Do you love lamb stew, but don't want to wait hours for it to be ready? You don't need to with this easy Instant Pot Lamb Stew recipe! This stew takes about an hour to prepare in a pressure cooker. The lamb comes out fall-apart tender and the stew is so flavorful! Serve lamb stew with Irish soda bead, pita bread, or over pasta.
Lamb is one of my favorite meats, right up there with goat meat. Whether it's lamb shish kabobs, kofta kebabs, or lamb loin chops, I'm all in!
Another great way to cook lamb is in lamb stew. Especially if you have a cheaper cut of meat which might not be as tender as lamb shoulder, for example.
This Instant pot lamb stew recipe can be easily converted to an Irish lamb stew just by swapping out the wine with a bottle of good Irish beer like Guinness or your favorite stout.
So whether you serve this stew for St. Patrick's day, or anytime you want a quick and hearty meal, your family will love you for it!
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🧐Why This Recipe Works
- Preparing lamb stew is not complicated, especially in a pressure cooker/Instant pot.
- Some lamb stew recipes take hours of cook. This one is ready in under an hour!
- Lamb stew leftovers are amazing, maybe even better than freshly made lamb stew.
- Pressure cooker lamb stew freezes well too, so you can eat some today and freeze the leftovers for another time.
🛒What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Meat/Lamb: I used leg of lamb, you can also use lamb shoulder.
- Veggies: Onion, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. You can leave out any vegetables that you'd like or add sweet potatoes, parsnips, and turnips.
- Broth: Beef stock is the best option, however, you can substitute beef broth, chicken broth, or even vegetable broth.
- Wine/Beer: Red wine gives the stew a rich flavor, but you can substitute beer or even more beef stock.
- Bacon: Bacon not only adds another layer of flavor, but the rendered fat is used to saute the onions and sear the meat. If you prefer, you can use a few tablespoons of olive oil instead.
- Spices: Salt, black pepper, and paprika. If you do want to add a little spice, ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or ½ -1 teaspoon crushed red pepper can be added.
- Herbs: Feel free to substitute your favorite herbs including oregano and rosemary. I added 1 teaspoon dried thyme. Fresh herbs can also be added.
- Tomato Sauce: To substitute the tomato sauce, you can add 3 ounces tomato paste (½ small can). You can also add diced tomatoes if you'd like!
- Optional Ingredients: The peas are optional, but recommended. I like to garnish the finished stew with Italian parsley. It's visually appealing and brightens up the dish. Fresh thyme is another great option.
- A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
🥘How to Make Instant Pot Lamb Stew
Step 1: Begin by peeling and roughly chopping your veggies, then slice the meat into 2" portions.
Pro Tip: Don't chop the carrots and potatoes too small. They will fall apart from the prolonged cooking. Slice the carrots in 1" to 2" pieces and chop each potato into 4ths, then each quarter into 3 to 4 pieces.
Step 2: Mix flour, salt, black pepper, and paprika then dredge cubed lamb in the mixture until coated. Set your Instant pot/pressure cooker on sauté and fry the bacon until crisp.
Step 3: Remove bacon and chop. Add roughly chopped onion to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Add lamb in batches and sear on all sides. When you add the last batch, include the sliced mushrooms, garlic, and chopped bacon.
Step 4: Add half of the wine and use a wooden spoon to deglaze (scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot). Add potatoes and carrots then mix broth, Worcestershire Sauce, remaining wine, bay leaves, thyme, and tomato sauce and pour over the other ingredients.
Pro Tip: To avoid the burn error code on your Instant pot, add the tomato paste last without mixing it with the other ingredients. This is especially important if substituting tomato paste.
Step 5: Cover the Instant pot with its lid and seal the steam valve. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes, followed by a quick release. If adding peas, stir them in as soon as you remove the lid.
Pro Tip: It will take approximately 10 minutes for the Instant pot to come to pressure and an additional 5 minutes for the pressure to release at the end.
See pro tips on how to thicken the lamb stew with either cornstarch or all-purpose flour.
🤷🏻♀️Recipe FAQs
Stew is much better in a pressure cooker. The ingredients don't fall apart or lose their flavor as a result of hours of cooking.
Stew can definitely be overcooked. The vegetables can get too mushy and the stew can reduce too much, leaving not enough liquid in the stew.
One of the best things about preparing stew in a pressure cooker is the wonderful job it does of tenderizing the meat in a short amount of time. Usually anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes is sufficient.
👩🏼🍳 Recipe Pro Tips
- To thicken your lamb stew, pour ½ cup of stew broth into a measuring cup, then add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour. Whisk to create a slurry then mix in with the stew. Bring the stew to a boil for a few minutes until it is thickened.
- Pressure cooker lamb stew is also delicious over cooked egg noodles or vermicelli rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze up to 3 months in freezer bags. Be sure to write the contents and date on the bag before you fill it with the stew. Three months from now, you'll thank me.
- Lamb tends to be fatty. You can skim the surface of the stew to remove the extra oil. Or refrigerate the stew to allow the fat to harden for easier removal.
🍽 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Lamb Stew
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lamb sliced into 2" cubes
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 large yellow onion (2 cups chopped)
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup dry red wine (divided)
- 2 large potatoes
- 2 large carrots ( 1 cup chopped)
- 1 14½ oz canned beef stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 8 oz tomato sauce
- ½ cup peas (optional)
- ¼ cup Italian parsley (garnish)
Instructions
- Begin by peeling and roughly chopping your veggies, then slice the meat into 2" portions.
- Mix flour, salt, black pepper, and paprika then dredge cubed lamb in the mixture until coated. Set your Instant pot/pressure cooker on sauté and fry the bacon until crisp.
- Remove bacon and chop. Add roughly chopped onion to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Add lamb in batches and sear on all sides. When you add the last batch, include the sliced mushrooms, garlic, and chopped bacon.
- Add half of the wine and use a wooden spoon to deglaze (scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot). Add potatoes and carrots then mix broth, Worcestershire Sauce, remaining wine, bay leaves, thyme, and tomato sauce and pour over the other ingredients.
- Cover the Instant pot with its lid and seal the steam valve. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes, followed by a quick release. If adding peas, stir them in as soon as you remove the lid.
Notes
- Don't chop the carrots and potatoes too small because you don't want them to fall apart from the prolonged cooking. Slice the carrots in 1" to 2" pieces and chop each potato into 4ths, then each quarter into 3 to 4 pieces.
- To avoid the burn error code on your Instant pot, add the tomato paste last without mixing it with the other ingredients. This is especially important if substituting tomato paste.
- To thicken your lamb stew, pour ½ cup of stew broth into a measuring cup, then add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour. Whisk to create a slurry then mix in with the stew. Bring the stew to a boil for a few minutes until it is thickened.
- This stew is also delicious over cooked egg noodles or vermicelli rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze up to 3 months in freezer bags. Be sure to write the contents and date on the bag before you fill it with the stew. Three months from now, you'll thank me.
- Lamb tends to be fatty. You can skim the surface of the stew to remove the extra oil. Or refrigerate the stew to allow the fat to harden for easier removal.
- It will take approximately 10 minutes for the Instant pot to come to pressure and an additional 5 minutes for the pressure to release at the end.
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