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Veal Stew (instant pot)

The Instant Pot creates a tender veal stew with tomatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, onions, spinach and potatoes bathed in a rich sauce.

The actual cook time is only about 40 minutes, not including the time the instant pot takes to reach and release pressure. Nevertheless, we’re still just talking 60-65 minutes which is pretty short for a stew.

bowl of veal stew

Our stove top version Veal Stew with Wine, Zest and Thyme is very similar so just decide on how much time you have available.

Instant Pot stew recipes work well. I’m not a huge stew fan, but I make an exception for veal stew. This one has a delicious hearty broth with deep flavor, tons of vegetables and is great (even better) the next day or longer.

What to serve with veal stew

The rich stew is a healthy and very satisfying dinner in a bowl, especially served with fresh warm crusty bread and butter or homemade easy naan. (Ok, maybe slightly less healthy with the bread and butter). 

You can also serve it over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice. And perhaps a side green salad.

Tailor To Your Taste

  • Vary the vegetables – leave out what you don’t like, add more of one and less of another or add a different vegetable such as parsnips. The only things to consider are the amount of room in the pot (don’t go above the manufacturer’s directions) and the type of vegetables. Soft vegetables like zucchini will become too mushy.
  • Vary the seasonings – oregano, marjoram, sage, bay leaves or tarragon would be good.
  • Lemon zest brightens the flavors. I love that. My husband not so much.
  • Make the gravy/sauce as thick or thin as you like. More cornstarch slurry thickens it. Extra broth thins it. A bit a tomato paste would add richness.
  • Add heat with red chili flakes.

Make Ahead 

  • The instant pot veal stew can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for 4-5 days. Warm it in a pot or microwave.
  • It can also be frozen, perhaps without the potatoes as their texture changes.

No Instant Pot? 

No worries. Try this veal stew on the stovetop – Veal stew with wine, zest and thyme.

Or check out one of our other best comfort food recipes. 

veal, broth, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, lemon, oil, thyme
Ingredients: veal, wine, tomatoes, broth, thyme, carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, lemon, cornstarch, spinach
veal stew chunks dusted in flour
Dust cubed veal with flour
veal, onions, carrots, celery sauteed in instant pot
Heat oil on Sauté function. Sauté veal then onions then wine. Add vegetables
Veal Stew in instant pot with liquids added ready to turn pressure on
Add liquids and set to high pressure for 25 minutes. 
Instant Pot Veal Stew completed in instant pot
Do a natural release for 10-15 minutes. 
Instant Pot Veal Stew with spinach added
Stir in spinach until wilted. Set to sauté and add cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce.
Instant Pot Veal Stew in bowl 1
instant pot veal stew in a bowl with bread and butter

Make Ahead 

  • The instant pot veal stew can be made ahead and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Warm it in a pot or microwave.
  • It can also be frozen, perhaps without the potatoes as their texture changes.

No Instant Pot? 

No worries. Try this veal stew on the stovetop – Veal stew with wine, zest and thyme.

Or check out one of our other best comfort food recipes. And if you’re a fan of stew-like instant pot recipes, check out our instant pot cabbage rolls unstuffed. Delish!

bowl of veal stew
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4.88 from 40 votes

Instant Pot Veal Stew

The Instant Pot creates a tender flavorful veal stew with tomatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, onions,  spinach and potatoes, bathed in a rich sauce.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds veal stew meat, cut into cubes 1 1/2-2 inches/3.8-5 cm (larger pieces will need increased cooking time)
  • 2 tablespoon flour
  • seasonings: salt, pepper
  • 3 tablespoon oil, divided
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced (3 teaspoons)
  • 1 1/2 cups diced carrots, 1 inch (2 carrots)
  • 1 1/2 cups diced celery, 1 inch (2-3 ribs)
  • 1 1/2 cups diced potatoes, 1 inch (1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (or red wine if you don't have white)
  • 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes without juice (~396 ml can)
  • 1 cup chicken broth (or more if sauce too thick)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 cups fresh baby spinach
  • zest of small lemon (optional)
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Slurry for thickening broth

  • 2-3 Tbsp cornstarch stirred into 3 Tbsp water

Instructions

  • PREPARE VEAL: Pat veal dry with a paper towel (to help with a good brown sear on the meat). Sprinkle veal with salt and pepper. Dredge veal with flour until lightly coated.
  • SAUTE VEAL: Set instant pot to SAUTÉ function. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add half of the veal cubes and sauté on all sides for about 5 minutes to brown. Don't crowd pot. Transfer to plate. Repeat by adding 2nd tablespoon of oil and sautéing remaining veal. 
  • SAUTE AROMATICS: Add last tablespoon oil. Add onions and sauté for a few minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 1-2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Turn instant pot OFF. 
  • BUILD STEW AND COOK: Press PRESSURE or MANUAL on HIGH and use the + and – buttons to adjust time to 25 minutes. Add and stir together carrots, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, veal, broth, thyme and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Close and lock instant pot lid. Turn vent knob to SEALING position. It will take about 15 minutes to reach pressure and begin countdown. When finished, do a natural release method for 10-15 minutes, then turn to VENTING to do a quick release of the remaining pressure. Unlock lid. Turn pot to OFF
  • FINISH STEW: Press SAUTÉ. Add spinach and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Add cornstarch slurry to the cooking liquid in the pot and stir for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Add zest if using or a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, thyme). Ladle into bowls and serve with hot crusty bread and butter if desired. Or over egg noodles or rice.

Video

Recipe Notes

Mushrooms: You might notice I added mushrooms in the pictures. While they were great in the stew, I left them out of the recipe to reduce the total volume – and therefore the time to build pressure – particularly for a 6 quart instant pot. Eliminating them also reduces the sauté time (mushrooms are best be sautéed with the onions). Feel free to include them if you like, though, if you don’t mind adding the extra time. 
Variations:
  • Vary the vegetables – leave out what you don’t like, add more of one and less of another or add a different vegetable such as parsnips. The only things to consider are the amount of room in the pot (don’t go above the manufacturer’s directions) and the type of vegetables. Soft vegetables like zucchini will become too mushy. If you like, add 1/2 cup or more of frozen peas when you are thickening the gravy on the sauté function at the end of cooking.
  • Vary the seasonings – oregano, marjoram, sage, a bay leaf or tarragon would be good. And add a dash of worcestershire sauce
  • Lemon zest brightens the flavors if you like lemon.
  • Sauce: Make the gravy/sauce as thick or thin as you like. More cornstarch slurry thickens it. Extra broth thins it. A tablespoon of tomato paste will richen it.
  • Add heat with red chili flakes.
  • add a few dashes of  for extra depth
Make Ahead: The stew can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for 4-5 days. Warm in a pot or microwave. It can also be frozen, perhaps without potatoes as their texture changes.
‘Nutrition values are estimates and depend on a number of factors that you can vary in the recipe. 

Nutrition

Calories: 515kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 858mg | Potassium: 1622mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 10494IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 7mg
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Recipe Rating




26 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I really enjoyed this veal stew. It was very tasty. I added diced swede instead of potatoes, and will definitely do it again.

  2. I just finished making the veal stew in the instant.I only cooked 25 mins.and instant released it and I would have liked it more firm,so glad I released when I did.It went together quickly but a little to over cooked.If I make it again I will try 18 mins.and natural release you can always add on time.I will see if I like the favor this evening.This is just my take .

    1. Thanks for the feedback Shirley. Making a recipe the second (or third) time is always a good idea as you can tweak it to your preferences – in this case, the tenderness/softness of the meat. One thing to consider is the size of the veal cubes. Smaller cubes will cook faster. I hope you try it again.

  3. 5 stars
    The dish was delicious. Just a bit longer on the prep time; I added cremini’s at the end with the spinach. Also the stew needed more, pepper & thyme. Will definitely make this again.

  4. 5 stars
    This is by far my family’s favorite veal stew recipe. I change it up just a bit by: a) pressure cooking everything except the potatoes & carrots for about 15 min, then adding potatoes & carrots & pressure cooking all of it for another 10 min (it does take longer, but helps keep those root veggies from getting too soft, imo); b) sautéing mushrooms separately then adding them at the end just before the spinach; c) adding a couple tablespoons of heavy cream at the very end (makes a big difference). This is an excellent stew!

    1. So glad you like it! And you made some great tweaks for your family. I love when a recipe is the building block for readers to make it their own.

  5. 5 stars
    We loved this recipe! We had some minor alterations, but otherwise followed the recipe. We used 1 lb of veal chunks, 4 smaller carrots, two potatoes, 3 celery stalks and later added a pkg of thawed frozen spinach. We’ll definitely cook this again.

  6. Hi there, how would you adjust for a veal shoulder on the bone? I am set up for the rest of the recipe as is, but new to veal!

    1. Hi Tamsen. One option is to cut the meat off the bone then cube it into 1.5-2” pieces removing most of the fat. I have never made a veal shoulder in the instant pot, but I would pat it dry, season it and sauté it on sauté function of the IP. Follow the recipe from there and cook it on high pressure for perhaps 40 minutes with a natural release. Hope that helps.

      1. Nutrition panel lists 4g serving. Doubt this is correct. Trying to limit serving size so accurate amount would be helpful.

        1. Sorry about that Ken. The 4 should only refer to the number of servings. I’ve made the correction so it should read properly now. Thanks for bringing it to our intention. Hope you enjoy the recipe.

  7. You should be fine without using the flour. I suggest making sure your meat is dried well with a paper towel (less sticking to pot) and adding 3 tbsp. of cornstarch slurry at the end. You can always add a bit more slurry if it’s not thick enough for you. The starch from the potatoes will help thicken the stew as well. Hope you like it!

    1. 5 stars
      Thanks Cheryl for this recipe it was a great success! It was a great hit with my husband! I don’t usually put tomatoes in ny stews but it really added flavored!

  8. Hi. Did you have to cook it longer without the flour? I want to do the same you did, adding the mushroom and additional spinach. Making this tonight!!

  9. Delicious! Whipped it up and enjoyed it in no time! Left out the flour and added plenty of mushrooms and spinach. The broth was amazing. Thank you!

    1. I hope you enjoyed the veal stew.

      Thanks for the heads up about the can size. I’ll definitely double check it and make a correction if needed. Update: You were right, thanks. It’s a 396 ml can (about 14 oz). Thanks for catching that. I fixed it in the recipe.