This comforting pot of Instant Pot pumpkin beef stew is the perfect soup for cool fall and winter nights. Plus it’s packed full of creamy pureed pumpkin for a burst of nutrition and flavor. Trust me, you’ll love this easy pressure cooker stew!
The second the weather starts to cool down I go into soup mode.
That means I want all the soup and I want it now! I’ll happily eat the brothiest of soups, the thickest of stews, the creamiest chowders, and the silkiest of purees.
That was a lot of adjectives just to describe soups but you get it – I really like soup.
This Instant Pot pumpkin beef stew is no exception.
It’s rich and creamy, packed full of tender chunks of beef and lots of chunked vegetables. It’s perfect served on it’s own or spooned over egg noodles.
Plus, with the addition of pureed pumpkin you’re adding a BIG boost of vitamins and nutrients.
And it just tastes really really really good.
Table of Contents
Can I make this pumpkin beef stew in a slow cooker?
Totally!
The reason I love my Instant Pot is because it shortens cooking time and can make something like pumpkin beef stew a weeknight option.
However, if you don’t have an Instant Pot you can easily do this in a 6 quart slow cooker.
The cooking directions will change only very slightly – you’ll want to add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and cook it on high for 4 hours or until the meat is tender.
You can opt to brown the meat in a skillet before hand if you want or throw it in all raw. Browning the meat bring in a depth of flavor but you can skip if necessary.
Can I make this stew on the stovetop?
Also, yes!
It will take a bit more time to cook but still doable.
You’ll follow all the same directions (including the browning of the meat) but do it in a large soup pot. I really like to use my heavy-bottomed Le Creuset pot for stews like this.
Then you’ll want to gently simmer it on the stovetop for about 3-4 hours or until the beef is tender.
Since it’s cooking on the stovetop you may need to add more beef stock as it cooks since the liquid will cook down faster than doing this in a slow cooker or an electric pressure cooker.
What is the best cut of meat for beef stew?
If you’re looking to keep things really simple you can always find “beef stew meat” readily available in the store.
It’s basically chunks of meat that the butchers put together and sell in 1-2 pound packages.
This meat is meant to be slow cooked (or pressure cooked) because it’s typically very tough so you need the time to make it tender.
If you’re looking for an even better option I really like buying a boneless chuck roast and cutting up the meat myself.
It still needs to be slow cooked (or pressure cooked) in order to get tender but you’ll know exactly what you’re getting if you chunk it up yourself.
What are the best potatoes to use in beef stew?
I really love to use yellow skinned potatoes in this Instant Pot pumpkin beef stew.
They cook up creamy all while still holding their shape.
If I can’t find yellow potatoes I will also use red potatoes.
I typically stay away from Russet potatoes as they tend to fall apart more easily in stews.
Do I have to use pumpkin?
You don’t have too BUT it brings in such a good flavor!
If you don’t have canned pumpkin puree you could use canned sweet potatoes, canned yams, or fresh squash or pumpkin puree.
Also, the pumpkin helps give this stew a really creamy texture.
How do I reheat this stew?
I find that my stew typically gets pretty thick after a night in the refrigerator. So to help with that I add in a little water or beef stock.
This helps thin out the stew just a little so it reheats perfectly.
I will then usually reheat the stew on the stove in a pot or in the microwave.
Can I freeze pumpkin beef stew?
Yep!
Beef stew actually freezes really well for up to 3 months. Or at least, that is the amount of time I think it personally tastes great up until.
No one is a big fan of freezer burnt soup.
I typically store my soups in large plastic soup containers filled almost to the top. This gives the container room for expanding but not too much room to allow ice to start setting in.
Love this Instant Pot pumpkin beef stew?
Why not try a few of my other delicious soup recipes!
- African Chicken Peanut Stew
- Instant Pot Pork Chili Verde
- Instant Pot Asian Chicken and Rice Soup
- Easy Ham and Bean Soup
- Chilean Carbonada Soup
Instant Pot Pumpkin Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound 16 ounces baby yellow potatoes, halved
- 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 4 medium-sized carrots ends trimmed, chunked
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small yellow onion peeled, ends trimmed, diced
- 2 cups frozen peas
Instructions
- Add beef stew meat to a bowl.
- Mix together flour, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Sprinkle flour mixture over the beef and toss to combine. You’re not looking to fully cover the beef in flour just enough to help it brown up nicely.
- Add your Instant Pot to the saute setting and add in olive oil.
- When the oil is hot add in half you beef and cook until browned.
- Remove the cooked meat, add in a little extra oil if needed, and brown the second half of the meat.
- When all the meat is browned, add it all back to the pot, and pour in the beef stock.
- Using a wooden spatula scrape up all the lovely brown bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Turn the heat to the Instant Pot off.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, pumpkin puree, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, and yellow onion.
- Stir to combine.
- Add the lid of the Instant Pot onto the pot, close it tightly, and make sure the vent is in the "seal" position.
- Set to manual, high pressure, 35 minutes.
- After the stew has come to pressure and cooked for 35 minutes allow it to natural release for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes of natural release, release it manually, remove the lid, and stir the stew.
- Add in frozen peas and allow them to warm through with the heat of the stew, about 2 minutes.
- Taste and season with additional kosher salt and black pepper if needed.
