Instant Pot Beef Stew is fast, easy comfort food. This version, Carne con Papas, has succulent chunks of beef, potatoes, rich authentic Cuban spices in a savory broth.
Carne con papas or Cuban Beef Stew is a soul-warming dish with rich spices (though it’s not spicy-hot), chunks of tender meat and potatoes in a savory broth.
This Instant Pot beef stew cooks quickly and perfectly no effort from you!
Cuban Instant Pot Beef Stew (Carne con Papas)
The recipe makes a hearty stew with tender chunks of beef, potatoes, in a rich Cuban-spiced broth. It’s a satisfying, easy, exciting recipe!
Making Cuban Instant Pot Beef Stew is a wonderful way to take a favorite comfort food recipe and kick it up a notch.
Adding traditional Cuban flavors and ingredients makes dinner a bit more exciting!
Cooking in the Instant Pot tenderizes the meat and keeps the vegetables firm for a satisfying texture.
Ingredients in this Instant Pot Beef Stew
The wholesome ingredients in this Instant Pot Beef Stew combine to create a hearty, filling dish with flair!
- Olive Oil
- Beef Stew Meat (my butcher uses Top Sirloin)
- Garlic Cloves
- White Spanish Onion
- Green Bell Pepper
- Potatoes
- Low Sodium Beef Broth
- Dry Sherry or Madeira (note: if you prefer not to use any liquor, substitute ½ cup more beef broth)
- canned Tomato Sauce
- canned Diced Tomatoes
- Paprika
- Distilled White Vinegar
- Oregano
- Cumin
Don’t let the ingredient list length scare you! Many of the ingredients require no preparation other than being measured.
Instant Pot Beef Stew Preparation Shortcut
I love using a mini chopper whenever I can instead of hand chopping ingredients.
It saves alot of time when chopping or dicing. After use, the container and lid can be put in the dishwasher for cleaning.
What Size Instant Pot is used for this Instant Pot Beef Stew?
This recipe was developed using a 6 qt Instant Pot.
How Long Does this Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe Cook?
Total cooking time for Cuban Instant Pot Beef Stew is about 45 minutes, in addition for the time to allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
The Meat/Stew function is used which is pre-programmed for 35 minutes. The meat is seared, and the vegetables sautéed for a few minutes before the Instant Pot Beef Stew is sealed and cooked.
How to make Cuban Instant Pot Beef Stew (Carne con Papas) – Step by Step:
Preparing Cuban Instant Pot Beef Stew (Carne con Papas) is easy.
All steps of this recipe are done in the Instant Pot making for easy clean up!
- Using the Sauté function, sear the stew meat is seared on all sides and set aside.
- Sauté the garlic, onion and green pepper.
- Return the meat and any juices to the Instant Pot, along with the remaining ingredients.
- Using the STEW function, allow the instant pot beef stew to cook
- When cooked, allow to sit 10 minutes then perform a Quick Release
Serve on a bed of rice or by itself. It’s a hearty, filling recipe with authentic Cuban seasonings.
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Check out more INSTANT POT RECIPES you’ll love! Beef Bourguignonis a French beef stew classic to try.
Love Cuban food? Try these recipes next:
- Cuban Black Beans and Rice (Moros Y Cristianos)
- Cuban Garlic Chicken Bowls with Beans & Rice, Fried Plantains and Mojo Sauce
- Blueberry Mojitos (with a faux-ito option)
More Recipes You’ll Love!
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Recipe
Cuban Instant Pot Beef Stew (Carne Con Papas)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 pounds Beef Stew Meat (my butcher uses Top Sirloin)
- 4 medium Garlic Cloves , peeled and diced
- 1 medium White Spanish Onion , peeled and chopped
- 1 medium Green Bell Pepper , cored and chopped
- 2 medium Potatoes (approximately 1 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 cup Low Sodium Beef Broth
- ½ cup Dry Sherry or Madeira (note: if you prefer not to use any liquor, substitute ½ cup more beef broth)
- 1 8-ounce can can Tomato Sauce
- 1 14.5-ounce can can Diced Tomatoes , undrained
- 1 ½ tablespoons Paprika
- 1 tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground Cumin
- 6 qt Instant Pot
Instructions
- Plugin the power cord of the Instant Pot and when the LED display reads ‘OFF’ (in standby mode), press the SAUTE button (with the lid off).
- Add the olive oil and the stew meat. Brown the stew meat, allowing it to sit between stirring to develop a sear on each side (note: it can be done in two batches.). Remove and place the meat on a plate or mixing bowl.
- Add the garlic, onion and green pepper to the Instant Pot and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the beef (with any accumulated juices) and all the remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot. Seal and select MEAT/STEW (which is preset for High Pressure for 35 minutes).
- When cooking is complete, wait 10 minutes then do a Quick Release. Serve over rice.
Nutrition
Originally published: February 24, 2017
Lidia says
This recipe is perfect. Just follow it exactly and do not change a thing. I’m Cuban and grew up eating carne con papa. It’s authentic.
Bernie says
WOW! I tried making Cuban Beef Stew once before and it was not much better than eatable. I had some cubed stew meat tonight and was planing to make chili but thought; let’s look for another Cuban recipe tailored to the Instant Pot. If this didn’t work I was going to give up on Cuban cuisine which I know nothing about.
I am so happy I took a chance. Everyone loved it and that’s a group with wildly different “don’t like that” tastes. I only had a little over a pound of meat so cut the onion, bell pepper and potato amounts in half to match. Can’t cut a can of dice tomatoes in half and concerned about the liquid amount in my 8qt Instant Pot kept that and the spices per the recipe (didn’t add any tomato sauce).
It was a little bit more liquid at the end than I thought optimal but served over rice turned out perfect. The reduced batch I thought was way more than three people could eat but with bowls piled high only my 93 year old mom wasn’t able to finish and she took home a pretty skimpy lunch leftover.
This one is definitely on the rotation and I’m energized to learn more about Cuban cuisine. Changes I made were to use Apple Cider vinegar instead of white lightning (Washington State… we loves us our apples). I used smoked Paprika and a 1/2 tsp of Wrights Liquid Smoke because that’s my secrete ingredient. If I had smoked brisket to use instead of store bought cubed meat this wouldn’t be necessary. Don’t know if Cubans like BBQ but we do 🙂 Will try adding capers next time to give just a little bit more zing but spice level was pretty close to perfection.
Bernie says
Done this many times. It’s a keeper. There’s no such thing I know of that’s an 8oz can of tomato sauce. Last time I made this I used an 8oz can of tomato paste. Worked great! made it more stew like
Toni Dash says
Hey Bernie. There definitely IS 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce (as well as 15 ounce cans). I just double checked on the Instacart app and both Kroger and Hunts brand make that size (at a minimum). Glad you found a swap you like if your store didn’t have it.
Amarilys says
Hi, what about the potatoes? When do they go into the Instapot?
Toni Dash says
In the step in the recipe card to ‘add all remaining ingredients’.
Shelley says
I made this stew for dinner this week. I followed the recipe exactly but added raisins and green olives at the end (my hubs loves Cuban Picadillo), and the result was fabulous! Rich and hearty with an explosion of flavors.
When my husband got finished eating the leftovers the next day he said “You’re going to make this again, right?”
Big score at my house! Thanks for a great easy recipe.
Toni Dash says
I love this Shelley! I’m delighted it was a win at your dinner table. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know.
Jess says
This was delicious!
Toni Dash says
So glad you liked it Jess! Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback.
Teiya says
I made this for my family tonight and it was super yummy! Even my picky 2 year old finished her plate. Definitely making this again! I didn’t have the dry sherry so I used cooking white wine instead and it was still great!
Teiya says
I made this for my family tonight and it was super yummy! Even my picky 2 year old finished her plate. Definitely making this again! I substituted the dry sherry for cooking white wine instead and it was still great!
Arlenys says
This was so easy and super delicious!!! This is my husband’s favorite dish and I could never get it right in the regular stove-top pressure cooker. The flavors are authentic (we’re Cuban), the meat perfectly tender and the potatoes just right! I don’t eat beef but I definitely ate the potatoes and sauce over some Jasmine rice. This recipe is a winner and I’ll be making it again and again. There were some ingredients I didn’t have such as the broth and tomatoes, so I just used water and tomato paste. It came out perfect!