This exquisite Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon recipe is the most perfect meal for a cozy, casual night or a fancy dinner party. Rich, hearty and full of heart warming flavors, this recipe will become one of your favorite winter meals!
I served this gorgeous dinner at my Baby’s Breath-inspired dinner party this year. The Instant Pot really tenderizes as it pressurizes so you want to make sure your ingredients are thick enough to stay intact. We’re going to chop our ingredients BIG! We want big, luscious cubes of beef. Thick, tender carrots and mushrooms, and satisfyingly plump pearl onions.
Since the Instant Pot quickly cooks ingredients as if they’ve been stewing for hours, we’ll be adding the pearl onions AFTER the other ingredients stew in the pot. They’re a little too delicate to come out the way we want them to if we toss them in with the other ingredients… especially because we’re going to gorgeously brown them first.
How to Make This Recipe – Step by Step
NOTE: Since you’ll be sautéing each vegetable separately to give them the perfect browning, and removing them from the pan after each step, you can either use the Instant Pot (as I’ve done) or use a sauté pan instead, and transfer everything to the pot when you get to step 13. The process is pretty simple in the Instant Pot, but it’s just what you’re more comfortable with.
1. Chop baby bella mushrooms in half. Set aside.
2. Chop carrot into pieces that are 1 – 2 inches thick, then slice each piece in half. Set aside.
3. Slice peeled pearl onions carefully in half. You don’t want them to fall apart. Set aside.
4. Chop medium red onion. You don’t have to be too fancy. The Instant Pot is going to pulverize the onion into the sauce.
5. Mince 4 garlic cloves and de-leaf a tbsp. of thyme. Set aside.
6. Cube the beef into large, 2 inch cubes (if your meat is that thick). You want the cubes to be nice and chunky.
7. Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté” on “High.” Add 2 tbsp. of butter to the pot and coat the bottom.
8. Place the mushrooms cut-face down. Allow them to brown for 6-8 minutes, without flipping them. You just want one side browned. Once done, carefully remove them from the pot, and set aside.
9. Add 1 tbsp. of butter to the pot and add the carrots. Place them flat-side down so they can brown. Just like the mushrooms, allow them to brown on 1 side for 6-8 minutes, then remove them from the pot.
10. Add the pearl onions cut-side down, and allow them to brown for 5 minutes on the flat side.
11. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot. Stir gently so you don’t break the onions apart too much, and allow to sauté until thoroughly cooked . Remove from pot and set aside. You won’t be adding the pearl onions until after all the other ingredients pressure cook.
12. In a mixing bowl, toss meat chunks with 2 tbsp. of flour, 1 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of pepper until each chunk is throughly coated.
13. Add 1 tbsp. of butter to the pot, allow it to coat the bottom, then add the beef. Brown for 5 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side for 5 more minutes. You may want to do this process in 2 batches if each piece doesn’t sit nicely without overlapping others in the pot. Once done, press “Cancel” to stop the Sauté and pour in ¼ cup cognac to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the yumminess on the pot under the meat.
14. In a measuring cup (or bowl) mix together 1 cup beef broth with 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, ⅛ tsp. smoked Spanish paprika, ½ tsp. garlic powder and ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper.
15. Add beef broth mixture with 1 cup of wine to the Instant Pot. Add mushrooms, carrots and red onion (not the pearl onions with thyme and garlic) to the pot and give them a gentle stir. Place the lid of the pot on and lock it in place.
16. Set the Instant pot to “Pressure Cook” for 20 minutes on “High.”
17. Carefully release the pressure by engaging the pressure valve. While it depressurizes, mix 3 tbsp. flour in ¼ cup of water. When the pot is finished depressurizing, you’ll add this slurry to thicken your stew.
18. Lift the lid and mix in the flour slurry. Add the pearl onions with garlic and thyme and give it all a good stir. Give it a taste and see if it could use more salt or pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice.
Common Questions
This recipe will require about 10 minutes to prep your ingredients, 35 minutes to brown your meat and vegetables (again, you can skip the mushrooms and carrots if you’re in a jiffy… but they’re tastier if you brown them) and 40 minutes to let it all pressure cook and sit. All in all, this recipe will take about an hour and a half (or less).
You want a dark, dry red wine for beef bourguignon. Choose a wine like Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Burgundy, Pinot Noir or Chianti.
I find beef chuck, round eye or rib eye steak works the best. You want to choose beef that’s nice, red, fresh and thick. Ideally, you’ll want beef that’s at least 2 inches thick for this recipe. The Instant Pot will really tenderize that beef, so you don’t want chunks that are too small, otherwise they’ll just shrink and break apart.
My favorite side to serve is creamy, baked mashed potatoes but you can also serve it with noodles or even rice.
It will last a week nicely in an airtight container. After that, it can be frozen for months. To reheat, simply place it in a pot on the stove and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally.
A Few Tips
1. Give it a little time to really shine!
Beef bourguignon is always better the next day, after it’s had time to sit in its tasty juices. I’d even say it’s best 3 whole days later! If you’re planning a dinner party and want to serve this fabulous stew, if you can make it up to 3 days earlier, you’ll be VERY happy that you did!
2. You don’t have to brown every vegetable like I’ve done in this recipe… but…
Browning each vegetable separately really makes this recipe extra tasty! However, if you want to speed things along a bit, you can skip browning the carrots, as well as the mushrooms. Just don’t skip browning the beef and pearl onions! If you do, your stew will be considerably more lackluster than if you gave them a nice sear first.
3. You can do the browning in a sauté pan instead of the Instant Pot if you like.
The Instant Pot has a great sauté function that works perfectly for this recipe, but since you’ll be flipping the meat and vegetables, and emptying them to make room for the next batch, some folks might feel they have more control in a pan than a pot. It’s all about preference.
4. Peel your pearl onions like a pro!
I used to spend so much time peeling my pearl onions bit by bit, I would make a mess and they would look so butchered when I was done. If only I knew how simple it was to peel them all in less than 5 minutes by simply blanching them first!
All you have to do is boil a small pot of water, add the onions and let them boil for just 30 seconds. Quickly transfer them to a bowl of cold water for about a minute. Remove them, and use a pairing knife to cut the ends. The skins will peel right off with ease!
Help Yourself to These Other Cozy Winter Recipes
- Easy Shepherd’s Pie with Red Wine
- Homemade French Onion Soup
- Delicious Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken
- Curry Butternut Squash with Turkey, Spinach and Hominy
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Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds beef – beef chuck, round eye or rib eye
- 8 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms – 1 package
- 1 large carrot – chopped thick
- 4 large garlic cloves – minced
- 1 medium red onion – diced
- 8 ounces pearl onions – cut in half
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup red wine – Cabernet Sauvignon
- ¼ cup cognac
- 5 tbsp. butter
- 5 tbsp. flour
- 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- t tsp. pepper
- ⅛ tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Chop baby bella mushrooms in half and set aside. Chop carrot into pieces that are 1 – 2 inches thick, then slice each piece in half and set aside. Mince 4 garlic cloves and de-leaf a tbsp. of thyme, and set aside. Slice peeled pearl onions carefully in half and set aside. Chop medium red onion into chunky pieces and set aside.
- Cube the beef into large, 2 inch cubes (if your meat is that thick). You want the cubes to be nice and chunky.
- Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté” on “High.” Add 2 tbsp. of butter to the pot and coat the bottom. Place the mushrooms cut-face down. Allow them to brown for 6-8 minutes, without flipping them. You just want one side browned. Once done, carefully remove them from the pot, and set aside.
- Add 1 tbsp. of butter to the pot and add the carrots. Place them flat-side down so they can brown. Just like the mushrooms, allow them to brown on 1 side for 6-8 minutes, then remove them from the pot.
- Add the pearl onions cut-side down, and allow them to brown for only 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot. Stir gently so you don’t break the onions apart too much, and allow to sauté until thoroughly cooked. Remove from pot and set aside. You won’t be adding the pearl onions until after all the other ingredients pressure cook.
- In a mixing bowl, toss meat chunks with 2 tbsp. of flour, 1 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of pepper until each chunk is throughly coated.
- Add 1 tbsp. of butter to the pot, allow it to coat the bottom, then add the beef. Brown for 5 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side for 5 more minutes. You may want to do this process in 2 batches if each piece doesn’t sit nicely without overlapping others in the pot. Once done, press “Cancel” to stop the Sauté and pour in ¼ cup cognac to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the yumminess on the pot under the meat.
- In a measuring cup (or bowl) mix together 1 cup beef broth with 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, ⅛ tsp. smoked Spanish paprika, ½ tsp. garlic powder and ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper.
- Add beef broth mixture with 1 cup of wine to the Instant Pot. Add mushrooms, carrots and red onion (not the pearl onions with thyme and garlic) to the pot and give them a gentle stir. Place the lid of the pot on and lock it in place. Set the Instant pot to “Pressure Cook” for 20 minutes on “High.”
- Carefully release the pressure by engaging the pressure valve. While it depressurizes, mix 3 tbsp. flour in ¼ cup of water. When the pot is finished depressurizing, you’ll add this slurry to thicken your stew.
- Lift the lid and mix in the flour slurry. Add the pearl onions with garlic and thyme and give it all a good stir. Give it a taste and see if it could use more salt or pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice.
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