Instant Pot Beef bourguignon is one of my favorite cold weather comfort foods. It's a flavorful classic french recipe with tender chunks of beef in a rich red wine gravy, made in a fraction of the time thanks to pressure cooking!
When hubs bought me an Instant Pot on Black Friday a few years ago, I was both excited and confused. It was both 'a whole new world of opportunity' but that landscape was totally blank.
I feel like that is the same way with so many people who ended up with this new electric pressure cooker and air fryers, not knowing what to do with them has made us leave them in a corner of the kitchen to collect dust.
But nope, not on my watch. I love using it to make dinner, especially in the summer and fall. Pulled pork for sandwiches, green beans for Thanksgiving, and any tough cuts of meat that we want done in time for dinner all go into the Instant Pot!
So meet my easy beef bourguignon recipe: a one pan plan that is possibly the best thing that comes to my Instant Pot every autumn season. With a rich, savory gravy and fork-tender beef, she's a winner at the dinner table every single time.
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What is Beef Burgundy?
Beef bourguignon, also called Boeuf Bourguignon or Beef Burgundy, is a 'new' classic French beef stew (coming along in the mid 1800's) where tougher cuts of beef are slowly braised in red wine and garnished with mushrooms, herbs, carrots, pearl onions, and bacon in a hearty dish that has become an icon in French cuisine.
Julia Child's iconic recipe brought it to the mainstream U.S. audience, but it is a lot more fussy than my own version.
We're not doing all that fuss from the original recipe like boiling bacon, playing the cha-cha slide with a casserole dish and the oven, or washing all that amazing beef and bacon flavor out of the pot (why?!).
We crisp up some bacon and sear the beef, sauté the veg and then pressure cook until the beef is super tender and shreddy. Serve over the fluffiest, richest mountain of mashed potatoes possible.
Ingredients
Thick Cut Bacon - Bacon gives a great flavor that plays an important role in beef bourguignon. The bacon fat flavors the entire stew, and who doesn't love bacon bits?
Chuck Roast - You want to buy a chuck roast and cube it yourself. Beef stew meat is really just scraps, odds and ends the butcher had leftover from many different cuts of meat, and you deserve quality, honey.
All Purpose Flour.
Beef Stock - Use a good quality beef broth or stock, I really like using Better than Bouillon base
Carrots - is it beef stew without carrots to help lend a naturally sweet note?
Mushrooms - So classic. So good. And also one of the few vegetables that Greyson will eat. I use cremini, but use button mushrooms or your favorite variety.
Tomato Paste - tomato paste has a deeper, richer flavor (and more umami) than tomato sauce.
Red Wine - Use a wine you like to drink, okay? I learned that the hard way when I first made beef stew back in 2012. A nice pinot noir will work, if you're not sure what to use. It's also optional, if you want this recipe alcohol-free.
Herbs - You can use fresh or dried! I drop in a bay leaf, fresh thyme leaves, chopped rosemary, a little oregano, it's all good.
Onions - pearl onions are the classic, and can totally be used, but I always have some yellow onions on hand and they're perfect for stewing.
Cornstarch - okay so this makes the gravy extra thick but wait, there's more:
Butter - so we are going to mont beurre the gravy, and what that does is make the sauce more luxurious, emulsifying the ingredients and making is silky and shiny. Also, it's butter. You know I had to add a little.
How to Make Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
The full recipe, including measurements and notes, are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Turn your Instant Pot onto the sauté setting, and place bacon right on into the inner pot. Crisp it up and get that fat, then transfer it out into a small bowl.
Next, sear those beef cubes in batches in that bacon grease. You might find the beef will stick to the bottom of the pot, but don't force the meat to come off. When the Maillard Reaction happens -when the meat sears and gets that good color- the meat will release and it will be easy to pick up. Remove the browned beef from the pot and repeat with the remaining beef.
Saute the vegetables, tomato paste, and herbs, then mix in the flour.
Add in the liquids and place the lid on. Make sure that the steam release valve on the lid of the instant pot is at 'sealing' not 'releasing'!
Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes and let it cycle through natural pressure release for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
Turn on the sauté setting again and stir in the cornstarch slurry. Now stir in the pats of butter and watch that gravy get thick and shiny.
What to Serve with Beef Bourguignon
I will always say that beef stews and potatoes deserve one another. From smashed potatoes, to roasted potatoes, to classic mashed potatoes, you can't go wrong.
Also absolutely fabulous? Garlic butter dinner rolls. They are perfect for sopping up that savory gravy and they are so rich and buttery!
I like to keep the beverages crisp and bright with this. A Tuscan lemonade cocktail is bright and bubbly, and an easy cherry shirley temple never gets old.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Keep the beef bourguignon in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, and reheat in a microwave-safe dish in the microwave until warmed through. No fuss!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! You can make the beef bourguignon, let it cool to room temperature, and place a few servings at a time into freezer-safe bags (a FoodSaver bag would be a great option, but freezer-safe zip-top bags work as well).
Freeze flat, so that when you are ready to thaw, the beef bourguignon thaws quickly.
You can also thaw and warm the beef bourguignon in lively simmering water if you're using the foodsaver or sous vide bags. Perfect for when the family wants dinner and no one wants to cook.
Yes you can! It's a great option for all day cooking. Just do all the searing and sautéing in a pan on the stove top then cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
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Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
- 3 pounds chuck roast beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 3 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, medium dice
- 8 ounces fresh baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stem (or 3 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves chopped fine (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 240 mL red wine*
- 2 cups 480 mL low-sodium beef broth
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon cold water
- 4 tablespoon butter, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to sauté mode adjusted to medium heat (the middle light). Fry the bacon in the pot until somewhat crisp and the fat is rendered out. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a plate and set aside.
- Add the cubed chuck to your Instant pot in batches so that you don't overcrowd the pot, and sear 3-4 minutes, using tongs to turn the meat and sear all sides. If the beef doesn't pull away, do not force it. When the brown crust is formed, it will release from the Instant Pot. Remove each batch of beef to a large, clean bowl once seared. Set aside.
- Add onions, carrots, and mushrooms to the pot. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil if needed so the vegetables don't burn. Stir on occasion to ensure all the vegetables get cooked for about 3 minutes, or until the onions are turning golden.
- Add in chopped herbs, tomato paste and garlic, stir in and let cook for a minute until garlic is fragrant. Add in flour, stir it in well, then let that cook for a minute or two to get the raw flavor out.
- Pour in red wine and beef broth to the pot, scrape any brown bits off the bottom and sides of the pot and into the liquid.
- Add the bacon and beef back into the Instant Pot. Make sure to also add in all the accumulated juices from the beef as well. Cover the Instant Pot with its lid and set it to Manual for 45 minutes.
- Once done, let it naturally release for 10 minutes (do not touch the vent at all, allow the Instant Pot to naturally depressurize) then carefully switch valve to VENT and quick release until the steam stops. Once the float valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
- Stir together cornstarch and water to create a slurry.
- Set to SAUTE again, on low, stir in cornstarch slurry, and stir in the pats of butter one at a time until the gravy is thickened.
- Taste, then season with kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Serve hot over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or crisp, toasted bread.
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