Instant Pot Freezer Beef Stew

The stew, dump-bag style — everything raw into a bag, then cooked from frozen. Hearty dinner with almost no active work.

Ingredients

• 2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1.5" cubes
• 1 lb potatoes, cubed
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme, 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper
• (added at cooking time: 3 cups beef broth; 1 cup frozen peas; cornstarch to thicken)

Assembly & Freezing

Combine everything except the broth, peas, and cornstarch in a gallon freezer bag. Press flat and freeze, molded to your insert shape if you can. Good up to 3 months.

Cook from Frozen

1. Add 3 cups beef broth to the Instant Pot and drop in the frozen block.
2. Pressure cook on high for 45 minutes, then natural release for 10 minutes.
3. Set to Sauté, stir in the peas, and thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Remove the bay leaves.

Notes

Cubed beef cooks through from frozen faster than a whole roast. Keep the potatoes in big pieces so they don't fall apart.