Instant Pot Beef Curry (with stovetop instructions)

Instant pot beef curry is a savory, saucy, spiced meal of tender beef and potatoes that are sauteed and then stewed. The beef curry recipe is cooked in an Instant Pot for quick, convenient results but I also included stovetop instructions for those who haven’t converted yet!

Instant Pot Beef Curry

Curry is definitely in my top 5 favorite things to eat and if I could choose only one curry, it would be beef curry with potatoes. I could eat this every day. Add dhal puri and mango achar and I would be in curry heaven!

Often the beef used for curry is a tough cut of meat which means that it can take a decent amount of time to cook unless you have the magic of the instant pot! But If you guys are not on to the instant pot yet, let me change your life! It is an electric, pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice maker, do-it-all-in-one appliance type of magic. When I first got my instant pot I made every meal in it for a month. Easy peasy. If you are interested in checking it out, click here to get one.

Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Beef Curry Recipe

• Classic Comfort Food: This hearty meal of hot, stewed meat and potatoes is super satisfying.
• Made Easy: The instant pot cuts down on the cooking time and I get perfectly tender, juicy, curried beef each time I use it.
• Great Make-Ahead Meal: This recipe is great when made ahead. It’s one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day, once the flavors have had a chance to meld.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Beef Curry

The homemade curry paste is the base of the flavor, and the remaining ingredients are added to the instant pot after that is made.

• Beef: I use grass-fed chuck roast cut into 2-inch chunks but you can also just get stew beef from the supermarket that is already cut into chunks.
• Small red potatoes: You need about 1 lb, peeled and cut into halves.
• Seasoning: Season the meat simply with salt and black pepper
• Oil: For cooking.

Curry Paste

• Yellow onion: Cut them into halves.
• Green onions: This adds a sharp, peppery flavor.
• Thyme leaves: Remember to removed the stems if you add this optional ingredient.
• Garlic cloves: Use fresh garlic cloves for garlic flavor.
• Bay leaves: This adds an aromatic quality.
• Seasoning: I use a medley of seasonings including curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and cumin.
• Water: The liquid needed to make this a paste.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Instant Pot Beef Curry

Making the Curry Paste for the Beef Curry:

The first step of any curry dish is to prepare the curry paste or masala. Add a small yellow onion, 5 cloves of garlic (because I love garlic), about 5 springs of fresh thyme (leaves removed from the stems), 3 heads of green onions, and 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of water to my blender.

Then puree it all together for a minute or two. Pour the pureed seasoning into a bowl and added curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and bay leaf. Mix everything together until a thick paste forms.

Choosing the right curry powder:

Typically when I make curry I use Lalah’s Curry Powder which has all of these ingredients I added to the curry paste and a few more, but I wanted to show you that you don’t necessarily have to buy Lalah’s.

The curry I am using in this recipe is a generic curry powder I bought from Walmart and it came out just as good. But if you want to try it with Lalah’s and you don’t have an Indian, Asian, or Caribbean market where you live, you can get it from Amazon.

Cooking the curry paste:

Turn on the instant pot and set it to sauté. When it’s ready (pot display says “hot”), add 3 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the curry paste and cook it for about 5 minutes, until most of the liquid cooks off and it is thick and somewhat dry. Feel free to add more oil at this point, in order to prevent burning.

This is what mine looked like before I added the beef. Notice how thick the paste has become, versus when I initially added it to the pot, (see previous pic).

Adding the Beef to the Instant Pot

While the curry paste cooks, prepare the beef. Cut your preferred meat into 2-inch cubes. Then add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper to the beef and gave it a good toss. Add the seasoned beef cubes to the cooked curry paste and let that sauté for 5 to 10 minutes until the beef browns a bit. You can also do this in batches.

Using different cuts of beef:

If you prefer beef with bones (which gives the curry an amazing flavor) go for it. I’ve also made this recipe with neck bones, bone-in shank cuts, and other cuts of beef with bones. You will need to adjust the pressure cooking time. For cuts with mostly bones and less meat, I pressure cook on high for 45 minutes. For cuts with one or two bones, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.

Adding the Potatoes:

Next, add 3 small red potatoes cut into halves (you can do quarters but be careful not to make it too small or it will melt away when you pressure cook the beef). Finally, add 1 cup of water and stir the curry up a little so most of the contents of the pot are submerged in the liquid.

Sealing the Instant Pot and Pressure Cooking:

This next step is very important. Turn off the instant pot by hitting cancel. Then cover the pot with the lid and turn the vent to sealing. Press the manual button to turn the pot back on, and set it for 25 minutes.

When the 25 minutes are up, press cancel to stop the instant pot from going into warming mode. Then vent the instant pot, remove the lid carefully, and switch it back to sauté mode.

Do this so that any excess liquids in the pot can cook down, forming a thick curry. Let it cook on sauté for 5 minutes, then turn the pot off. The instant pot beef curry is ready to serve!

Don’t have an instant pot and want to make beef curry on the stovetop? Here is how:

1. Follow all the instructions for making the curry paste
2. Add the oil to a large skillet, braiser on high heat and bring up to temperature
3. Then add the curry paste and cook until the paste is dry
4. Add the seasoned beef and sauté until the beef is brown, then add about 2 cups of water, cover and reduce heat to medium
5. Cook until beef is tender, checking often and adding 1 to 2 cups of water. Depending on the cut of beef this should take about 1 hour
6. Then add your potatoes and more water (if needed) and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender and the curry has a thick delicious sauce

Storage

Store leftover beef curry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat.

Recipe Variations

Spice: My kids eat whatever we are having for dinner so I don’t make my food spicy, but if you prefer a more spicy curry feel free to add pepper to the paste.

Coconut Milk: Once the beef and potatoes are added, you can add coconut milk instead of water for a creamier curry sauce.

Add Veggies: Add carrots or tomatoes for added flavor and nutrients.

Protein: You can swap beef for tofu, pork, chicken, lamb, or shrimp. Just keep in mind that the cooking time for each will vary.

Frequently Asked Questions