This is the quickest and easiest Instant Pot Beef and Noodles recipe you’ll ever try. Traditional hearty beef and noodles in a fraction of the time and work of most beef and noodle recipes, but still yields the same tender seasoned bites of beef and tons of creamy noodles in under an hour!
Beef and noodles is known for being easy comfort food, but it’s usually comfort food that takes a good long while to cook. This method of cooking beef and noodles is the ultimate shortcut method because we’ll utilize not one easy shortcut to lessen prep and cook time, but 2! 
Most instant pot beef and noodles recipes call for chuck roast and that requires quite a bit of prep work. First the roast has to be trimmed and cut into small pieces or completely cooked and then shredded.
For this recipe we’re going to use store bought cubed stew beef. Most packaged stew beef you buy at the grocery store is odds and ends of chuck roast and round. There can be other cuts of meat included as well. Because the store bought stew beef is already cut into bite sized pieces, all you’ll need to do is throw it in the bottom of the instant pot!
Here’s a beginners’s guide to using the Instant Pot in case you need one before we start.
Step 1:
Open your package of stew beef and throw it in the bottom of an instant pot that’s at least 6 quarts or larger. Toss the butter in on top of the meat.
Step 2:
Add the seasonings: garlic powder, salt, onion powder, pepper and browning sauce. Now I realize that probably not everyone has browning sauce in their pantry, but I think it’s absolutely critical for this recipe.
What is browning sauce? A highly concentrated blend of vegetable stock, spices, and herbs with caramel coloring added. It makes anything beefy just taste a little richer and gives it a great color. I always add it to my beef stews and gravy.
Step 3:
Add the frozen noodles, broth and consomme.
Do you have to use frozen noodles?
Yes, indeedy. Frozen noodles are the only noodles that can hold up to the cook time it will take for the meat to get tender. Dried noodles or fresh noodles would be mush at the end of 28 minutes in the Instant Pot. Pour the beef consomme and beef broth over the top of the frozen noodles.
And that’s it! Put the lid on the instant pot, seal it up and cook on manual for 28 minutes. Do a quick steam release. Stir it all together really well and then serve! 
You’ll notice at the end of the cook time that the beef will still be in chunks, but it will be fork tender and easily shred!
How can you quickly and easily make this without an Instant Pot? I’m sorry, but you just can’t. The Instant Pot makes tough cuts of meat cook up tender in a flash and I don’t know of anything else does the same thing. If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you need to get yourself one! I use this 6 quart model because it’s big enough for my family of 6. You can find them for under $80 on Amazon.
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes:
Instant Pot Turkey and Noodles
Instant Pot BBQ Swiss Steak
Instant Pot BBQ Swiss Steak
The Easiest Instant Pot Beef and Noodles
Traditional hearty beef and noodles recipe in 3 easy steps and under an hour.
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/2 pound package of precut stew beef
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp browning sauce
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef consomme
- 1 quart (32ounces) beef broth
- 1 (24 ounce) bag frozen noodles *
Instructions
- Place the stew beef in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Then put in the butter.
- Add the garlic powder, salt, onion powder, black pepper, and browning sauce.
- Add the frozen noodles to the Instant Pot. Pour the consomme and broth over the noodles and beef. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to seal. Cook on manual high heat for 28 minutes. When the timer goes off do a quick steam release. Give the beef and noodles a generous stir and serve!
Notes
* No substitutions on the noodles. Frozen noodles must be used for this to turn out correctly.
The amount of liquid after cooking depends a lot on the fat content of your stew beef. If your beef and noodles is too liquidy, you can make a slurry with cornstarch and water to thicken it up. They will thicken up some on their own as the beef and noodles cools to eating temperature.
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50 comments
Can you use frozen stewed meat???
Hi Beth,
That’s a great question. But, unfortunately, no, you can’t use frozen stew meat. The timing of this recipe is pretty crucial to the finished outcome. Frozen stew beef just can’t be cooked tender in the same amount of time that the frozen noodles can.
Amy D.
For frozen noodles- would I just cook noodles and then freeze to use for this recipe?
Hi Mayra,
I use Reames brand frozen noodles. I’m not sure how freezing your own noodles would turn out, but I’d love to hear how it goes for you!
Amy
Can you make it without the browning sauce? I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. Are there any substitutes you can recommend?
Billie,
Something I have learned since I started this blog, is that I maybe cook a bit like a grandma. I get questions about this ingredient and the beef consomme all the time. They are staples in my pantry because they were staples in my grandma’s pantry. To answer your question, yes, you can make it without the browning sauce. 100 percent yes. I just like adding it to beefy things because it gives your food a great color and adds a little depth of flavor. Hope that helps you out!
Amy D.
Has anyone doubled this recipe yet? I have a 10 quart and am fairly new to it. Any tips on how to double this recipe?
When doubling the recipe, just increase the ingredients times 2, but keep the cook time the same. Just make sure you don’t fill your instant pot over the max fill line.
Can you use ground beef as a substitute?
I haven’t done that, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. You would want to brown your ground beef first!
Tried this recipe this evening for dinner. I’m a superstar now! My spouse loved them! Will definitely fix them again. Didn’t allow for enough time for the instant pot to reach pressure. Dinner was late but well worth the wait! Excellent recipe!
This was delicious for a quick weeknight dinner! After cooking and releasing the pressure , In added 1/3 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of sour cream. This added a creamy stroganoff feel (that my 3 boys love). It was a hit. I will definitely be making this again.
Made this tonight and it was a big hit with the hubby and boys! Thinking of doubling and having on Christmas day! Thanks!!!! Keep the insta pot recipes coming!
I did double this but used the 32 oz beef stock and 3 cans of beef consomme and 1 can water. Turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I just made this. It was my first recipe in the IP. It was fabulous! Thanks for the recipe.
Did you cook it longer also????
Can I double the recipe? My family is a little bigger. I have an 8 qt instapot.
Hi Shannon,
I wish that I could give you a definitive answer, but I don’t have an instant pot big enough to be able to test it out doubled. If you do double it, please let me know how it goes!
I made this tonight with my 8 quart pot. Doubled the recipe. Will fill it to the max line just to let you know. Cooked the same amount of time. Perfect!
Thanks for the feedback! Glad you loved it and also glad to know exactly about how it turns out in the 8 quart pot!! I’ve had friends tell me that too. 🙂
Amy