornstarch slurry at the end to make it even thicker if you want to.
If you want to know the best way to answer this question, read this post. You could add large chunks of carrots in the second pressure cooking step as well if you wanted. Small whole potatoes and/or frozen peas would work as well at that time.
Instead of letting your meat defrost for an hour or more, which can make it more likely to get bacteria, cooking from frozen can be safer. If your meat ball is much thicker than mine, the timing will be a little different, but that shouldn’t happen very often. Ours is a large 1 pound hunk almost like a softball.
You can definitely make beef stew in the Instant Pot even if the meat isn’t rock hard. If you remember to take the meat out after 20 minutes, it will be just right, whether it’s fresh or defrosted. lol This method is a bit easier to add vegetables into since it isn’t cooking quite as long.
BEST HACK EVER: Cooking Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot
FAQ
How long does frozen beef take in Instant Pot?
How long can you cook beef stew from frozen?
Can you cook stewing beef from frozen in a slow cooker?
How long is meat stew setting on Instant Pot?
How do you cook frozen stew meat in Instant Pot?
Place the frozen stew meat and 1 cup of beef stock in the Instant Pot and pressure cook on HIGH for 28 minutes. Allow the steam to release naturally, mine took 18 minutes (don’t skip this step or your meat will be tough). Once the steam pin drops, carefully remove the lid and our in the Knorr Vegetable Mix.
How long do you Pressure Cook frozen meat in Instant Pot?
Your stew will be so much tastier for it! How long do you add frozen meat to Instant Pot? For most frozen meats we’ve cooked, 5-10 additional pressure cooking minutes are enough for smaller/thinner cuts (stewing beef, ribs) for a total of 30 minutes of pressure cooking.
How long to cook beef stew in Instant Pot?
Stir in the beef broth, and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze it with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining ingredients. Do NOT stir! This helps avoid the burn warning. Cook Instant Pot beef stew on HIGH for 35 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally.
How long to Pressure Cook beef stew?
How long to pressure cook beef stew. 35 minutes of HIGH pressure (the manual setting), plus 10 minutes of natural release, yielded pieces of stew meat that tasted as if they’d been cooking for hours instead of minutes. Be sure you cut the meat to the size directed in the recipe to ensure this Instant Pot beef stew time is right for you too.