Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff is a classic comfort food that’s quick and easy to get on the dinner table. You can even start with frozen beef! This version adds blue cheese and chives for a rich, creamy sauce that’s even better than the original.
What is Beef Stroganoff?
Classic Beef stroganoff is a dish made with browned beef and smothered in a creamy sour cream sauce.
To me personally, Beef Stroganoff is a beloved dish that my mom made for us countless times when I was growing up. It’s total comfort food due to its creamy sauce and that it’s typically served over pasta. It’s also delicious served over rice or mashed potatoes.
Beef stroganoff originated in Russia but is popular all over the world. The sauce is always made with sour cream or it’s not really stroganoff. There are many variations, and some are made with canned cream of mushroom soup or cream cheese. To my knowledge, this is the first variation made with blue cheese (although I’m sure that somewhere out there it’s been done before)!
Ingredients
- olive oil
- boneless sirloin
- mushrooms
- onion
- garlic
- unsalted butter
- all-purpose flour
- beef broth
- sour cream
- blue cheese
- Dijon mustard
- chives
- salt & pepper
What if I don’t care for blue cheese?
If you prefer the flavor of classic Beef Stroganoff or simply don’t like the flavor of blue cheese, go ahead and leave it out. You can also replace the blue cheese with cream cheese.
What kind of meat can I use?
I prefer to use sirloin for this Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe because it has a lot of flavor and pressure cooking turns this lean cut very tender beef. But you can use any cut you have on hand or anything you prefer.
Beef stew meat is also a great option since it comes already cut into pieces, eliminating that step.
I’ve even made it with boneless ribeye! I normally don’t use such an expensive cut in my Instant Pot, but it’s what I had and it turned out amazing.
Ground beef is also an option. Follow the recipe as directed, but brown the ground beef until no pink remains, then drain off any fat. You’ll also want to reduce the cooking time to 7 minutes, but the rest of the instructions are the same.
A few cookbook readers have emailed me said that they’ve made this with beef chuck roast, beef tenderloin, and round steak with great success.
Can you use frozen beef to make Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff?
You can absolutely start with frozen beef! In fact, this recipe actually comes from my second cookbook, Cooking from Frozen in your Instant Pot. You can cut it up before freezing it or start with a whole pound of sirloin steak and shred it after cooking. It’s so versatile!
I’ve included detailed instructions on cooking from frozen in the next section, or see the recipe card at the end of this article. Below is a photo of Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff made with beef that started out frozen then was shredded.
Make this recipe with chicken
This recipe is best with beef but chicken is also a great choice. Start with one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been cut into bite-sized pieces. The recipe will be the same with the exception of cutting the cooking time in half (7 minutes instead of 15 minutes).
How to make Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish for this super tasty Instant Pot stroganoff! Add another 10 minutes or so for the pot to come to pressure, but that’s still dinner on the table in under an hour. Plus there’s very little prep involved and most of that time is waiting for the Instant Pot to do it’s thing.
You can save even more time by either starting with a package of stew meat that’s already cut up and buying pre-sliced mushrooms. You can also start with frozen meat as I mentioned above. This is already a quick and easy recipe but who doesn’t want to save as much time as possible?
To start, gather all of your ingredients together. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces or slice it into beef strips. Chop the onion, slice the mushrooms, and mince the minced garlic.
Press “Saute” to preheat your Instant Pot. When the word “hot” appears on the display, add the olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the meat. Brown it well then remove it and set it aside.
Add the mushrooms and onions and and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it’s evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about another minute. Add the butter and once it’s melted, sprinkle the flour into the pot. Stir it continuously for one minute, then turn off your Instant Pot.
Add the beef that you set aside and the beef broth, stirring well to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. It’s really important to scrape up everything from the bottom or the pot might not come to pressure in the next step. This is true for all Instant Pot recipes.
Close and lock the lid then press “Manual” and immediately adjust the timer to 15 minutes. Check that the cooking pressure is on “high” and that the release valve is set to “Sealing”.
When the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a “Quick Pressure Release”.
Press “cancel” then “Saute” on the Instant Pot. Add the sour cream, blue cheese and Dijon, stirring until sauce is smooth and cheese is melted. If you’d like it even thicker, you can add a corn starch slurry here, too.
Sprinkle on the chives. Taste it and add more salt and pepper if necessary. This is very important! I almost always add a little more salt to bring out the flavors.
Serve it over cooked egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes. I prefer to make these separately while the stroganoff is cooking, but if you want to cook the egg noodles in the same pot, follow the instructions as directed but reduce the cooking time by 3 minutes. After the quick release in step 4, add the noodles to the pot, press “Manual” and cook another 3 minutes. Use another quick release and continue the recipe as directed.
How to store and reheat
If you have any leftovers, you can store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave just until it’s hot, as overheating it can cause the sauce to separate. I use the low setting on my microwave with good results.
Tips for the BEST Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Don’t skip browning the beef! This step adds a lot of flavor and only takes a few minutes.
- Use a strong-flavored blue cheese or a more mild one depending on how much blue cheese flavor you’re going for.
- Use high-quality ingredients if you can. There aren’t many ingredients in this recipe overall, so the better tasting they are, the better.
- This recipe is easily doubled if you’re feeding a crowd. The cooking times will remain the same.
Variations
- Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
- Use 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder in place of the fresh garlic.
- Make a cornstarch slurry (a tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water) and add it at the very end when making the sauce. This will help thicken it if necessary.
- If you prefer it even creamier, add 2-4 oz of cream cheese along with the sour cream, or replace the blue cheese with cream cheese altogether.
- Try chopped fresh parsley instead of chives.
- Add a cup of frozen peas at the end to get some veggies in there, too.
- Add 1/4 cup of dry white wine just after you cook the garlic. Let it reduce for a minute or two, then continue with the recipe.
If you’re looking for more comfort food made in the Instant Pot, try Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings and Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie. This Instant Pot Jambalaya is also REALLY good and easy!
Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff with Blue Cheese & Chives
A delicious spin on the classic Beef Stroganoff, made so easy with your Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb boneless sirloin, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 oz crumbled blue cheese
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- Coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Press “Sauté” to preheat your Instant Pot. When the word “hot” appears on the display, add the olive oil. When oil is shimmering, add the sirloin. Brown well on both sides then set aside.
- Add the mushrooms and onions and and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it's evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the butter; once melted, sprinkle the flour into the pot. Stir continuously for one minute. Turn off the IP.
- Add the reserved beef and the beef broth, stirring well to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Close and lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Press “Manual” and immediately adjust the timer to 15 minutes. Check that the cooking pressure is on “high” and that the release valve is set to “Sealing”.
- When the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then open the IP using “Quick Pressure Release”.
- Press “cancel” then “Sauté” on the Instant Pot. Add sour cream, blue cheese and Dijon, stirring until sauce is smooth and cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle on the chives. Taste then season with salt and pepper.
- Serve over cooked egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
HOW TO COOK EGG NOODLES IN THE SAME POT: Follow the instructions as directed but reduce the cooking time by 3 minutes. After the quick release in step 4, add the noodles to the pot, taking care that they're submerged in the liquid. Press "Manual" and cook another 3 minutes. Use another quick release and continue the recipe as directed.
HOW TO START WITH FROZEN MEAT: You can make this recipe starting with one pound of frozen sirloin. Follow the instructions as directed - even browning the meat - but increase the cooking time to 20 minutes. Remove the meat and shred it, make the sauce and add it back to the pot.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 566Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 789mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 42g
This information was calculated using Nutrionix for 4 servings. It does not include the egg noodles.
If you’re interested in ways to make your home kitchen like something the pros would use, check out this article on Porch (and learn what I’d personally upgrade first in my own kitchen)!
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