This hearty, meaty, and delicious Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew is an Irish classic and perfect for preparing for a quick and easy dinner.
Castles, green fields, Jameson, and Guinness are what come to mind when people think of Ireland. That is certainly what we experienced during our 7 days in Ireland. We also enjoyed a lot of traditional Irish food. One of our favorites was a warm bowl of Guinness Beef Stew.
A Guinness Beef Stew can take a lot of preparation and time to cook, but the Instant Pot cuts the cooking time down by at least half! In 2 hours, the Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew will be tender and packed with flavor without losing the feeling of comfort.
This Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew recipe is loaded with chunks of beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery to make a hearty meal. You can serve it with a side of mashed potatoes (as the Irish do) or a slice of soda bread to soak up all the stew.
Enjoying Guinness Beef Stew in Killarney
Guinness Beef Stew is an Irish classic that you must eat in Ireland. So of course, we enjoyed a bowl or two during our Ireland road trip.
We enjoyed our Guinness Beef Stew in Killarney at The Failte. The Failte came highly recommended by several locals and the staff at our hotel, Cahernane House. Let me tell you, this place did not disappoint!
Adam and I both ordered the Guinness Beef Stew with a pint of Guinness – because, in Ireland, there is no such thing as too much Guinness. Our stew was served with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a puff pastry on the side.
The stew definitely lived up to its hype. I remember savoring every bite because it was so delicious. For such a simple dish, it was so complex and packed with rich flavor.
The chunks of beef were so tender and the Guinness brought so much depth and boldness to the stew. We basically licked our bowls clean because it was perfection.
Now when I enjoy my Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew, I am immediately transported back to Killarney and all the fond memories from that evening.
What is Guinness Beef Stew?
Guinness Beef Stew is an updated version of the national Ireland dish, Irish Stew. In the 1800s, Irish Stew was a flavorful yet, commonly known peasant meal. The Irish Stew was always made with cheap ingredients such as potatoes and mutton (sheep).
The sheep were easy and cheap to use in a stew because they were abundant and widely used for their wool and milk. Moreover, the meat would always be tough because the sheep were kept till old age. So the peasants would cook the mutton long and slow till the meat was tender. Thus, the beginning of Irish Stew.
Eventually, Irish Stew evolved. Beef and lamb were substituted for mutton. More hearty vegetables were added, such as carrot, parsnips, celery, onion, and mushrooms. And of course, Guinness beer has been added to the stew for a more modern approach.
Today, Guinness Beef Stew is considered an Irish classic and comfort food. So you will not find it in many restaurants, but in pubs throughout Ireland. One of the most popular places to find Guinness Beef Stew is in Dublin at The Brazen Head, Mulligan’s, Arthur’s Pub, and the Temple Bar Pub.
List of Ingredients for Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew
Of course, the star ingredient is the Guinness beer, but I recommend the Guinness Draught Stout. The Guinness Extra Draught Stout can add more bitterness to the stew rather than depth and boldness.
Furthermore, Guinness has notes of coffee and chocolate. So I like to add some strong, brewed coffee to my Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew to enhance the Guinness flavor.
- Olive oil
- Beef chuck roast
- Yellow onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic
- Yukon gold potato
- Guinness Draught Stout
- Beef stock
- Brewed coffee
- Tomato paste
- All-purpose flour
- Bay leaf
- Dried thyme
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew
It is very easy to make Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew. Within 2 hours, you will have a hearty meal full of beef and vegetables.
Preparation
To prepare the Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew, cut the vegetables and beef. You can cut the vegetables in any size or form, but I recommend medium-sized pieces because they will shrink during the cooking process.
Chop the onions, celery, and carrots into medium 1/2-inch pieces.
Cut the beef chuck roast across the grain into 1-inch thick cubes. Additionally, peel and cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces too.
Mince the garlic.
Next, mix together the salt, pepper, and flour in a Zip-bloc bag. Then add the cubed beef. Zip the bag close and shake until all sides of the beef are well coated in flour.
Cooking in the Instant Pot
Turn on the sauté function on the Instant Pot and add the olive oil. Once it is heated, use your hands to shake any excess flour from the beef and add half of it to the pot.
Brown all sides of the cubed beef (about 2 minutes per side). Remove the browned beef and repeat with the remaining half. After all the beef is browned, set it aside until further needed. Do not remove the browned bits from the bottom of the pot, this has all the flavor!
Add more olive oil to the pot if needed. Then add the garlic, onion, celery, and carrot until the onions are translucent. Lightly season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Deglaze the pot by pouring the Guinness and using a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits off the bottom. Then add the tomato paste, beef stock, brewed coffee, bay leaves, and dried thyme. Mix all of the ingredients well.
Lastly, add the beef back into the pot, followed by the potatoes. Mix again.
Cover the Instant Pot and cook on high for 35 minutes. When the cooking process is finished, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.
In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water to make a cornstarch slurry. This helps thicken the stew. Add the cornstarch slurry into the pot and stir. You can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch slurry if needed.
Serve with a side of mashed potatoes, a slice of soda bread, and a pint of Guinness. Enjoy!
More Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew
This hearty and delicious Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew is an Irish classic and perfect to prepare for a quick and easy dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt (plus more for seasoning)
- 1 teaspoon pepper (plus more for seasoning)
- 2.5 lbs. beef chuck roast
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 large carrots, chopped (1 1/4 cups)
- 4 celery, chopped (1 cup)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1/2 cup brewed coffee
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Prep your vegetables and beef. Mince the garlic. Chop the onions, celery, and carrots into medium 1/2-inch pieces. Cut the chuck beef roast across the grain into 1-inch thick cubes. Then peel and cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces.
- Mix together the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper in a Zip-bloc bag. Then add the cubed beef. Zip the bag close and shake until all sides of the beef are well coated in flour.
- Turn on the saute function on the Instant Pot. Add the olive oil. Using your hands, shake any excess flour from the beef and add half of it to the pot. Brown all sides of the cubed beef (about 2 minutes per side). Remove the browned beef and repeat with the remaining half. Remove the browned beef again and set aside until needed. Do not remove the browned bits, this has all the flavor!
- Add more olive oil to the pot if needed. Then add the garlic, onion, celery, and carrot until the onions are translucent. Lightly season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Deglaze the pot by pouring the Guinness and using a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits off the bottom.
- Add the tomato paste, beef stock, brewed coffee, bay leaves, and dried thyme. Mix all of the ingredients well.
- Add the beef back into the pot, followed by the potatoes. Mix again.
- Cover the Instant Pot and cook on high for 35 minutes. When the cooking process is finished, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water. This is a cornstarch slurry and it helps thicken the stew. Add the cornstarch slurry into the pot and stir. You can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch slurry if needed.
- Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and/or a slice of soda bread, and a pint of Guinness. Enjoy!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, when you click on the link you will have the option to purchase a product at no extra cost to you, but I would receive a small commission. I want to thank everyone for following and supporting us on all of “Our Sweet Adventures” and for cooking with my recipes on "Christina's Culinary Creations".
