Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon Recipe

This classic French beef stew just got an upgrade! This Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon - also known as Beef Burgundy - is the ultimate comfort food. Now, you can make it just a fraction of the time of Julia's recipe using your pressure cooker! Tender chunks of beef in a rich red wine gravy, with bacon, and vegetables. Serve it over redskin mashed potatoes for an ultra-satisfying French classic!

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Disclosure: This is a paid partnership with Strauss. Their Grass Rooted brand features delicious, 100% grass-fed beef stew meat. Taste the difference between commercially raised beef, and cattle that grow up roaming pastures and eating grass! Thanks for supporting the brands that make A Full Living possible.

This hearty dish is a sped-up version of Julia Child’s beef bourguignon recipe that you would find in her best-selling cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In fact, it's made in half the time as her original recipe!

This is not your average simple beef stew recipe. While it does take a little effort to create a rich flavor, pressure cooking makes this classic French food all the more approachable.

Craving more beef comfort food meals? Check out our Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage, Roast Beef with Gravy, or this Dutch Oven Pot Roast!

You may also like this Slow Cooker Prime Rib Recipe, this Short Rib Ragu with Polenta, or this Sirloin Tip Roast in the Slow Cooker!

❤️Why you'll love this

• Transforms tough cuts of meat. This is a great way to take tougher cuts, and turn them into flavorful, tender beef! Stew meat really shines in this recipe!
• Made with staple ingredients. While there are a few steps to making this recipe correctly, everything in the dish is a kitchen or pantry staple. Anything you don't have on hand already can be found at nearly any grocery store!
• Sped up process. This French stew is a classic, made easier with modern appliances in half the time. Instead of cooking this meal in a Dutch oven on the stovetop, which takes around 4 hours, this stew is ready in under 2 hours from start to finish!
• Naturally suits multiple diet types. We've made this recipe naturally gluten free without an all purpose flour mixture to thicken the sauce, so this dish fits multiple diet types. It's also naturally low in carbs.

🥕Ingredients

You can find full quantities and nutritional information in the recipe card.

• Grass Rooted beef stew meat. These pre-cut stew meat chunks are of amazing quality. Like all stew beef, it's a tougher cut of meat, so it requires a little extra cooking time, and the instant pot helps us speed up the process. Grass Rooted also has an amazing quality chuck roast that you can use, and you can cut it into bite-sized chunks.
• Dry red wine. This is a staple in the classic beef bourguignon flavor. Choose something you'd enjoy on its own, but it doesn't need to be expensive at all. Pinot Noir is the classic choice here.
• Unsalted butter. Added with the mushrooms and pearl onions.
• Baby Bella mushrooms. Can be cut in half or even left whole.
• Pearl onions. Optional, but more of a traditional ingredient and very tasty!
• Fresh thyme & parsley. Dry thyme can also be used.

Substitutions

• Baby carrots. Large carrots peeled and cut into chunks work well, but baby carrots can be used.
• Tomato sauce. Tomato paste really helps create a rich flavor, and is a traditional ingredient. However, you can use tomato sauce instead if you prefer. The flavor won't be quite as intense
• Beef broth. We used beef stock, but beef broth can also be used.
• Swap the wine. Traditionally this dish is made with red wine like Pinot Noir, but any dry red wine you enjoy drinking will work. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah/Shiraz also work well.
• Different meat cuts. If you don't have stew meat, use boneless beef chuck roast, round roast, or shoulder roast and cut them up into smaller pieces. Short ribs would also be delicious!

Variations

• For a thicker sauce. If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can make a slurry of cornstarch or flour and water. Be sure to add this after pressure cooking, and then allow the mixture to simmer until it thickens up.
• Alcohol free. If you don't drink alcohol or prefer not to use wine, you can substitute it with beef broth or a combination of beef broth and a splash of red wine vinegar for acidity. Please note that wine makes up a big part of the flavor of this dish, so the flavor profile will be altered.
• More vegetables. Feel free to add more parsley, carrots, onions, and mushrooms for more veggies and herbs.
• Add some heat. For added spice, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. This is not traditional at all, we might add!

🔪Prep work

• Blanch and peel the pearl onions. This step can also be done while the stew is cooking.
• Clean and halve mushrooms.
• Peel and cut carrots into rounds or chunks.
• Slice onions into thick strips.
• Mince garlic, and parsley. Prepare the fresh thyme by removing the leaves from the stems.
• Dry the beef stew meat off really well with paper towels before seasoning.

🥓Cook the bacon

Set your instant pot setting to sauté function on medium. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place bacon bits in the pan over medium heat and render out all of the fat.

Continue to scrape the bottom of the pan to get the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and prevent burning.

Once the bacon is browned after about 7 minutes, remove the bacon bits, and leave the bacon fat in the pan using a slotted spoon. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up excess bacon grease. (Image 1)

🥕Cook the vegetables & aromatics

Don't drain the fat, and add onion and carrots to the inner pot. Season with a pinch of salt, and cook for about 5-7 minutes to soften. (Image 2)

Once softened, add in tomato paste and garlic, and cook until tomato paste has deepened in color, about 2-3 minutes, then remove from the Instant Pot and set aside. (Image 3)

🥩Brown the beef

Season the beef chunks generously with salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. (Image 4)

Increase to medium-high heat on the sauté function. Add more olive oil to the pot, and cook the meat in 2-3 batches so as to not overcrowd the pan.

Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. The meat doesn't need to be cooked through completely, but we want some good color on the meat for maximum flavor. As you cook the meat, remove it from the pot and move the browned beef to a plate. (Image 5)

After the last batch of beef is browned, add the remaining beef to the pan (Image 6)

✨Pro tip: Searing in batches will ensure you don't steam the beef. Getting a hard sear on the beef maximizes flavor, and locks in the juices.

🧅Prepare to pressure cook

Add the cooked carrots and onions mixture and bacon, followed by the beef stock, red wine, beef bouillon, fresh thyme, and parsley. Use the flat edge of a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot for browned bits. (Image 7)

Give the mixture a stir, then top with a bay leaf or two, before putting on the lid of the Instant Pot and setting it to high pressure. (Image 8)

Pressure cook for 40 minutes. (Image 9)

🧈Finish the stew

After the mixture has been pressure cooked for 40 minutes, allow it to natural release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release and remove the Instant Pot lid. Remove the bay leaves and discard them. (Image 10)

Return the Instant Pot to the sauté setting, and add in the butter, mushrooms, and pearl onions with a pinch of salt and pepper. (Image 11)

Simmer for 10 minutes or so, until mushrooms have softened. The cook time of the mushrooms may vary slightly depending on their size. (Image 12)

✨Pro tip: If you'd like to thicken the sauce, you can always make a slurry of corn starch or flour, and the red wine gravy in a small bowl, then add it to the pressure cooker and allow it to simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Personally, we didn't think the gravy needed to be thickened so we opted out of this step. (Image 13)

Add more fresh parsley and thyme, and adjust seasonings to taste. (Image 14)

Serve over mashed potatoes, mashed turnips or cauliflower, egg noodles, or with crusty bread! Enjoy! (Image 15)

✨Tips and Tricks

• Use high-quality meat. Since beef is the star ingredient, using high-quality beef stew meat will really enhance the flavor. Use the highest quality you can afford.
• Cook the bacon properly. When rendering the bacon fat, make sure you cook it until it's brown and crispy, and stir it often to prevent sticking or burning.
• Brown the beef in batches. Browning the beef in batches allows for better browning and prevents overcrowding. Overcrowding the Instant Pot will just cause the meat to steam instead of getting a nice sear.
• Deglaze the pot. After browning the beef, deglaze the pot by adding the beef stock and red wine. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. This adds depth of flavor to the dish.
• Adjust the seasonings. Taste the dish before serving and adjust the seasonings as needed. You may need to add more salt, pepper, or fresh herbs to achieve the desired taste.
• Natural release. Try letting the Instant Pot naturally release for 5-10 before doing a quick release. After letting it naturally release for a few minutes, carefully turn the venting knob to quick release to get rid of the remaining pressure. Letting the Instant Pot natural release helps ensure it's safer to open the venting knob without getting sprayed with hot steam and liquid and makes the beef even more tender!
• Add the mushrooms and pearl onions at the end. Adding the mushrooms and pearl onions towards the end of the cooking process ensures that they get tender but not too mushy.
• For a thicker sauce. If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can make a slurry of cornstarch or flour and water. Be sure to add this after pressure cooking, and then allow the mixture to simmer until it thickens up.

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🍴What to Serve with this

If you're hosting a dinner party, date night, or are looking for more things to serve with this pressure cooker beef bourguignon, here are a few ideas!

• Salad. This spinach and arugula salad with this creamy balsamic dressing or this honey lemon dressing would be the perfect way to lighten up this hearty meal.
• Bread. Bread and beef bourguignon are a perfect match. Serve with a side of crusty bread, or this air fryer garlic bread.
• Sides. Serve this dish over redskin mashed potatoes, or these creamy mashed turnips. These lemon garlic green beans, these air fryer zucchini, or these air fryer fingerling potatoes would also be great accompaniments to this dish.
• Dessert. Wrap it all up with a decadent dessert! Try ending the meal with this chocolate lava mug cake, or these loaded brownies!