Healthier Instant Pot Beef Stew: Recipes and Tips

~ Instant Pot Beef Stew recipes are so easy, and deliver comforting, delicious meals in very little time (yay, pressure cooker!). But, they aren’t always particularly healthy. Not to worry – we’ve got ideas and recipes that make stew a great option for chilly evenings when you just really need a warm-you-up meal! ~

One of the (many) things that pressure cookers do really well is make stew.

Why Instant Pot Beef Stew Is So Great

No doubt, the very idea of a pressure cooker beef stew seems to have everything going for it, right?!?

1) Beef stew is hearty and filling – pretty much the poster child for “comfort food.”

2) And electric pressure cookers like the Instant Pot do stew brilliantly! Pressure cooking is terrific for taking tougher cuts of meat and rendering them fork-tender … in much less time that traditional stovetop or slow cooker methods.

Total win, right?

… And Why It’s Not So Great

All except for the nutrition issue (cue the sad trombone … woh-woooooohhhhhh). So many beef stews are loaded with over-the-top amounts of particularly fatty cuts of red meat, which can quickly pile on the calories and bad-for-you fat grams.

But let’s not count stew out too quickly! There are ways, my friends …

You really can have it all!

Strategies for Healthier Instant Pot Stew

Here are a few strategies that can help you find (or create) a healthier Instant Pot stew, as showcased by the recipes we’ve hand-picked for you today:

Use less beef. And instead increase the amounts of surrounding super-nutritious ingredients, like antioxidant-rich vegetables or (as one recipe showcases below) fiber-loaded lentils! All good things in moderation, right? We’ve got nothing against beef (I mean, hey – we’ve got plenty of beef recipes here at THK). But a healthier strategy is to make sure that beef is a little bit less of a focal point in your meal, by filling out your plate with other nutrient-dense choices to balance everything out.
Use leaner beef. Not all cuts of beef are created equally in terms of the fat (and, specifically, the saturated fat) they contain.
Don’t use beef at all. Who said a comforting, hearty stew had to be beef stew? We sure didn’t! (Remember our Crock-Pot Chicken Stew?) Consider swapping out your protein, looking for recipes that use chicken, seafood, or vegetarian options (like beans).

See … it really can work!

Alrighty then – all ready for a warm, hearty bowl of stew tonight (that isn’t a total gut-buster)? We’ve got ya covered! Check out these ideas, and let’s make some great stew!

Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipes

Nourishing Beef Stew in the Instant Pot from Denise at My Life Cookbook

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Beef and Butternut Squash Stew from Neli at Delicious Meets Healthy

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Instant Pot Ginger-Soy Beef Stew over Lentils from Dan at Instant Pot Family Recipes

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Weight Watchers Instant Pot Beef Stew from Jamie at Life Is Sweeter By Design

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Instant Pot Chicken Stew Recipes

Instant Pot Chicken Stew with Farro from Dara at Cookin’ Canuck

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Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Stew from Meg at Meg’s Everyday Indulgence

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Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken Stew from Darcie at Such the Spot

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Healthy Chicken Stew from Julia at Imagelicious

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Instant Pot Vegetarian and Seafood Stew Recipes

Whole30 Instant Pot Seafood Gumbo from Monica at The Movement Menu

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Instant Pot Moroccan Chickpea Stew from Sandy at Simply Happy Foodie

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Shrimp Etouffee from Savita at Chef de Home

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Instant Pot Tips and Info

I know lots of people have a creeping sense of dread as they first begin using their Instant Pot, and I often hear about people (ummmmm … like me) who simply keep putting it off altogether, because it seems a little too complex to ever sit down and figure out. I hear ya!

So for those of you who are just dipping your toes in the Instant Pot pond, and maybe feeling that sense of hesitation so many of us worried through in our own early days of Instant Potting … we’ve got some articles that’ll help you feel more confident!

What Is an Instant Pot? (Maybe not as obvious as it sounds, with all those features and functions!)
What Can You Do with an Instant Pot? (And what CAN’T you??)
Which Instant Pot to Buy (After hours researching and choosing my own new baby, I’ve got tips to help you make the decision that’s right for you and your own family.)

Instant Pots are terrific for making stews! Check out all our recipes, plus tips and tricks for making healthier stews, too! — The two Instant Pots I’ve bought so far – the 3-quart “Mini” Instant Pot Duo Plus (front) that I bought as a birthday gift for my mom, and my own 6-quart Instant Pot Duo (back).

More Instant Pot Recipes

Oh! And we’ve got plenty more Instant Pot recipe ideas for you, too! After you make some stew, you might want to try other comfort food faves … like Instant Pot Chili Recipes! (And of course, all of these are healthier recipes, too!)

Enjoy that comforting (healthier!) Instant Pot beef stew tonight, my friends … and come on back for more recipe ideas tomorrow! We’ll be here waiting for ya!