Instant Pot Cowboy Stew With Ranch Style Beans Recipe

If you take a quick glance at the list of ingredients that goes into this Instant Pot cowboy stew with ranch style beans, you may find yourself wondering, "Isn't that really more of a chili than a stew?" It's certainly an understandable thought, but recipe developer and private practice registered dietician Kristen Carli of Camelback Nutrition & Wellness can explain. "Stews are typically cooked longer to more fully develop their flavor," she says. And on closer inspection of some of the photos of Carli's recipe, you'll also note a broth here, something that's not found in your typical chili. Ah, but now you're probably wondering something else about this recipe. If stews are cooked for longer than chilis or soups, then how come this one requires just 20 minutes of cooking time?

"You can achieve this [slow cooked] flavor in a short time due to the pressure cooker," says Carli. Yes, your trusty Instant Pot lets you create a hearty, satisfying stew that will taste like it simmered away for an afternoon, despite only needing a few minutes of sautéing and a quarter of an hour with the lid closed and the contents cooked under pressure. If you'd prefer to wait all day to enjoy your cowboy stew for dinner, then by all means go the old fashioned route. For the rest of us, let's get to cooking ASAP!

This hearty stew calls for olive oil, diced yellow onion, ground beef, salt, pepper, kielbasa sausage, canned fire roasted tomatoes (with their liquid), a can of tomato soup, water, canned ranch style beans, canned green chiles, and chili powder, in addition to shredded cheese and hot sauce for serving. This recipe delivers plenty of heat, but you can always dial that down if you're not a major fan of spice.

Turn on the Instant Pot to the sauté setting, and then add the olive oil and the diced onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, which will take between three to five minutes. Next add the ground beef, being sure to break up any larger bits with the back of a wooden spoon or with a silicone spatula. 

Next, add the salt and pepper, and stir to mix them in well. Cook until the ground beef is no longer pink. Meanwhile, slice the kielbasa, and then add the sausage to the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.

Add the tomatoes, the tomato soup, the water, the ranch style beans, the green chiles, and the chili powder to the Instant Pot, and stir to combine everything. As for a quick safety step, Carli says, "Make sure that the beef is cooked before putting on the lid and pressure cooking," as any still raw meat may not cook enough during the short pressure cooking period.

That being said, go ahead and close the lid, and turn the valve to sealing. Now, turn on the Pressure Cook setting for 15 minutes, and let the Instant Pot do its thing as you wait patiently for it to be done.

Once the 15 minutes of pressure cooking are up, your cooking work is done — and let's be honest, it was really done when that phase began. That's the beauty of Instant Pot meals — they do all the hard work for you.

Now, simply serve this tasty cowboy stew, and enjoy. "Serve it with shredded cheese and hot sauce, if desired," Carli suggests, adding, "This is delicious served with corn casserole."

And if you have any extra Instant Pot cowboy stew with ranch style beans left over when dinner (or lunch) is wrapped up, Carli says, "[You can] store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days [and this meal] reheats great in the microwave."