A tiny touch of dark chocolate makes this Instant Pot Beef Stew feel luxurious, decadent and absolutely delicious!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Chocolate Beef Stew
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil or oil of your choice don't want to use oil? Use 100 ml of stock
- 1 onion large, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 600 g beef diced (I used braising steak)
- 400 g tinned plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
- 150 ml vegetable stock try my vegetable stock paste
- 100 ml red wine
- 7 g porcini a handful, add more if you have more (I was down to my last 7 g)
- 280 g mushrooms quartered
- 220 g carrots sliced in half centimetre coins
- 40 g 85% dark chocolate the equivalent of 4 squares (it doesn't have to be Lindt, any dark chocolate will be great)
Instructions
- Press Sauté (low setting), add 1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil or oil of your choice, and fry the chopped 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic and 1 stalk celery for about 7 minutes
- Add the 600 g beef and, if you have time, brown it using the Sauté function on high (if you do brown it).
- Make sure you deglaze by adding a bit of water or stock and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon at the end to remove any burnt-on or caramelised bits. This will help your pressure cooker reach pressure more easily.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (400 g tinned plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes, 150 ml vegetable stock, 100 ml red wine, 7 g porcini, 280 g mushrooms, 220 g carrots, 40 g 85% dark chocolate and stir.
- Lock the lid in. Steam release Sealed. Pressure Cook, high pressure, for 25 minutes, do a natural pressure release at the end, this means letting it be and doing nothing until the float valve pops back down and the lid unlocks. Should the float valve not have popped down after 15 minutes or so, you can release the rest of the steam manually. You can also leave on warm for a few hours.
- If you would like to thicken the sauce, set the Sauté function to high and let it bubble with the lid off so that it reduces, stay near your pot as it happens quickly. You can also add gravy granules at this stage (not during pressure cooking).
Notes
Jump to:
Ingredients
You've probably heard of chocolate or cacao in chilli so why not add it for a luxurious Beef Stew?
Lindt's 85% dark chocolate is great but so is the Aldi version and the price is much cheaper! 85% is dark, very dark, and it goes great in this stew as well as in Pressure Cooker Mushroom Chilli, Ninja Speedi Bean Chilli and Quick thermomix chilli for nachos.
This Chocolatey Beef Stew makes a luscious sauce, enjoy with a nice glass of red wine if you can. Or a beer and, if you're alcohol-free or trying to lower your alcohol intake, can I just say that Corona Cero is so good (the bottles are better than the cans).
Note: if you have a Thermomix just stick in the bowl the onion, garlic and celery and chop on speed 5 for 5 seconds. Or use frozen chopped vegetables, Waitrose's or M&S frozen soffritto bags are great. Sainsbury's does a good frozen vegetable base mix too.
Use anything you need to make your life easier.
Want to make Beef Stew with Dumplings in your pressure cooker?
We have the recipe you are looking for for Beef Stew with Dumplings. You could use the method for dumplings in that recipe for this Instant Pot Chocolate Beef Stew too!
How to serve
Fantastic with mash. Great with steamed potatoes. Amazing with rice.
But how it might surprise you is as a topping for Nachos, make it as Nachos in your air fryer or in your Ninja Speedi and let us know what you think.
Why we recommend electric pressure cookers
I make this in my Instant Pot or Ninja electric pressure cookers. You can also make it in your stove-top pressure cooker if you have one.
I like electric pressure cookers because I don't have to babysit them, I can just leave them to it and I get on with life (or with putting my feet up or quite probably a lie-down due to my chronic illnesses).
Check out all our pressure cooker recipes and, if you're a newbie, you might find our guide to get started useful.
Join the Feisty Tapas Pressure Cooking community
Have you joined my Pressure Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group?
Photos to help you out
Serves 4 people, or two very hungry greedy people, you choose
Browning the beef
Served and looking rather good, grab the crusty bread to dip in
Ready to pressure cook
Tip: really nice served with mashed potatoes.
Enjoy!
Cath Mc says
Thank you Maria, saved to try for next time I'm making beef casserole.
Live the idea of the chocolate, I do add it to chilli.
Jan B says
Sounds great! I can’t wait to try this - I’m shopping tomorrow too (including Lidl).
What’s the best way / time to add dumplings to this please? I’ve never found a recipe with proper English dumplings, only American “biscuits” which they think are the same thing as dumplings!
Many thanks.
Maria says
After doing a Natural Pressure Release if it’s a meat stew. Add the dumplings on top and press Sauté.
I like to place the glass lid on. You can use a lid that fits loosely.
If your multicooker has an air fryer lid, air fry at 180°C for 15-20 minutes.
You can even combine the two methods: sauté first then brown with the air fryer lid.
The methods above work both with suet dumplings following the usual instructions on the box and with suet-free dumplings like the ones in this recipe (just don't try to do those at pressure with something with a longer cook time like a beef stew) https://moderncookzone.com/2019/02/instant-pot-chicken-stew-dumplings/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hope that helps, Maria